European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 30, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 14 the stars an stripes sunday april 30, 1978 letters to the editor Germany Nice to visit but while growing up As a lad in Phoenix i took the conveniences and so called Good life pretty much for granted. However my five plus year air Force tour in West Germany has opened my eyes to what i left behind. Of sure Germany will leave me with Many pleasant memories grandmothers pushing baby buggies with one hand while the other carries a water Pitcher for their Flower gardens slow Down sundays with leisurely strolls through the Village weekend Volks marches through the Countryside what a Way to commune with nature and meet new friends. And Don t forget the Beer tent incomparable German White wines move Over Ripple being Able to take a five hour drive to Paris. France not Texas. A Lazy afternoon picnic along the Rhine under the Shadow of a medieval Castle. And the orderly and fruitful gardens. I never could get my carrots to come up in a i straight rows i sounds like i be found the promised land say maybe so but the name of my e is it s a Nice place to visit but can do without the thrill of cruising Down the autobahn at 70 Mph with a Mer cedes White of course doing 80 Mph on my bumper and would t it be Nice to live in a House with round door knobs and double sinks and How about living for Over five years without mexican food not from a can credit cards Corner grocery stores that stay open past 6p.m. Current movies live sporting events on television i heard the other Day that the Yankees won the world series. So Why do we in the armed forces endure All this pain you say Why that s easy catch the Eye of an East German eyeing the Berlin Wall and you la under stand. As an says we re Over Here to pre serve a Way of life our get out the cold Beer folks the kid is coming Home in May. Darn Beer has too Many carbohydrates better make that a Tab instead. What s that too Many can kill me wonder if the Fra has put Kool Aid on their list too. War is hell. Over. Capt Allen b. Alexanderjr. Rat Ostein a Germany will miss the Good times i be leaving Germany soon and Al h i be dreamed of this Day for so i m still going to miss what has been b for the past Vuk of All will be saying goodbye to friends which is what this letter Isit. Five met some far out people since i be i Here and the memories Are Good. I la r forget All those times we piled into r old rattle Clank cars and set out to Dis r Germany. Remember bombarding Gasthaus Gasthaus and unintentionally Shock a few germans along the Way with our to Newham wild behaviour i there s no Way i could forget All those cookouts when the weather permitted and thes ipes european edition Cou e. Spangler. Usa editor ii Colof . J. C. Taylor uhf Deputy editor hmm omit Proctor. Managing editor Elmero. Frank. 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Circulation offices car puny Birlyn. Civilian Kultti Mil tit Bromer ,clvi9ui, fron furl. Com us Kalun Tauloma cell to. Mil logo huh a Munich. Civ Moi or mum. Mil till nor Norg. Civ 7iu1. Mil 7jj4 North comic Roglon. Rhtln4aln Mil lion. Luly Van ctn Civ him. Spain Madrid of j057m or Tortolon air Basa Mil u4. Turkey Iman bul cilium in Ltd kingdom cart Annam common Civ in military Usu to 1� those Zummie barbecued hamburgers or the castles we visited and really enjoyed even though we could t understand what the tour guide was saying. Then there s the Many Beer tests and concerts we went to. And All those Carni Vals that left us broke but with enough plastic Flowers and screwdrivers to last a couple of years. And who can forget not Long ago when we d drive All the Way to Wurzburg just for a big Mac. But Best of All were the nights when we just sat around together listened to a Little music and talked until the Early hours of the morning sharing our past and our dreams for the future. And of course laughing a lot. I m really going to miss these Good times because i have done More and just Plain lived More these past few years than any Given year at Home Back in the states. But most of All and most important be cause of some super people i be Learned the True meaning of Friendship something i la carry with me always. So to my friends thank you for turning what could have been a Nightmare into a Happy and rewarding experience. I la never forget the times we be shared and i m truly going to miss you. Wanda s. Foster Hanau Germany poor mail service explained again i received my newspapers from the states and they were wet again. They have been wet several times also i be received my Book shipments wet. I be also received papers on the same Day which were from three different months. We were stationed Here in Ger Many in 1961 and it Only took five Days to get a letter from my Mother who lives in a Small town in East Texas where every thing has to be trucked to Dallas to