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You Don't See One Of Those Everyday
Last night, after the editing wrangle and finally getting the last article posted, MC and I were doing a little reminiscing about Patch Barracks and the atmosphere there. She remembered the looks on the senior officers faces when they were out in public, a kind of deer-in-the-headlights combined with a what-the-hell-is-going-on look. I mentioned how many generals were there, but there were literally dozens of Major/Lt Commander, Lt Colonel/Commander, and Colonel/Captain ranks in the headquarters as well. Most soldiers don't have much contact with generals. They are a scary unknown to the average GI. So the GIs on Patch were equally skittish, trying to avoid all that brass.
A good friend of ours came to Patch from command of a fast attack submarine. He was a Navy Commander and when at sea, he was "god" on the ship. When he arrived at Patch he was shown to his office, which he shared with three other field grade officers; it was not much bigger than the average living room and stuffed with four desks. He was informed right away by his office-mates that the new guy had to make the coffee. All of those field grades and senior officers had been commanders of hundreds of men before they came to their new jobs on the EUCOM staff; it was a place that was rough on the ego. They had lived in a world where the comment, "I feel like having a hamburger" would be met by a flurry of activity as some support staff dashed out to find a fresh hamburger. At Patch the comment would most often be met with, "Sounds good; get me one while you're out, okay?"
I shared with MC the legendary story of the young Lieutenant who was assigned to the Signal company on Patch. a lieutenant is the equivalent of a PFC with signing authority. Lieutenants like to be officers and be saluted and all, but mostly they are in training to become officers. In packs they do have a strong survival instinct, but individually they tend towards uncertainty, especially in the presence of higher authorities. This particular LT was sent on an errand to the Command Center, some signal-type business. It was rare to see LTs out in public at Patch, especially in daylight.
Well, anyway, this lieutenant came into my office with that after-action look: shaky hands, sweaty brow and upper lip, rapid breathing, and incoherent speech. Or maybe he was always like that; I don't know, I had never met him before. I asked him if he was all right and offered him a seat. He told me he had been walking down the street on his way to my office when he was physically grabbed by a full colonel. The LT was shocked. The Colonel dragged him into the J-4/7 Directorate building and ordered him to come along as he pulled him up the stairs to the second floor and down the hall to the Director's office. There was another Colonel in the anteroom and they both took the LT into the two-star general's office. The first Colonel addressed the general: "Look what I found...it was just walking around loose on the sidewalk out front! I haven't seen one of these in ages!" The general stood up behind his deskas the LT awkardly tried to salute and report with the Colonel hanging onto his arm. The general knit his brow and pushed his head forward in concentration, then bellowed, "By Gosh! That is a lieutenant! What's it doing here?" The three senior officers whooped and laughed and completely ignored the LT for a protracted moment; then the first colonel turned to the the LT and said, "Get out of here!"
The LT ran, I mean he actually RAN out of the building and across the street to my office. I got him directed to the office he was supposed to be in and sent him on his way. My boss was an Air Force Colonel and later I told him about the LT. I said I should have held onto the LT long enough for my boss to see him, too. But the boss just shrugged and said, "Eh...I've seen a lieutenant before."
The funniest part of this story is that I never saw that LT again; in fact, I didn't see hardly any lieutenants again, even though I knew there were a few of them stationed at Patch. I think the story must have gotten around.
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You were lucky indeed. Stuttgart and helicopters with no fences? Must be Echterdingen Air Field...a little south of town...Echterdingen share runways with Stuttgart International. Panzer had a heliport, I think, and Nelligen may have had a helipad, but parking and openess sounds like the Stuttgart Military Airfield...at Echterdingen. What did ya learn? |
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I learned that he was at Nelligen and they moved over to Stuttgart Airfield later on. My son & DIL lived in Neckartenzlingen. I learned that Germans with guard dogs patroled the perimeter. I also learned that my DIL would often bring a huge meal prepared by her Italian grandmother over for the guys, therefore the guards recognized her and we did not get shot or eaten by German Shepards. They also loved the cannoli's. My son thought your story about the Lt. was a hoot! He reminded me that he had driven me by Patch Barracks and explained to me what it was. So I learned that my memory is not as good as it used to be!
