European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 17, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday september 17, 1977 the stars and stripes Page 9 paint Crew helps keep pm flying Vij. It. A of a 4?., t a r v mfr i la Dieter Schmidtke. Chief of paint team by Floyd Harrington Kaiserslautern Bureau chief Ramstein Germany is what would you consider a Job like painting a three foot wide White Stripe Down the Center of an 8,000-foot runway Boring you say what if the Job offers a lot of travel and temporary duty a Chance to see and hear the sights and sounds in North Africa Greece Turkey Spain England and Germany where s the Paintbrush you say. The Paintbrush or rather a specially designed and equipped paint truck belongs to Safe s 7002nd civil engineering flight at the air base Here. The truck is crewed by five of the flight s German workmen who volunteered for the Job of paint ing or repainting the stripes and markings on runways at about 20 Safe air bases each year. Maj. John c. Sowers commander of the 7002nd, said the truck was purchased by the air Force 13 years ago to save Money and take a Load off a base s civil  he explained that in earlier Days when a runway s markings began to fade were covered by rubber from the tires of Landing air Craft or had to be repainted on repaved runways the base would hire a civilian contractor to do the Job. If done by contractors the painting would Cost about $500, 000 a year. Our paint team does it for about $375,000 and that includes labor toy payments air transport and materials said Sowers a native of Seminole okla. Chief of the paint team is 41-year-old Dieter Schmidtke who left his Hometown of Neustadt near a Tybeck Germany in 1954 to work As a heavy equipment operator for the air Force Engi neers Here. In 1964 he was sent to Randolph fab tex., to learn How to operate the then new paint truck. He said i must say it s a Good piece of equipment it s paid off. At that time it Cost the air Force around $19,000. It would Cost at least twice that much to replace it now. Schmidtke said the truck has three paint tanks which hold a total of 450 Gallons of paint. The paint is sprayed onto the runway out of six nozzles at the rear of the truck. The nozzles can operate All at once or separately depending on the Width of the Stripe needed. He said the paint is heated to 100-105 degrees fahrenheit before being sprayed. A fourth tank on the truck holds 2,000 pounds of Glass beads which Are sprayed mixed with the paint out of six dispensers behind the paint nozzles. The beads reflect an aircraft s Landing lights so a Pilot can easily see the runway markings at night Schmidtke said. Another smaller tank holds cleaning solvent. The Crew chief said it takes about 1,200 Gallons of White paint 150 Gallons of yellow paint and seven tons of Glass beads to paint All the markings of an 8,000-foot runway. After the Job is finished 110 Gallons of cleaning solvent is run though the paint nozzles. To move the truck and supplies out of Germany requires the services of a c130 transport. Schmidtke said his Driver Hans thai has to drive the truck on and off the aircraft because most c130 Crew chiefs say it is too wide to fit. Thai has been driving the truck for 10 years and Schmidtke Calls him the most important Man on the Crew. He can keep the truck moving at the right Speed in a straight line and that in t always easy said Schmidtke. The three other Crew members Are Steven Stemmler Josep Woll and Robert Wolf. They help prepare the truck and runway for painting. When the team members Fly to a country such As Spain or England they stay there driving from one base to another until All the runways Are repainted. If their schedule permits the team will also repaint the lines on base roads. They have also been assigned to repaint runways on army airfields and Navy air stations. Earlier this year the team spent nearly two months painting runways in Spain then flew directly to England for another two months. Within three months i saw my family one weekend said Schmidtke. He added that the Long toy trips were making it difficult to keep volunteers on the team. They All think our Job is a Little bit like a vacation. When they do Volunteer for the Crew after awhile their wives get mad or they say it s getting too much i have a girl Friend. I want to stay Home on the other hand if you order someone to be in the Crew you never get the real work out of him said Schmidtke. When asked if after 13 years he too was t getting a Little tired of travelling Schmidtke perhaps recalling a memory from when he lived next to the Baltic sea said in one Way it s like the old Sailor. He always says he s going to stay ashore and not go Back to sea. But after a year of watching the ships go out he wants to go Back. That s the same with  successful quest for daughter German Caber ver unfolds a poignant Story by Mary e. Adams staff writer Giessen Germany is imprisoned because he dared to love a forbidden love. It sounds like a fairy tale or some thing out of a cheap paperback novel but it in t. Kasimir Panek a 57-year-old German cabdriver spent two years in a concentration Camp because he a slave labourer from Poland dared to receive and return the love of a German farm girl during hit Ler s reign. In 1940, like Many other Young polish men Panek was forced to come to the land of his conquerors while Germany s own Young men were trying to expand the nazi Empire. Fortunately for Panek he was As signed to a German family who treated him like their own  of course the fact that he saved the life of the Farmer s daughter certainly did t Hurt matters. When the then 22-year-old Kathy fell on a Sharp farm tool and Lay bleeding in a Field one Day the farmhand picked her up and carried her to the House. What