OLDNAVYMCPO
US Veteran, Absent Comrade
Last month's issue of The American Rifleman had an article on the Cold War in Germany and the troops and weapons involved. This brought to mind my inadvertent involvement in that conflict even though I was just a kid.
In 1951, my father was a US Army Captain stationed in Germany. He was a Battery Commander of a 90mm AA battery of the 552 Field Artillery. The family accompanied him within a few months. At first we lived in a little German town called Durlach. We were one of only a few American families there. I was only eight years old when we first arrived. We lived in a large, old house, far grander than we could have afforded on my father's salary. The house had been "liberated" from a high ranking Nazi. The house property encompassed a large vineyard and many fruit trees. There was also a substantial garden. Behind our property was a privately owned nursery that was not operational, an open field to a large extent.
American dependent children were required to have ID cards and wear dog tags at all times. We attended an American school in Karlsruhe. The town was pretty well bombed out and much of it was off limits to Americans because of anti-American sentiments.
We had a German housekeeper whose husband had been captured by the Russians on the Eastern Front. Although he was executed almost immediately, the Russians extorted money from her to supposedly provide for his welfare. Bertha lived with us and was a very caring person. She was very proud of her position and "showed off" her charges at every opportunity. She taught each of us kids to speak fluent German. She had very anti-Nazi feelings and was opinionated and outspoken. There existed in Germany a very pro-Hitler faction among the youth. This caused complications because Bertha would get into arguments with members of the pro-Hitler group. I overheard many of these arguments as the others didn't know I understood the language. Bertha's family lived in a surviving portion of a bombed out apartment building in the "off limits" portion of Karlsruhe. One night on her way to our house, Bertha was attacked and brutally slashed and stabbed by her antagonists. She made it to our house where my mother found her trying to stitch her wounds. The MPs and local police were called and Bertha was hospitalized. We never saw her again. Shortly thereafter, a gang of pro-Hitler youths attacked our home one night while my Father was away on a field exercise. Again the MPs and police were called and camped out at our house for days.
It was during this period that I was befriended by young man (20's). This was highly unusual because there were very few young men in Germany at that time due to war casualties. He also spoke very educated English without slang of any kind. He had no job and no visible means of support. He lived in the nursery area behind our property in a travel trailer with a woman. He claimed to be an artist although I only ever saw one drawing.
He, my younger brother and I would go on long hikes together and spend many hours at his trailer visiting. He claimed to not have fought in the war but without explanation of how that was possible. He frequently gave me gifts of stamps for my collection or sometimes German uniform items. He once gave me a Hitler Youth knife. He often visited my house and would try and engage my father in political discussions.
I didn't learn until I became an adult that this man and his wife/ girlfriend were not Germans but Russian spies. My father had suspected this early on and had reported them to Army intel. CID had purposely encouraged this friendship while the spies were under observation and investigation. They were both later arrested and I never saw them again.
So inadvertently I played a role in the Cold War.
In 1951, my father was a US Army Captain stationed in Germany. He was a Battery Commander of a 90mm AA battery of the 552 Field Artillery. The family accompanied him within a few months. At first we lived in a little German town called Durlach. We were one of only a few American families there. I was only eight years old when we first arrived. We lived in a large, old house, far grander than we could have afforded on my father's salary. The house had been "liberated" from a high ranking Nazi. The house property encompassed a large vineyard and many fruit trees. There was also a substantial garden. Behind our property was a privately owned nursery that was not operational, an open field to a large extent.
American dependent children were required to have ID cards and wear dog tags at all times. We attended an American school in Karlsruhe. The town was pretty well bombed out and much of it was off limits to Americans because of anti-American sentiments.
We had a German housekeeper whose husband had been captured by the Russians on the Eastern Front. Although he was executed almost immediately, the Russians extorted money from her to supposedly provide for his welfare. Bertha lived with us and was a very caring person. She was very proud of her position and "showed off" her charges at every opportunity. She taught each of us kids to speak fluent German. She had very anti-Nazi feelings and was opinionated and outspoken. There existed in Germany a very pro-Hitler faction among the youth. This caused complications because Bertha would get into arguments with members of the pro-Hitler group. I overheard many of these arguments as the others didn't know I understood the language. Bertha's family lived in a surviving portion of a bombed out apartment building in the "off limits" portion of Karlsruhe. One night on her way to our house, Bertha was attacked and brutally slashed and stabbed by her antagonists. She made it to our house where my mother found her trying to stitch her wounds. The MPs and local police were called and Bertha was hospitalized. We never saw her again. Shortly thereafter, a gang of pro-Hitler youths attacked our home one night while my Father was away on a field exercise. Again the MPs and police were called and camped out at our house for days.
It was during this period that I was befriended by young man (20's). This was highly unusual because there were very few young men in Germany at that time due to war casualties. He also spoke very educated English without slang of any kind. He had no job and no visible means of support. He lived in the nursery area behind our property in a travel trailer with a woman. He claimed to be an artist although I only ever saw one drawing.
He, my younger brother and I would go on long hikes together and spend many hours at his trailer visiting. He claimed to not have fought in the war but without explanation of how that was possible. He frequently gave me gifts of stamps for my collection or sometimes German uniform items. He once gave me a Hitler Youth knife. He often visited my house and would try and engage my father in political discussions.
I didn't learn until I became an adult that this man and his wife/ girlfriend were not Germans but Russian spies. My father had suspected this early on and had reported them to Army intel. CID had purposely encouraged this friendship while the spies were under observation and investigation. They were both later arrested and I never saw them again.
So inadvertently I played a role in the Cold War.
