It had been over 30 years since I last saw Germany. I served from March, 1959 to May, 1962 in Bad Hersfeld with G Company, later I Troop. I also participated in the Reforger exercise in 1963 out of Fort Riley. I was with Recon Platoon, Combat Supt. Co., 1st Battle Gp., 28th Infantry for 2 months in Wildflecken and 4 months in Berlin where I got to patrol the Wall. Finally I spent a year (1966-1967) studying German at the university in Giessen.

I had a "connection" with Germany and a lot of good memories. When my wife Linda and I heard about the planned reunion on the border we wanted to go. Linda had never been to Europe. We immediately bought tickets and although the reunion was cancelled we decided to "carry on".

We spent almost 4 weeks in Europe from May 8 to June 2. We saw Amsterdam, Northern Germany, Southern Denmark, Berlin, Prague and the area near Bad Hersfeld.

View of fence & Hansteiu Castle, Hersfeld area.

In Berlin much had changed. The East is full of new construction. There are only a few remnants of the Wall left. We visited The House at Checkpoint Charlie and the Allied Museum, both great stops for old troopers and history buffs. I remembered West Berlin as being generally very friendly towards GIs. There was a special atmosphere to the city, an island of freedom in a sea of hostility. Now with the Cold War over and the Wall down it seems to be just another big city.

House formerly diveded by border near Phillipsthal, Hersfeld area.

We spent about a week near my old duty station. Of course the very first thing we did was drive up to the "kaserne". The buildings were all there and mostly functioning as offices these days. There is little or no trace of the 14th's former presence, although one building carries a picture of the 11th Cav's insignia. I pointed out to Linda the windows of the room I'd lived in for almost 3 years.

We decided to save a bit of money, so we drove towards the border through quiet villages with half-remembered names: Sorga, Malkomes, Schenksolz, finally getting a Bed & Breakfast in Schenklengsfeld for only 36 Euros a night. Our second evening in Hersfeld we met with Barbara and Ron Kent. Ron was in HQ Troop, his service overlapping 2 of the 3 years I was in Bad Hersfeld. We had a great time corroborating each other's "tall tales" to our wives. "See, Honey, I was telling the truth. That's exactly the way it happened!"

Joe Michaud & Ron Kent at East German Border Museum "Schifflers Grund" June 2 or 3.

The next day we drove to Bad Sooden-Allendorf, to an East German Border Museum. This was well done with pictorial displays of the history of the border as well as examples of People's Army uniforms, equipment and other realia. Outside was a nice selection of Eastern Bloc vehicles including a Soviet chopper. There was also a guard tower, a prefabbed bunker and a section of fence. The people running it were friendly and informative. I was able to buy a number of books about the border that you can't get in the States.

Post Card from E. German Border Museum " Schifflers Grund", Hersfeld area.

The following day we drove out to the Philipsthal/Vaca sector of the 3rd Sqdn's border area. We had formerly had an LP/OP on a height overlooking Vacha. Actually the fence ran right by our position. This was an interesting area because right at the west end of an old stone bridge that spanned the Werra River, the border had split a house in two, one part in the West, the other in the East. Also in this area there was a particular problem with family and friends congregating along the fence to talk to each other. This was solved by building a stretch of wall to block their view.

1. View of fence, 10 meter strip & vehicle access road from Eastern Side, near Bad Sooden-Allendorf.

2. E. German Guard tower near Vacha, Hersfeld area.

Later that day we drove to the Point Alpha Border Museum near Rasdorf (Fulda Area). There we met with retired Colonel Al Wilder and his wife Jacalin. COL Wilder was a former XO of the 14th, and served as 3rd Squadron Commander after the reflagging. The museum also had nice displays inside the buildings including a sampling of old Border Certificates. Outside were vehicles, a stretch of fence, an East German guard tower, a bunker and American observation tower with a great view of the beautiful hills and woods of Hessia & Thuringia. The only disappointment was that there was almost no information about the 14th AC's service in this area. "Hey, we were there first!"

Stretch of wall by Vacha/Phillipsthal, Hersfeld area.

It is inevitable that one would have mixed feelings seeing all this after so many years. First there was the "blast from the past", the nostalgia for the "good old days"of our youth. Then there was a sense of pride for having served for a time for the good of others, for our country and for the free world. There was also a bit of sadness that those days were gone and you can't really go back to them. Finally I was left with a great sense of impermanence. The border stood for so many years, a concrete reality at the time, separating people, a constant point of contention between East & West, and then in a flash it was gone and now there is hardly a trace of it remaining, almost as if it had never been there. All things pass.

Business card of Border Museum in Bad Sooden-Allendorf

From left: Floyd Paseman, Jim Schroeder, Bill Tilt, Curt Von Kann, Bill Wray, Joe Donnelly

From left: Bill Tilt (K, troop), Bill Wray (I), Bill Murphy (I) Curt Von Kann (I), Joe Donnelly (L), Jim Schroeder (M)

From left: Curt Von Kann, Joe Donnelly, (Standing) Hans Duerr (giving a brief summary of his 30 year Military Career), David Shea (I Troop)

From left: Floyd Paseman, Sqdn Commo Officer (Organizer of first reunion) Curt Von Kann (giving a brief summary of activities since leaving Bad Hersfeld in the early 1960's), Joe Donnelly, Hans Duerr