be for warded to new York. Now it s 10-15 Days. I just can t understand Why seven years later we have to put up with such Lousy mail service considering All the advances we be made in so Many areas. We be put a Man on the Moon but it takes three times As Long to get a letter across the Ocean As it did 17 years ago. It really makes you wonder what the world is coming to. Martha Van Wonne Munich editor s note col. . Williams commander . Postal group Europe replies you have stated three valid problems or those of us who serve in Usa eur. First we sometimes receive wet mail secondly newspapers and magazines ire sometime received out of sequence and transit times at the Date of your letter Wen indeed poor although Usa eur cannot by itself Olve All these problems. Department of Ali army has intervened on our behalf wife the . Postal service to improve the Quality of mall service to soldiers and their dependents to Usa eur. Let me explain Sony of the causes behind these problems. Unfortunately the receipt of wet mall is not an isolated prob Lem. This past Winter it was especially pronounced primarily As a Rasolt of inadequate Protection from the unusually bad weather in the United states which included flooding at uses facilities in new Jersey and new York. In addition airline containers which carry the mall have sometimes been noted to be in such poor condition that the mall inside got wet. The conditions described above were reported to department of the army and forwarded through the department of de sense to the postal service which levies ones against the air carriers whenever they improperly protect the mail. We continue 10 aggressively Monitor these postal operations and to report Irreg Alari Les to the proper . With regard to magazines betas Cei Ved in batches or ont of i important Factor is that an and magazines Are not eligible movement to Europe. Only newspapers and Are published at least once each contain current news Ore Down to these newspapers into toe space available mall gory and Are placed on Ike i. All other Revenue cargo has keen i since commercial aircraft i times filled to capacity with i newspapers and a Gaines have to be forwarded to Ike air i at Dover. Pet for movement Vii 1 Craft to Europe this causes Gomedela in i newspapers and Ngn Suget or 4 publications to done newspapers and us bet bimonthly or monthly ported by surf Nee meant. A tale Peb Uhtof Date of or Uter Toksu Missi deliver to i service la addition to Renonce thu Atu Otie Crossings in month could Jennse delays to the receipt of More thu one i Lic Atlon in the same shipment Ikea Yoo wrote vow letter m experiencing bad transit tune fsr a mail. Oar recent experience Kwh item that transit times ire now As Tut better than Ike five Day to Anderl lated Lalni. The improvement in transit Tom i be directly attributed to the uttering of to Dit ional mail processing centers by United states which allow Coester amount of letter mall to bypass new Tot postal facilities where it was pm processed. If Yon Are experiencing poor nest time please Contact your servus pow Fleer for assistance. Yen and nil postal patrons Al great Deal to help us improve Kew service. It is absolutely vital that Jwili your serving postal officer abort of f problems Yon May experience by a Contact the appropriate it borits solve the problem for Yon. Any postal Patron who. Null problems after bringing them mention of the postal officer of then postal unit should Contact the mad ice Branch . Army postal Europe Stltt cats for Fly and buy american concerning the Low Exchange rate americans Are receiving for dollars in Europe there Are several things we can do groceries stolen a taxi Driver put my groceries in the stairwell and i went up with one bag to get my husband. I told the Driver to waft forme. When i returned someone stole about �0 Worth of groceries out of the 177 bought. I Don t wish bad Luck on anyone but with a Little bit of sugar and Coconut i Hope the Sun Don t Shine on you. A i live on the fourth floor and whoever i Sregio nos e,y2u a f 5ld a a you. I we i juju ivc in Heine guts to ask. Hey. 1 would have Given you some. You have made me one angry woman. To help prevent the Dollar from slide other. One possibility is to use an airline to Fly Home on leave. Also Ern ment should Only use these is lines for personnel on a permanent of station move which is not the Case. Since american express serve banking needs they should be by Dod or Congress that they first suggest use of an american Flag a potential travel customer on base. On most occasions this does not no be the Case. Jag another idea is for the audto/$2 clubs to highlight american stereo cents. Many people would be in american equipment at a Sima trip Annet Thowe bad Hersfeldt Germany by purchasing american made i we help our own Economy. This keep More americana employed turn improve our Exchange rate. Sgt. Robert Gabouer Mohringer Germany
