European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 27, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                March 1985 the stars and stripes Page 9 military Liaison Mission operations a very hairy there Arent any rules by Henry Gottlieb Washington a the army officer killed by a soviet guard in East Germany was a member of a cadre of american soldiers for 38 have used a loophole to gather intelligence on the red wed go in at 90 Miles per hour Between 11 at night and 1 in the morning to try to keep the russians from seeing where we were a former member of the military Liaison Mission in East recalled its a very hairy he there Arent any its a very dangerous it Doest Surprise me that someone was in surprised it Hast happened he talked about the operation Only on the condition that he would not be the Pentagon says the purpose of the unit cannot be termed spying because it is done according to military the units task is to travel around the country Hunting intelligence inform Why do the soviets permit it because they have the same kind of unit on our Side of the said an officer familiar with the attention focused on the work of such operatives Mon Day with the disclosure that army Arthur tribute in Berlin a photo the Flag flew at Hal staff tuesday at Check Point Charlie in West Berlin to boar army Arthur Nicholson who was shot and killed by a soviet guard sunday in East East German Border guards Are in the Nicholson was fatally shot sunday by a guard in what the soviets said was a restricted zone in East about 100 Miles from the unit Nicholson was a member of was established in the soviet occupiers of East Germany agreed to let British and French observer teams set up shop in Potsdam in return for similar rights in Western Potsdam was the site of soviet military the stated purpose of the teams was to provide Contact Between help Settle Legal disputes that arose from the occupation and give All four countries a Chance to show their flags in both id say even from the the Job was 95 per cent intelligence and 5 percent waving the said one of several current and former military officials who Dis cussed the units work they insisted they Nof be our Job was to travel the keeping our eyes said an officer who was in the unit in the we would get specific orders to find out about equipment or troop and wed go out and try to get the he said French and teams would meet on a regular basis to coordinate their so we didst duplicate most members of the team live in West Berlin and go into East Germany for several Days at a driving into the zone Over the Glenicke the former member he said typical missions he undertook involved taking photographs of soviet aircraft and he was part of a team that but to Rescue the Crew of a surveillance air plane that had the East germans got there the former officer the soviets would have kicked the unit out years ago if they didst think having their own teams on our Side made it Worth the by All Nicholson had a typical academic background for the a masters degree in International relations and a special interest in Eastern european of one source described the Job As a training ground for defense attaches the american military eyes and ears in diplomatic posts around the Randall now defense attache at the embassy in was operations officer in the Potsdam Mission from june 1976 to May i  use the word on the other this is an intelligence gathering a source there obviously there to keep their eyes and ears open and make everybody knows that the Potsdam Are there to gather information on the soviet forces and Send it Back to the United another source slain officer is described As filled with kindness7 West up Arthur Don Ald Nicholson killed by a soviet Soldier in East Ger was described monday As the perfect Young Man who knew what he was getting into when he volunteered to serve his flags flew at Hal staff in West Redding to Honor a Hometown boy who served in the military Liaison Mission in East since Nichol lived in West Berlin with his and their 8yearold the sunday shooting was the first Lineo duty fatality involving a member of a Liaison his Elva said from her Home in that she did not know what her Daugh ters plans would right Shes so numb she Doest know what to Vincent  probably stay in Germany until the Little girl finishes because nows a bad time to change after i assume  come to she what happens i dont they were going to move Back to the United states this if my kids could grow up half As Nice As he id think i did one hell of a Job As a said Paul a neighbor of Nicholson parents in the affluent new eng land town of West Smiths he was a wonderful Young filled with goodness and he worshipped his wife and he was the perfect Young Nicholson a retired naval was unavailable for Nicholson High school guidance Counselor said he was unique because of his interest in a military career when he graduated in during the Vietnam the military was not Well thought said Robert he said Nicholson knew what he was getting into because he had a father in the Vincent said her Soninlaw stated in his will that he wanted to be buried at Arlington National Nicholson was born in mount in his family moved to West a Rural town of from he received a bachelors degree in philosophy from Transylvania University in and he joined the army in May he also received a masters degree in International relations from the naval postgraduate school in according to the Nicholson was an accomplished russian linguist who has been assigned to the Mission in for three sequence of events in the shoo Fig by United press International the state department sequence of events sunday surrounding the death of Arthur Nicholson of the military Liaison Mission to East Germany March 25 German time Nicholson and his Jessie arrive at a Point near Highway 191 just North of a restricted military zone near Schwerin in the Northwestern part of the German democratic no soviet troops Are the two men Are monitoring soviet military a single soviet Soldier appears from the fires one shot at the marked army Sedan and then fires two or three other Nicholson is hit in the Chest by one of the As he he says to Ive been when the shots Are Nicholson is some distance from the car and Schatz is in or near the vehicle and ducks when he hears the the soviet Soldier is joined by several who keep Schatz from going to Nicholson Schatz is ordered Back to his one hour after Nicholson is a soviet medical Aid team but the major is Schatz is ordered by the soviet soldiers to stay in his the military Liaison Mission in Potsdam is informed by the soviets of the the first americans arrive on the scene at Schatz is unable to leave his car until just before the other americans Nicholson body is taken to West Berlin late sunday and flown to Rhei main a late 6 est president Reagan is awakened and about 16 hours after the by National Security adviser Robert 9 11 est Oleg the second ranking Diplomat in the soviet embassy in arrives at the state department to express regrets to assistant Secretary of state Richard Burt about the