European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 11, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 2 the stars and stripes Friday april 11,1986 Vietnam turns Over 21 sets of remains to . Hanoi Vietnam a the communist government thursday turned Over to the United states 21 sets of remains believed to be those of americans missing since the Vietnam War. Uniformed . Servicemen lined both sides of a c-141 cargo plane and saluted As the aluminium caskets were gently loaded into the aircraft for the trip to Honolulu. An american Flag folded in a tidy Trian Gle Lay atop each casket. Meeting with the americans at Hanoi s Noi Bai International Airport vietnamese officials also handed Over six identification tags and a Small stack of identification cards of . Servicemen listed As missing in action officials said. Most of the tags and cards belonged with the 21 sets of remains they said. Hanoi also provided unspecified documentation on three other unidentified mias. It was the fourth return of remains since March 1985, equal to the total number of times Vietnam turned Over remains in the four previous years. If army laboratories in Honolulu Are Able to identify All 21 sets of remains As those of americans Hanoi Over the past year will have repatriated a total of 56 sets of remains. The . Department of defense has listed 1,792 american servicemen and civilians As missing in Vietnam. Nguyen can acting head of the Vietnam Ese foreign ministry s North America desk told reporters 15 of the 21 sets of remains transferred thursday had been found in the North and the others in the South. The americans in turn handed Back two sets of remains that had been handed Over last August but which were found not to be those of mias. The return in August of 24 identified sets of remains was the largest single repatriation Ever. On previous occasions the americans loaded the remains As they were Given them by the vietnamese in crude wooden crates each bearing a number. They were then transferred to aluminium caskets some time before arrival in Hawaii. This time however the crates were placed inside the caskets before departure. . Officials said the caskets were of the same Type used to carry american dead Home during the Vietnam War. Schools update Dodds Germany director honoured by education group Washington Joseph Blackstead director of the Germany Region of the department of defense dependents schools is one of six educators to receive the first John w. Vaughn excellence in education awards from the North Central association of colleges and schools. Blackstead received the award March 24 at the inca annual meeting in Chicago a Dodds spokeswoman said. The inca is the Agency that accredits Dod schools. The school improvement plan program developed by Blackstead for the 140 schools in the Dodds Germany Region was a key Factor in his nomination said Meg Sta Navage inca associate executive director. The program allows administrators teachers parents and students at a school to determine what needs to be done to improve the school and to develop a plan to make changes. Blackstead began his career with Dodds in 1952 As a teacher and later served As a High school principal and As Deputy director of a Region. He has served in Spain Japan Hawaii and Germany and has been director of the Germany Region since 1983. The Germany Region serves about 86,000students. 2 groups donate computer to Halvorsen elementary school Rhein main a Germany two organizations have donated an atari computer to kindergarten students at Halvorsen elementary school. The computer and disk drive were Given to school officials tuesday by Beta Sigma Phi a women s service Soror Ity at Rhein main a. The . Hessen Lodge no. 844, a German and american masonic Lodge in Klein Gerau donated a 19-Inch television Monitor. The computer will be used by about 200 kindergarten students at the school. The new computer will allow Chil Dren in higher grades to use other school computers More frequently said Marilyn Hergert Talley a kindergarten teacher at Rhein main. 6 school science expositions set for Dodds Germany Wiesbaden six regional elementary Junior High and Middle school science expositions will be held in the Dodds Germany Region May 5-14. More than 12,000 students will enter science projects in the non competitive expositions. Representatives of computer firms and other companies will present exhibits of sophisticated equipment. Activities for student participants will include How to make a magnetic Compass and How to identify fingerprint patterns. The regional expositions will be open to the Public Dur ing school hours. They will be held at ludwigs Burg mid dle school May 5 Heilbronn elementary and Junior High school May 6 Nuernberg High school May 7 Mannheim Middle school May 8 Ramstein Junior High school May 12 and Moers elementary school near Dusseldorf May 13-14. Product recall Dallas the army and air Force Exchange serv ice has pulled a 2 /2-gallon plastic gasoline Container from its shelves because the product bears an unauthorized reference to underwriters laboratories the non profit organization that tests products for safety. The red plastic Container Model number rg250, is made by Kinder industries inc., and was distributed be tween nov. 5 and feb. 6. A a fes customers who have bought the Kinder rg250gasoline cans May return them to their local Exchange for a full refund an cafes release stated. Arc increases room prices about 20% across the Board by Charlie Bowde Munich Bureau Garmisch Germany