What Does a Tchibo Coffee Shop--Circa 1990--Have to do with the Second World War?

The Reichstag in Berlin

Recently I was asked to tell about what historical sites I have visited that have to do with World War II.  My answer centered on the nine years I spent in Germany.

When I was on active duty, I served for about ten years in what used to be called the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). I consider the country itself an historical site. I had duty assignments within the old British and American zones of occupation (and I was thus qualified to wear a German Occupation Medal on my dress uniform). During those years I became familiar with the German language and did a moderate amount of travelling. Though my travels were never with the intent, except on one occasion, to visit WWII historical sites, I saw several. 

Most of the historical sites I visited in Germany were related to the Cold War, but some also had an overlapping significance in terms of WWII. For instance, one of my assignments was to the Berlin Brigade. For a time I even had a barracks room on what was is an old Nazi Kaserne. Sorry, but I’ve forgotten the name of the place. I want to say it was Andrews Barracks, but I’m not certain. The Reichstag and the Tiergarten were points of interest during my touring of Berlin. Both figure prominently in the Battle of Berlin. 

Cologne

I also visited the old Soviet War Memorial in what used to be East Germany. During that assignment Rudolf Hoess was still a prisoner in the Spandau prison. I remember reading about it in the Stars and Stripes newspaper. After he died, they destroyed the prison. In the city of Frankfurt, I visited my battalion headquarters building several times. It was the same building that the old I. G. Farben company had used for a headquarters. Of course, I also visited the Rhine River, crossing it at several places—including at the city of Cologne where the ruined façade of that old church with the twin steeples, near the bridge that one sees in WWII photos, still stands. I also travelled through Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. 

When reading about Operation MARKET-GARDEN, I can identify some of the towns that I visited. In Luxembourg, on the only occasion I purposely traveled to a WWII historical site, I visited the American Cemetery and Memorial there and saw General Patton’s grave. I passed near the Lueneberge Heide scores of times, completely clueless to the fact that Montgomery took the German surrender there. On a trip to Bertchesgaden in the German Alps I stayed in a hotel that had once been an American headquarters. 

The pedestrian zone in Worms.  The coffee shop is on the left,
but not visible.  Its sign, "Tchibo," sign is visible above
the man with the blue hat.

And one day while drinking coffee in a café in Worms, I got into a conversation with an old German man who had been a soldier in the war. The things I remember most about that conversation were his stories of how far he traveled on foot during the war—from north Germany to Poland, back to Germany again, to the western front, and then to the south. It never occurred to me until much later that had this gentlemen marched further east, into Soviet controlled territory, he probably would not have lived to have that conversation with me.

Congratulations to Ryanna Zoellner

(From L to R) Ryanna,
Todd, and Aileen Zoellner

My previous pontifications on the merits of high school commencement exercises notwithstanding, it is a pleasure to send out well deserved congratulations to Ryanna Zoellner and to her parents, my friends Todd and Aileen.  Ryanna graduated yesterday, with honors, from Warner Robbins High School.  She will attend the University of Georgia in the fall.

In case you are wondering, the supper gathering at El Bronco's, to which we were treated afterwards, more than compensated for the ordeal of the ceremony and the six hour round trip.

Best wishes, Ryanna!

High School Graduations

Drove from Augusta to the Georgia National Fairgrounds just south of Perry, Georgia for yesterday for a high school graduation.  That's a long way to go for a graduation.  Shoot, walking across the street is a long way to go for a high school graduation.  Those things have got to be about the dumbest excuse for a gathering of people that I can think of ... but I probably need to explain that.

This is How we Train Doctrine Writers?

Last month at the Army Force Management School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, I spent four weeks away from the Signal Center of Excellence where I am working to produce the Signal Regiment's first keystone field manual since FM 24-1 Signal Support in the AirLand Battle, published in 1990.  The manual I'm working on is FM 6-02 Signal Operations.  Within the Concepts and Doctrine Development Directorate, it consistently ranks in the top three of the director's list of priorities.  So, if you thought that the training I received at Fort Belvoir would help me speed along the development of FM 6-02, you would be making a logical assumption, but you would be wrong.

This is How the Army Runs?

I was sent to Belvoir to take the 4-week Force Management Course.  The Force Management Course is required training for me because I am an employee of the Capabilities Integration and Development Directorate at the Signal Center of Excellence.  All CDID employees take this course early in their careers.  The nearby graphic shows what the course is all about.  The folks who write the Danger Room Blog for Wired Magazine call this the Pentagon’s Craziest PowerPoint Slide.  They describe it as a "three-foot wall chart the military uses to explain its gajillion-step process for developing, buying, and maintaining gear."

