European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 7, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Six War veterans remember photo by Dan Wollam Jack Keohane w Hen the War Jack Keohane was somewhere in Stuttgart doing Hes not sure where or the end just want a big his the 100th inf sat in Stuttgart in late april 1945 and largely ignored the frequent peace in Keohane clearest memory of the wars last Days is of a wine French soldiers were stealing wine lifting it in baskets from a bombed Keohane was stealing from the suddenly a shot from a French gun whizzed by his i almost bought it that Keohane sometimes you say to if you got killed by a Frenchman in if you Ever had a Way of coming the Only thing you could say it just makes no sense at the division occupied Stuttgart after fighting Tough resistance in Heilbronn was our the former infantryman wed been compressing the Spring of German fighting capability All the Way from the Battle of the i by the time we got to where it was optimum conditions for the they screw it Well use up some of this ammunition weve been dragging from the Atlantic i think we were there nine after Stuttgart was the War moved but Keohane division his memories of the wine cellar and the German woman he met and would return to marry almost 30 years later Are sharper than those of the wars two other events overshadowed be Roosevelt he that had such a disruptive effect on and i think on Many of the Roosevelt was much More than just the president of the United states to you either hated and despised him or you venerated and adored his other preeminent thought was the War with we knew that chapter 1 was he but just As easily As they got us from new York to they could get us from be Havre to Australia to do the far East Keohane rubs his Chin and tries to remember be Day and if his unit celebrated there was certainly nothing he i was but just How be Day i dont it was All word of there was no such thing As Reading a we didst know what country we were in half the tuna it just seemed like there were More important things All the time than to talk about the condition of the the its destruction and having lived through it gave Keohane a Fine appreciation for lifes the fundamental thing about staying alive in my and in sure in was not that you life is Sweet i want to but you Damn i Hope i dont get so when its All Over i can review and find out what the hell we were of ironically when it was Over you never looked it Keohane left the army and the German woman he had in january he joined the police married and had Gretel also but the two stayed in touch with occasional letters and Christmas by 1975 Keohane had he received a Christmas card from Gretel saying her husband had that allowed me to make an he Keohane returned to where he and Gretel were married 29 years after they had they live near where Keohane works at the audio video club at Patch Barracks until he retires in two As Keohane its a strange Dan Wollam he Best part of be Day for shorty Krause was a Parade a different kind of i had some wine in a he and then i think the Best part of what i saw that Day was like a Parade going into it was most of them their Heads were shaved just like Kojak head and people were throwing Slop at i got a charge out of said who joined the Anu w in August those people deserved during Cuje when the germans had occupied those people had caused the rest of the town a hard Krause was in working As a radio operator in a troop Carrier outfit he cant remember which when he heard the War was i remember most everybody took he they went Down to Abbeville and you could hear the Church Bells from every Little Village and Hamlet in that part of All of when the evening everybody had a Good they were drinking wine and another thing that has stuck in his mind was the Airfield at Goering had a fighter outfit based the they were called that because their planes he believes were painted yellow on the when we moved there a lot of equipment was still nothing was who saw action on Day and in operation Market Garden in Holland on in c47 troop returned to Germany after his retirement in August 1965 and now lives in i liked the quiet life Over he and he still keeps in Contact with fellow i got a newspaper from be he i got it hanging in the american legion at Rhei main a and i go and now and then to look at it was the stars and Stripe from May Chris Estes Urtis Miller didst keep his memories Are enough memories hed rather not i walked into that big concentration Camp near he i opened the door that Day and saw those dead people they had All those Bones and Heads and those images have stayed with who was drafted in 1943 and retired As a master sergeant in november i dont like to talk about he it was too much too much you see a lot of starving people who didst have nothing to people freezing to news that the War had ended took Miller and his unit by i was in he i was fixing to go up to the preparing to go i was in the red Ball we were packing and on our Way to join i Felt pretty Miller said about hearing the i Felt like i was that was a Nice memory for there was no end until the War was Miller decided to stay in Germany when he left the and now lives in i retired Over Here because i Felt like i had done my country its he i have Given my country my half my i wanted to be Over Here so i could see what we fought Chris Estes Page 16 the stars and stripes May