armed forces recreation Center room rates were raised about 20 percent across the Board effective april 1, arc officials said thursday. The increase follows the recommendations of an army commissioned study and was approved by the arc Board of directors. The study by the accounting firm of Pannell Kerr and Forster in 1983 and 1984 had suggested Price hikes in practically every area of arc operations. Arc s executive director Anton Gotsche said the rate hikes were a last resort to help arc hotels at least cover the Cost of maintaining a room from the maid serv ice to the sheets and towels. The Price of going first class increased for the second time in less than a year. Arc suites which increased from $30 to $35 per night in october jumped again to at least $42. The Chain of hotels has 31 suites. In a related development Gotsche said arc will close the Sheridan Plaza in Garmisch in november. The Sheri Dan is to be torn Down to make room for the planned 650 room hotel recreation Complex recommended by the army study. Gotsche said the army just recently approved $1.1 million in redesign costs for the Complex. We Are just closing the Sheridan a year Early Gotsche said. The Sheridan is in the worst physical condition of arc s 12 hotels and is the least popular among guests primarily because Only 30 of its 200 rooms have private Baths. The increase in room prices at the army s Chain of bavarian hotels Marks the first across the Board increase in three years which has the operation Well behind inflation rates and increased labor costs Gotsche said. Inflation has been running at about 5 percent per year he said. Labor costs increased when arc switched from a six Day week to a five Day week. The following is a list of old and new rates at afr hotels. Standard rooms old new old new e-l-e-5 e-l-e-5 others others $6 $8 $9 $11 $9 $11 $12 $15 $12 $15 $14 $17 $16 $20 $19 $23 Superior rooms $10 $12 $13 $16 $14 $17 $17 $21 $16 $20 $18 $22 double a Bath $21 $26 $24 $29 Standard Price rooms Are generally at the Alpine inn and Mcnair hotel in Berchtesgaden the Abrams and Sheridan in Garmisch and the Park hotel at Chi Emsee. Superior Price rooms generally include the Hof general Walker Skytop Lodge and Evergreen Lodge in Berchtesgaden the von Steuben and Patton in Garmisch and the Lake hotel at Chi Emsee. Single to Bath double to Bath single a Bath double a Bath single to Bath double to Bath single a Bath firms team up to compete for new helicopter contracts Washington a the nation s four largest helicopter manufacturers have paired off in teams in a Competition to design a new aircraft to replace the army s aging Fleet of 7,000 Vietnam Vintage choppers. Mcdonnell Douglas helicopter co. Of los Angeles and Bell helicopter text Ron inc., based in fort Worth Texas announced wednesday they would join forces to design the army s Light helicopters of the 1990s and 21st Century. Last june Boeing co s Vertol division based in Fol som pa., and United technologies corp s Sikorsky air Craft unit based in Stratford conn., announced a joint venture to design the same helicopter. The companies on the winning team will earn the right to compete against each other for production contracts in a program expected to Cost $35 billion to $40 billion said it. Col. Craig Macnab an army spokesman. The Overall program known As Lex for Light helicopter experimental is intended to produce a High Speed agile Battlefield helicopter in two versions a scout at tack Model with automated weapons communications and navigation systems and a Utility Model for ferrying troops and Light equipment. The army if it decides this summer to go ahead with the program following a Cost effectiveness analysis would Purchase 4,000 to 5,000 of the new aircraft Macnab said. By sharing an engine and main Airframe the attack and Utility models Are supposed to be less expensive to Fly and maintain than the 12 models they Are intended to replace. The Lex would Fly missions Day or night at Low altitudes and in bad weather. The models it is to replace include the ah-1 cobra ch-1 Huey and the oh-58observation helicopter. The army timetable Calls for selection in october 1987 of two teams for the design Competition. William p. Brown Mcdonnell Douglas helicopter co. President said he doubted anyone other than the two announced teams would be capable of competing. Under the timetable one design would be eliminated by july 1989 and the companies in the winning team would cooperate on testing and initial production beginning in january 1994. After january 1996, the companies on the winning design team would compete independently for production contracts. Joining the Mcdonnell Douglas Bell design team will be Mcdonnell aircraft co. Of St. Louis Honeywell inc. Of Minneapolis Hughes aircraft co. Of Al Segundo calif., Sperry corp. Of Albuquerque new Mexico and Texas instruments of Dallas. The agreement Between Mcdonnell Douglas helicopter and Bell is in principle and should be formally signed by june according to Leonard m. Homer president of Bell helicopter text Ron. The joint venture will be based in Mesa Ariz. The companies said employment would not be substantially affected until the actual production of the new helicopter begins. Pioneer aviator Dies Minneapolis a Walter Bullock a Pioneer aviator who was a barnstormer and later a Northwest airlines Captain has died at 86. Bullock barnstorm throughout the Midwest. In 1927, he took a Job carrying mail in a four passenger single engine Stinson. Later bul lock began flying passengers