A couple more zingers from DR:  "Stare [at it] long enough, and you’ll start to see why it takes a decade for the Defense Department to buy a tanker plane, or why marines are still reading web pages with Internet Explorer 6."

In DR's summary take on the DOD's Integrated Acquisitions Technology and Logistics Life Cycle Management. they call it "a twisting, endlessly-recursive, M.C. Escher-on-LSD three-dimensional hedge maze. Actually, it’s kind of amazing our troops have any gear at all."

And, what exactly, you may ask does that chart, er, horse blanket have to do ... no, wait, let me put it differently.    What what does the 4-week Force Management Course have to do with doctrine development?

Nothing, actually.

__________________________
Author's note:

See my April archives for several posts I made from Fort Belvoir. The Force Management Course is a great course. It's well run, the instructors are among the best you'll find anywhere, and the material is absolutely essential if you're going to work at the Pentagon or on a CDID staff or somewhere else in the generating force where your job is all about developing organizations, training, materiel capabilities, leader development and education, personnel (human resources), or facilities (military construction). My thinking is that CDIDs are the wrong environment in which to cultivate good doctrine developers. And I think that, if you're serious about developing a good, solid stable of writers, then the Force Management Course is the wrong kind of training for them.

twh

Favorite TV Shows of the Past: Leave it to Beaver

"Confidential"

Daniel Village Barber Shop

Visited the barber shop today.  The barber who served me was out the porch when I arrived, taking a smoke break I guess.  He's the one who rides the big Harley and, when it's your turn, says, "step into my office."

Last time he cut my hair I told him that I wanted a light trim.  "That's my favorite kind of haircut," he said.

This morning, after I stepped into his office, I asked him to give me his favorite haircut.  With a wicked grin he answered, " a crew cut!"

"No, no!" said I.  And I reminded him of what he had told me before.

Today he let it be known that his favorite haircut to give is really the Confidential.  When I asked him to explain, he said, "you sit down, I comb your hair real purty, and you give me money," and we both laughed.

I made sure that he understood that I wanted just a light trim.

When he finished, he said that he had given me the Confidential.  Knowing that he had actually cut some hair off I had to ask for a further explanation.  "It doesn't look like you just had a hair cut," he said, "but it doesn't look like you need one, either."

And he didn't even charge me extra for it.

Lexington

Washington and Lee University

Friday, on my journey back home from a month spent at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, I made a stop at Lexington.  Just off Interstate 81, Lexington is in the middle of Virginia's great Shenandoah Valley.  The views of the countryside are captivating.  Lexington is also a college town and home to some rich Civil War history.  One of its famous schools is Washington and Lee University.  One of its most famous presidents was Robert E. Lee, who served in that post from 1865 to 1870.  On the campus is a little chapel, named after General Lee.  In the basement of Lee Chapel, Lee and much of his family are buried.  Just outside the chapel, maybe fifteen feet from where the remains of his master lie in rest, is the burial place of Traveled, General Lee's favorite horse.  I took just a peek inside the chapel.  There was no one else inside save a lady seated up front who was obviously an employee. They offer unscheduled guided tours, but I didn't want to be the only one, so I ducked out and visited the museum on the basement level.  There, the nice lady tried to sell me Douglas Southall Freeman's seven volume biography of George Washington.  The books were in excellent condition and could be had for only five hundred dollars.  Not having that much cash on me at that particular time, I settle for some post cards and walk away having spent only two dollars.

John Neel, Sergeant Major to the
Corps of Cadets, Virginia Military Institute

The real reason I made the stop at Lexington, however, was not to sightsee; it was to visit with an old friend, John Neel.

A Month at Fort Belvoir

Near the front gate at Fort Belvoir

Every now and then, one's professional life leads to unexpected events or at least certain events that are out of the ordinary.  One learns to face these with equanimity knowing that, on balance, they tend to add interest to the time and value to the resume.  Recently, a mandatory training requirement led me to have to spend four weeks 450 miles from home in Virginia, enrolled in the Force Management Course at the Army's Force Management School at Fort Belvoir.  Having already written several posts on the course itself, let me spend this one in relating how I endured the long time away from home.

Of course, on such an extended trip, I had to do my own grocery shopping, laundry, and ironing.  It was a challenge but, once I got a rhythm going, it was a lot easier than I expected.  I ate a lot of oatmeal and Ramen noodles, but it wasn't bad.  The laundry room was in the basement, just one floor down from me, right under my room actually.  I could hear the the washers in their spin cycles if I was quiet enough.  I expected a crowd and to have to wait a long time but that never happened.  My ironing routine was just like at home, except that instead of Connie doing my shirts it was me.

