Narrative

I got to West Germany in the summer of 1988. I was stationed in a little township called Buedingen about 45 kilometers northeast of Frankfurt almost right in the middle of West Germany.

I was with the 3rd Armored Division, the same division that was known for fighting in the Battle of the Bulge and that Elvis Presley was assigned to when he was in Germany.

The Berlin Wall was in place from August, 1961 through November, 1989 and was a physical representation of the division between East and West Germany.

Through an unexpected turn of events, I hear that the border was opened in November of 1989, and many East Germans started pouring through creating a massvie traffic jams at all of the border crossing points.

They entered mostly driving a Trabant, the East German automobile. Unfortunately, due to the poor quality of the car, I saw many of them broken down along the autobahn.

However, as I had learned to speak some German, we were able to share our experiences, not to mention a tasty pint or two of the local beer, in pubs like this one.

And I still remember the look of amazement in their eyes when I would describe an American supermarket. Something even Chancellor Angela Merkel talks about.

It's been almost 30 years since these experiences and they still touch my heart to this very day.