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We left Patch in 83 but were back in Ludwigsburg in 89 so your kid and me could maybe have been in the same area at the same time. I really liked it at Patch and my family and I loved the Stuttgart area. I'm glad you got to see it. |
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I went there for my son's wedding in October '89 so it is possible. It is a beautiful place and my son loved it there too. The people were warm and friendly. My other son married a girl from Frankfurt who was cold as ice. She made fun of the Swabins slang/accents and looked down on them. My son's explained to me it is like north and south here. My son stayed married to the iceburg for four years, but we didn't like her. Our little girl from Stuttgart was precious. Her father was German and her mother Sicilian. I am glad I got to see it too bfd. We drove and saw as many places as we could in the time I had there. |
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I spent almost fourteen years in Germany, spread out over almost thirty years...our whole family loved it. There are lots of "Ice Maidens" there, but generally speaking, our experience was one of being accepted and appreciated. In '89, on our last tour there, my sister and her family came over and we spent three weeks just touring and having a ball. Little Sister finally understood why we kept going back. She has been back over on tours several times since. October '89 I was in Ludwigsburg at Flak Kaserne, we lived in the military housing area called "Pattonville" there. Fun, wasn't it? Thanks. |
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I visited the same time you were there and took a tour of the Ludwigsburg Castle. But I fell in love with Neuschwanstein!!! A German film company was filming a Mickey Mouse movie when we went so didn't get a complete tour, but it was fun. I've got a picture of Mickey waving to us from a terrace. I have a miniature replica on the shelf with my cottage collection. I was only there for ten days, but wish it could have been longer! I can see why you loved living there so much. |
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One of the fun things about the Ludwigsburg Castle was the Marchengarten behind it, a fairytale playground with all kinds of cool things our little kids loved to play on...including our teenage little kids |
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Yes, that garden was spectacular! It was interesting, but I loved the beauty and peacefulness of Neuschwanstein for some reason. So many castles to see and so little time! lol |
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We always looked for the lesser known castles and towns, it seems like there is something cool around every corner. Sigh...making me homesick. |
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Man I loved that one BFD!!!! It was precious!!!! |
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Glad you liked it, it was very popular at the time among the star-class. :) |
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So many great stories you have to share. I enjoy the reads. Hello to MC! |
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Thanks, Sally. It's funny how these things pop up, with me anyway. I went through a couple of weeks where nothing came to mind, couldn't get cranking on anything. All the sudden, one story leads to another and off we go! Thanks for reading, Sally. Means a lot to me. MC says back atcha. |
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Great story BFG. Isn't it funny how cruel little stories like that get around and around. I think a twisted sense of humour is issued with the uniform isn't it? |
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Well, might be issued, but I have met many, many, many who must have been out getting a haircut when the sense of humor was issued! |
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Poor LT:( LMBO funny! |
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Thanks, Okie. Lieutenants have provided me with several chuckles over the years. Most of them grew up to be real people. |
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Yes, am sure they are real:) How funny! |
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Well, you know you have said in exasperation "that guy is unreal!" Right? |
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Right! |
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My pleasure...thanks for reading. |
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I love reading your posts! I am never disappointed, thank you for taking the time to post them:) Your one of my favs |
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That was funny. Thanks for posting. |
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My pleasure, thanks for reading. |
Funny story bfd! Also learned something I didn't know! My son was stationed at Stuttgart in the late 80's. I'm going to ask him where he was 'cuz I forgot! He worked on helicopters and I have a funny story too!
He was on evening shift and my daughter-in-law who is German/Italian and lived there decided to take him some dinner. I went with her since I was visiting and I invisioned driving through the gate and seeing the base even though it was 9 pm and dark.
Anyway, she parked the car on a road next to a field full of helicopters and we proceeded to walk across the field between the copters. I knew this was wrong and said something and she kept saying "Shhhh", don't make any noise. I was shaking in my drawers by the time we made it to the small building where the soldiers were and found my son.
My son escorted us back to the car after giving her a lecture to NEVER try that again as WE COULD HAVE BEEN SHOT!!! Obviously to our benefit, whoever was on guard duty wasn't! I'll bet no one could do that these days and live to talk about it!
This would have made a good post, but I didn't think about it.