Army Force Management School

Army Force Management School

My turn has finally come to take the four-week Force Management Course at the Army's Force Management School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

What a way to spend an April.  Death by PowerPoint.  Happily, the first two days are in the can.  Not that bad.  Only eighteen more to go.

For the duration, I am quartered in Knadle Hall, a transient billeting facility within walking distance of the school.  It's no Hampton Inn, but it's survivable.

7th Annual Tactical C4 Conference & Exposition 2011, April 19-21, Atlanta, GA

Brigadier General Brian Donahue
speaking at last year's conference

The Tactical C4 Conference offers an opportunity for experts and leaders from across the Army to address various sides of the tough, controversial issues facing the Army's tactical signal community. The
conference aims to build solutions and create future "road maps" while
providing a unique opportunity for differing opinions and positions to
be expressed and debated.

This year's theme, "ARFORGEN for joint and coalition full spectrum operations," addresses how the tactical C4 community will conduct full spectrum operations within the context of the Army Force Generation (ARFORGEN) Model.  The ARFORGEN process aims to provide combatant commanders and civil authorities with a steady supply of trained and ready units that are task-organized in modular expeditionary force packages and tailored to joint mission requirements.

Who Should Attend?  

New Digs

At work, a cieling pipe burst over the weekend and flooded the room that houses our cubicle farm.  Yesterday, people reported to work only to find themselves sloshing in and out and between cubes.  The leadership had to relocate 20 people.  Fortunately, I had yesterday off.  But by this morning, though the water had dissipated, the carpet was still soaked and the place was beginning to stink.

Five Hundred and Seventy-Three, Point Seven Miles

Home of the Famous Pork Chop Sandwich

And three nights.

(Spent the weekend in Mount Airy, NC.)

Stayed with Mom so she wouldn't have to be in the house by herself.  Four and a half hours going up and the same coming back.  Saw Jack on Sunday and John's old friends at Ocie's on Saturday and Monday mornings.  Mom wanted to stay in the house for a few days before driving to a couple of doctor's appointments later in the week.

Police showed up shortly after we got the house.  Said neighbors had reported seeing a strange car in the driveway (point taken that I have not visited often enough) and lights on in the house.  All the attention made Mom very happy.

Sat outside Saturday afternoon on Mom's deck doing my homework. Background music was provided by Mom's chimes (couple of times I thought it was the doorbell, but it was just the chimes), the mooing cows down the hill, some far away dogs barking, and the occasional throat clearing screech of a buzzard.  I got a lot of work done.  And a serious allergy attack afterwards.

Sampled some of the local cuisine.  Ocie's for breakfast twice.  A ground steak sandwich at Aunt Bea's.  A banana sundae at the Bluebird Diner (with Mom; she just had a bowl of chocolate ice cream).  Barbecue at Little Richards.  And a Texas Rib Eye at the Lone Star.  I can report that eating out has not gone out of style in Mount Airy.

Mom and I saw sixteen wild turkeys prancing through the front yard Sunday afternoon, but by then I wasn't all that hungry.

Got a haircut Saturday after breakfast.  Went to the Palace barbershop where I used to go ... thirty years ago.  Same guy's still cutting hair.  Apparently, he's still good at it because the shop was full.  Too full for me to wait.  (I couldn't wait to get back and listen to those cows.)  So I went to Floyd's (two chairs, no waiting) and was in and out in fifteen minutes.

Drove Mom's car all over the town trying to hear the "noise" she swore she still heard after spending big bucks down here in Augusta at the Toyota dealer's.  I took it up hill, down hill, curves to the left and curves to the right, started, stopped, parked, braked hard and braked soft, donuts left and right, and still ... no noise.  But Mom wouldn't believe me, so she took me for a spin.  Now, I admit I was a bit scared, at first, to get in the car with her behind the wheel.  On Friday night we had rendezvoused at the Citgo station on U.S. 601 so she could follow me to the house.  Not even halfway home she started following someone else and I had to drive like Batman to catch up and maneuver back in front of her.  (Sunday afternoon, as I was telling all this to Jack, Mom said she knew where I was the whole time).  But on the test drive, with me riding shotgun, she drove like a pro.  I was impressed.

But there was no noise.

And I told Jack, she's OK for daytime driving (she's driven to Augusta and to Durham by herself), but don't let her get near a car after sundown.  And Lord help us if Obamacare forces doctors to start scheduling nighttime appointments.

What a Picture is Worth (Thank You Mrs. Hawks!)