might have been Only a minor attraction before soon turned into a full fledged storybook love. All was Fine for two years. Until the unmarried Kathy gave birth to a baby girl. Two weeks later Panek was arrested. With the Gestapo at the door the Young lovers hurriedly agreed to swear that Panek was not the father thinking that there would then be no Case against him. Taking him Down into the basement the Gestapo proceeded to alternately question and beat the unfortunate Panek upon the Back with a rubber stick until recalled Panek i was  Seattle mayor impressed by George Korda Heidelberg mayor Wes c. Uhlman of Seattle wash., said he was both impressed with America s Europe based army and concerned about the threat facing it. He made the remark after briefings at Usa eur he Here. Uhlman a lieutenant colonel in the army National guard and washing ton s judge advocate general listened As Usa eur officials explained the role of Usa eur and the threat to Western Europe posed by the russian dominated Warsaw pact countries. He also received a one hour specialized briefing on the military Justice system in Europe from Brig. Gen. Victor a. De Fiori Usa eur s top Legal officer. I was impressed with the size and efficiency of the forces in Europe Uhlman said. They appear ready to perform their Mission if required even though the Warsaw pact appears to have superiority Over nato in some  Uhlman said he was extraordinarily impressed with the operation of Usa eur s Legal office. The reputation of usareur1 s Legal operation is excellent so i wanted to see How it works first hand. I saw that pretrial confinement and waiting times for trials have been dramatically Cut Here he said. Anytime you can show improvements like those it s obvious you be got darn Good  Uhlman was in Europe after a visit to Seattle s sister City Beersheba Israel. The mayor headed a 29-member Dele gation from Seattle to Beersheba. After a week in Israel he and his family visited his ancestral Home in Switzerland. George Korda is an information specialist assigned to the Usa eur he Public affairs off ice realizing that torture was getting them nowhere with the stubborn Young Man they resorted to trickery. They convinced him that his girl Friend had already con fessed and so it was stupid and pointless for him to remain obstinate. They said you re so dumb " remembers Panek " the girl is upstairs and says yes you Are the father yet you let us hit you and still you say no " so he con fessed. Jailed for Only a Short time for her Refus Al to cooperate Kathy shunned by her parents went to a different Village to work and raise their love child Poldi. Left for 14 Days without food and then jailed for a year before being sent to a concentration Camp Poldi s father did not get off so lightly. Although he was not in a rough Camp like those for the jews Panek swears hell never forget if i live for 200  although the Camp which primarily consisted of polish prisoners May not have been the worst of its kind conditions still sound less than desirable. The food which usually consisted of bread and cooked weeds was so bad said Panek with a wry smile that you could t live on it and you could t die on  the prisoners often took advantage of the Many air alerts using them As a Chance to steal some real food from the germans Kitchen and storerooms. For while the guards took cover from the Allied bombers overhead the prison ers scurried freely about the grounds knowing they had Only their lives to lose. When you re hungry said Panek you just Don t  in May of 1945, with the Allied troops on their heels the germans retreated and abandoned Camp after Camp one of which contained Panek. Although they had been ordered shot if the allies got too close the prisoners Man aged to escape when Germany s surrender was obviously inevitable. Hidden in a basement in a nearby Vil Lage for two Days Panek emerged Only when he saw the Small streets of routers Kirchen overflow with Allied tanks. In 1948 he came to Giessen and got a Job driving a cab. It was then that he made his first attempt since Captivity to get in touch with Kathy. His letter was answered by her brother. Apparently Kathy was convinced that Panek had been executed for their open disobedience of the Laws of German purity. Please leave Kathy alone wrote her brother. She is happily married now with other  so Panek temporarily forgot about her and the daughter he had not seen since infancy. In 1951, Panek married the then 27-year old Elli from East Germany. After three years of a Happy but childless marriage Panek with the help and encouragement of Elli tried to locate his Long lost Daugh Ter Poldi. Nearly five years passed before they were finally successful in their search. Having received a warm Welcome from Kathy her husband and their four additional children Panek was satisfied to just visit the then 14-year-old Poldi. Since then Panek and Elli have annually visited the Small Village where the now married Poldi lives with her husband and Panek s Only grandchild. And that s the end of the Story he says with an obvious Effort to shake off the past. His misty eyes now adjusting to the pre sent look at the smilingly assuring Elli who had been translating for me. Somewhat stooped by the weight of experience he s a slight Man whose thin Frame stands less than 5va feet. His face is lined beyond its years and his hair completely White. Shaking almost i perceptively he Speaks of being Happy now and wanting Only to make others Happy. Like the time he could t sleep at night until he took up a collection for a Young american wife who left her Wallet and family s paycheck in a cab. Then mumbling something about get Ting Back to work he vigorously shakes my hand As though i had done something for him instead of the other Way around