DARMSTADT DAYS (Part Two)

Despite all these customs and many more not mentioned, the German people were very kind to us during our stay in their country. We were on a fixed budget and funds were scarce. Our German neighbors across the street were throwing out their couch and matching couch chair and put it out in the street for the garbage truck to pick up. We had no couch or couch chair and I knocked on their door to ask if we might have the set instead of the garbage man. It took a little body language charades to make our selves understood but when they finally figured out what we were saying, they not only said we could have the furniture but also helped us move it into our house.

Later, we purchased a VW bus from a departing American military family, who had purchased it from another military family. The first time I brought it to the German dealership to get the annual inspection done, the auto clerk showed me a history of all the things that had been fixed on that vehicle, in the years that it had been owned by different GI's. "Ja," he said, "Das ist gut genuch, a very expezive boose." (Yes, that is good enough, a very expensive bus.) After which all of his fellow German companions laughed. German law would only permit us to have our vehicles repaired at authorized dealerships and they definitely had Americans over a barrel. We paid what they asked in repairs, registration, licensing and taxes or we walked. That old VW bus took us all over Germany. One trip that really impressed me was our Rhein River Cruise. The scenery on both sides of the River as we chug -a -chugged through the water was amazing. We saw vineyards on the side of hills, that were at almost a 45 degree angle, in the slopes above, old castles used by leading countrymen of centuries past, shops & restaurants that sold curios and cuisine of rare and unusual quality.

We rented our duplex unfurnished but that word, "unfurnished," does not mean the same thing in Germany as it does in the States. For instance, an unfurnished German kitchen contains, no sink, no cabinets, no light fixtures, just a hole in the wall for the water pipes to come thru and a few 220 volt outlets for electrical use. If you have stateside appliances, you must purchase transformers to step down the current for your 110 volt machines. Transformers were very costly. If you buy German appliances that take 220 volts, what are you going to do with them when you head back Stateside?

We had to purchase a kitchen sink, a refrigerator, a stove, storage cabinets and light fixtures. As might be imagined, this was very expensive and we had to install them ourselves. It was time consuming and a little complicated, because most of the fixtures were German or Deutsch, in manufacture and were not as common to assemble as the American fixtures of which we were accustomed. Each bedroom required a "shrunk" or German put together, box closet, for hanging clothes. The two bathrooms required sinks and light fixtures. Fortunately commodes were provided.

Still, we were told that all this was just a temporary expense, for when we returned back to the States in three years, we could just sell them to whomever rented the place after we left. How could we know that the person we turned over the rental to would have a German wife, with her own fixtures and so forth and that she would want us to uninstall everything so that she could put her things where she wanted. Three years later, we gave away almost all the expenses we incurred in moving in because, by the time we found out about the new renters, it was too late to sell any thing. Sigh!

Once we got settled in, we began to establish a routine for living in our new area. The kids went on base to Department of Defense (DOD) schools, (where fights on the bus and poor instruction were not uncommon). I assumed my role as an aircraft maintenance instructor and Jean stayed mostly at home, except for two nights a week. On those two nights, she worked from 6PM till midnight, stocking shelves at the base commissary. She used the money she earned from that job to fund shopping and sightseeing trips to places all over Europe. Sometimes I went along but mostly she took our kids or friends or relatives that visited.

Our family became deeply involved in the Darmstadt Serviceman's LDS Ward and made a lot of new friends. We were starkly understaffed at work, fifteen people, trying to do the job of twenty-five, so my time off was limited. Not only that, but I was also tasked to provide training to bases at other European stations in England, Portugal and German sites. This temporary duty or TDY took me away from my family, something that I never enjoyed.

After we had been in Darmstadt about three months, I was informed by my boss that we were being reassigned to Ramstein AB, about 70 miles southwest of us. Why? We had just got settled in to our duplex and at great expense. I had just finished a six month school away from my family to qualify for my orders to Rhein Main. Why was the Air Force moving us? My boss didn't know, just something about me being needed there. I began to make inquires, via long distance phone calls, with my bosses permission, to our headquarters in Texas, as to the reason. I was told that they were transferring squadrons of OV-10 aircraft to Ramstein and they needed me to set up training there. I indicated that I had no OV-10 training, so how could I possibly train others? Besides the OV-10 was a small, two engine turboprop aircraft. All my aircraft had jet engines, my specialty, I had no turboprop experience.

No problem they said. I would be sent to Ramstein to get hands on experience with some OV-10s already there. An instructor on that base would then train me on the aircraft operation prior to his returning stateside. It would mean I would be gone TDY for at least 30 days. My family was devastated. I tried to get my orders changed, citing the expense and inconvenience to my loved ones, I wrote letters of justification to headquarters, but to no avail. Finally, there attitude was, you have your orders, now go or go to the guardhouse. My family and I were crushed emotionally, but we resigned ourselves to the new demand. What else could we do? I went to the school, was away from my family for about two weeks when I was talking to a jet engine tech friend of mine and told him my situation.

He said he didn't understand. All the OV-10s were being phased out and sent Stateside to George AFB in Victorville, California. Why was I needed at Ramstein? I wanted to know if he was sure of his information. He was not only sure but was involved in the transfer and gave me the details. I took down the information and called headquarters. By now they knew my name well, and looked at me as an agitator, not a good position to be in. I gave them the new information and they said they would check on it but doubted that I had my facts straight.

The next day they called me back and said that the OV-10s were indeed going to California. They blamed the information mix up on their higher command. I was told to leave the school, in the middle of the training and return to Rhein Main and resume my normal duties. No apologies were offered since it wasn't "their" fault. No, "excuse me," for putting myself and my family through emotional strain, and unnecessary heartache, just go back to your home base and leave us alone. If I had not met my friend at school, who knows how long I would have had to be separated from my family for nothing. This is not an unusual story and instead is very typical of the kind of mental gymnastics military life can put you through. (End of Part Two)