Jessie Simmons Allred 79th birthday in [somebody's] backyard on Allred Mill Rd. in 1998. [From L to R] Yvonne, John, Ruth, Jessie, Zola and Larry...Charlie's feet.

Just came across this picture while surfing Facebook.  I Saw where Ellen had commented on it (John's cousin, Jane Hawks had posted it).  Of course, when you look at an old picture you remember all sorts of things.  Here are some of the first things that come to mind

My Introduction to my History Class

The following is my introduction to the class of an online history course I am taking. The course is Research Methods in History. Supposedly, we will learn all about what historians do for a living. The school is American Public University.

Greetings, 

My name is Tony Howard and I am a civilian employee at the US Army Signal Center at Fort Gordon, GA. I am originally from North Carolina, but after 23 years in the Army, Fort Gordon is where I ended up, so my wife and decided to settle down in Augusta, Georgia.

I had a lot of memorable experiences in the Army, but what stands out most are my experiences overseas. We particularly enjoyed Germany—I did three tours there—two in the south and one in the north. I was serving in a unit on the East-West border in 1989 when the Berlin Wall opened up. We also spent some time in Izmir, Turkey—and were there when 9/11 happened. Travelling was what I enjoyed best about the Army.

Fort Jackson Visit

Outside the classrooms at the Army Recruiting
and Retention School, Soldier Support Institute,
Fort Jackson, SC.

Had the privilege today of attending the graduation of Adjutant General Warrant Officer Basic Course Class #01-11 at the Soldier Support Institute at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.  What was so cool about it was that one the graduates was W01 Scott E. Walker.  I was Scott's recruiter.

I put Scott in boots about thirteen years ago for a two-year stint as an Airborne Infantry Soldier.  At the time, I was working out of the Gloversville, New York Armed Forced Recruiting Center, which belonged to the Albany Recruiting Company, Albany Recruiting Battalion, 2nd Recruiting Brigade.  Scott, who hails from Fort Hunter, NY; population 75, give or take, was a senior at Fonda-Fultonville Central School in Fonda, NY; population about 150.

Scott made the Commandant's List and was the only class member to receive the Commandant's Certificate and Coin of Excellence. He also received an award for outstanding physical fitness.

My mother made the trip with me. She's here visiting from North Carolina. After the ceremony, we "toured" the Army Recruiting and Retention School.  Basically, we looked at a few pictures on the walls. I went through that distinguished institution in 1996 and nothing has changed since then.

W01 Walker receiving his WOBC diploma and
Commandant's Certificate and Coin of Excellence.

In fact, back in '96, my recruiting class held its graduation in this very same auditorium.  It's a lot smaller than I remembered it.  But everything else in the building almost seemed untouched from when I was there as a student.

Mom and I met Scott's wife, Chrystal.  She had flown down from New York.  Once Scott got his DA Form 1059, the two of them were to drive back home.

After it was all over, Mom and I drove back to Augusta.  But on the way we stopped at Exit #58, in Lexington, SC, and had lunch at a Fatz Cafe.  It was great.  All in all, it was a very nice day away from work.

What I Am Learning About Grief, Part II

It’s been two whole weeks since Jack called me at 2:02 p.m., on Christmas Day, and left a message on my phone.  I don’t think Jack has ever called me before.  We’ve always kept track of each other through Mom and John.  Sometimes our paths crossed when visiting at Mom’s or Grandma’s at the same time.  For sure, our telephone conversations have been so rare that Jack felt he had to identify himself.  In his message, he said this is “Jack, Jack Edinger.”  As if I wouldn't know who "Jack" was!

His message was:  “Sorry to call you on Christmas, but I’ve got very bad news … something happened last night, Mom’s OK, but we need to talk to you.” 

What I Am Learning About Grief

This past Christmas, I experienced the loss of two family members.  My stepfather and my brother died on Christmas Eve.  Their deaths were sudden, violent, and tragic.  My stepfather was murdered by my brother who was later shot dead by police.  Immediate contributing factors were, we believe, my brother’s manic depressiveness and abuse of alcohol and methamphetamines, all of which doubtlessly exacerbated his reaction to criticism of his cooking skills: (it was an squabble over burnt “tater tots” which precipitated the “family dispute” which rapidly escalated, first to Mike’s physical assault of my mother, then of my stepfather, and finally to his resorting to the use of a gun as a final solution to the quarrel).   Events from Mike’s early childhood, the divorce of his parents, for example, and some of his experiences in day care, may have distantly or indirectly influenced his mindset and behavior.  Exactly what led him to react so violently and to murder his adopted father, whom he loved, and to resist police intervention by the extreme measure of firing at them, we may never fully comprehend.  In the wake of these two deaths, as word spread and as the family gathered, I heard mentioned several times about this thing called grief and the “grieving process.” 

Something more easily felt than explained, grief was in the air.  One could literally feel it. It was on the lips of family members.  It was the topic of pastoral counseling.  We all felt it, we still feel it, and probably will continue to feel it for quite some time.  Now that the funeral has passed, my thoughts have turned to examining just what it is, this grief.

Postcards

My postcard box

For some reason today I went through this old shoebox I've kept for years full of postcards from my travels.  Once I got started, it was impossible to stop.  I went through them all, even reading those that had been through the mail.

Ruedesheim am Rhein

I haven't traveled much since retiring from the Army, but I've been to a lot of places.  The cards sort of document my travels.  In Germany, I visited places like Ruedesheim on the Rhine.  That was a place accessible on the Rhein cruises.  But I think we drove there more often.  The quintessential Rheinland-Pfalz town.  Just made for postcards.

The bridge house in Bad Kreuznach

Bad Kreuznach was the first German town I ever experienced.  I was stationed there in the early '80s, employed by the 232nd Signal Company (headquartered in Worms), 102nd Signal Battalion (headquartered in Frankfurt). My barracks were on the old hospital kaserne which, I understand, no longer exists.  I worked shifts in a Defense Information Systems Agency (back when it was called the Defense Communications Agency) communications station--a microwave/technical control facility--on the top of Cow Hill (Kuberg).  I remember climbing the antenna tower one New Years' Eve (highly unauthorized) to view the town's fireworks display.  Nearby locals were also shooting their own, and they seemed to be aiming for my antenna tower!  So I didn't stay up for as long as I would have liked.

About a year and a half after leaving BK, I returned to Germany, this time to Helmstedt, in Niedersachsen, and this time with a family.  We had one daughter when we got there and two when we left.  In Helmstedt, I worked at the Helmstedt Support Detachment, a unit of the 6/40th Armor Battalion, Berlin Brigade.  We traveled to so many places from Helmstedt--to Berlin, of course, and to nearby small towns, to Schoeningen, to Koenigslutter, to Celle and Wolfsburg, to Braunschweig and Hannover, and to the Harz Mountains.  We were at Helmstedt when, on the night of November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell and all the travel restrictions between East and West Germany were overcome by events.  Out town was flooded, absolutely flooded with East German cars, little light-blue Trabants, or "Trabbies" as they were called.  We traveled to Dusseldorf, to Frankfurt am Main, and to Heilbronn, down in Bavaria.  We rode the duty train from Helmstedt to Frankfurt and back.  From Frankfurt, I connected to Heilbronn to visit friends there.  We also visited Switzerland once, and Liechtenstein, and I made a trip or two to Rotterdam, in Holland.

Taukkunnen Kaserne in Worms

Within six months of the Berlin Wall falling, we learned that our little detachment would deactivate.  I was sent a few months later to Worms, about a six hour drive to the south.  I worked at the headquarters of the 5th Signal Command on the old Taukkunnen Kaserne.  We spent three years in Worms and did quite a bit of traveling.  Our longest trips were to Berchesgaden, deep in southern Bavaria, and to Austria, and to Holland. The German towns we visited included Karlsruhe, Mannheim, Speyer, all the little villages along the Rhein and the Deutche Weinstrasse, Kaiserslautern (or K-town, as the Americans called it), and Ramstein, and many others.

On James 1:19

Some years back, in a little church we were attending at the time, I learned something.  It was a Sunday evening service, typical of so many, and we came at length to the point in the service where it was time for the preaching.  A text was taken--Hebrews 5:8, if my notes are to be believed, "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the tings which he suffered:"  But no sermon followed.  My, what an occasion it would have been to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ using that text as an opening.  But instead, it what had become a sad pattern over a stretch of weeks, the pastor asked each member of the congregation to give his or her own comments upon the verse.  And so we went around the room and heard this silly notion and that, this half opinion, and that educated guess.  We went home unedified.  We almost always went home that way.

Richlands, North Carolina 28574

When I was a boy, I spent part of each summer with my grandparents.  They lived out in the country, we used to  say, in a little one-story white house on an old, two-lane road that connected NC Highway 24 with US Highway 258, in a community known as Haw Branch.  The place was 20 miles or so from Jacksonville, in one direction, and about 30 miles from Kinston, going the other way.  The nearest town was Richlands. At the junction of that two-lane road and US Highway 258, there was a sign with an arrow pointing south, indicating that Richlands lay five miles in that direction.  Back then, all these roads were flanked by tobacco fields, dense forests, the odd house or two, tobacco barns, and more tobacco fields.