European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 17, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday March 17, 1990 the stars and stripes a a Page 9over Here for a amps Michael Hughes sgt. Loran Walsh left and pvt. 2 William Iverson stand outside the guard building at checkpoint Charlie the famed Berlin Wall crossing Between East and  Days checkpoint guards double As guides by Ken Clauson staff writer Berlin a sgt. Greg Steffen Hadnot been at work two minutes when three Young German women pleaded with him to come outside so they could take his picture. The 24-year-old military policeman was blushing a bit when he came Back inside but said a a it a Public relations a just part of the  the women weren to really interested in Steffen just his uniform and his work site. He a one of four american maps permanently assigned to checkpoint Charlie the famed crossing Point Between the political East and West. Checkpoint Charlie is a byproduct of the Berlin Wall. Before aug. 13, 1961, when West Berlin began to be boxed in with barbed wire and Concrete City residents and members of the four occupying armies travelled freely throughout the City. Once the Wall went up members of the american British and French forces were restricted to one crossing Point. The three Western allies then focused a lot of attention on that Point once an obscure Street intersection in the Kreuzberg District where Friedrich Strasse ran North and South across Zimmer Strasse. The latter Street one Block North of the Koc Strasse subway station does no to really exist anymore since the Wall was built right Down its Center. Tension peaked in october 1961, when american and soviet tank Crews stared at each other across the crossing Point. The soviets were demanding identification from americans entering their sector of the City a violation of the four Power agreements then governing berlins occupation. The americans were determined to exercise their rights of free passage. The soviets pulled their tanks out after 16 hours and the americans quickly removed their own. The cold War standoff grabbed the worlds attention and checkpoint Charlie a Small wooden Shack Little bigger than a jeep had become the most famous my station in the world. The original a a temporary building was replaced in 1971. The present building which resembles a construction site office was built in 1986 and straddles a traffic Island a few feet from the sector Border. American British and French maps each have a tiny a it a More like a Flea Market atmosphere Down Here  sgt. Michael Rafferty office space where they process documents and Brief military travellers entering East Berlin. The checkpoint has attracted tourists for years but since the Wall opened in november they come in Ever greater numbers. A a it a More like a Flea Market atmosphere Down Here now a said sgt. Michael Rafferty a 23-Ycar-old my from Marina Valley Calif. Crowds of tourists mingle with vendors Selling pieces of the Wall and East German military uniforms a few feet from the checkpoint. The maps also serve As a de Facto information service for the visitors. A a it a pretty funny sometimes with the tourists and the questions they ask a said sgt. Loran Walsh 23, from Sheboygan Falls wis. A a they la ask questions like a is that the Wall a and a How Many americans did it take to put it up a a some maps when asked by american tourists if they speak English have been known to reply Quot no but they do a sending the questioners to the British maps at the other end of the building. Tourists and their questions aside checkpoint duty can get Boring the guards grudgingly acknowledged. They give the same briefings answer the same questions and look at the same documents countless times a Day. Despite that they said the duty is Good a 12 hours a Day for four Days then four Days off. On the 6 . To 6 . Shift the Normal guards Are assisted by another my from their company the 287th my co. Every a. One of these maps is assigned to a shift at checkpoint Charlie. Checkpoint duty offers drama and emotion As Well. Two years ago on Mother s Day. Steffen talked with a woman who said she was making her first trip Back to East Berlin in nearly 20 years. She was crying and very agitated As she told him How she and her husband tried to escape from East Berlin. She made it her husband was shot by the East German Border guards. She Hadnot seen her daughter since then. Then there was the ultimate checkpoint Charlie experience a the opening of the Wall. Staff sgt. Nathaniel Brown relieved Steffen at 6 . On nov. 9. It was a routine shift change on a quiet thursday evening for the two who have both worked at the checkpoint for More than two years and who had each witnessed two failed escape attempts. Within hours the quiet gave Way to chaos As East germans flooded the checkpoint on their Way to West Berlin. Steffen was soon Back at the checkpoint to help Brown and other maps try to keep traffic flowing. A it was  said Brown the 39-year-old my from St. Louis. A it took a while for the realization to sink in that this was actually happening. It was like a  the crowd was so dense the next Day that the maps  open the door to the checkpoint. Rafferty quit trying and crawled through the window. It s quieter now. And the maps Are visibly relaxed and reflective. When Rafferty was assigned to Berlin 21/. Years ago. He Wasny to even sure where the City was. He said. Now lies proud to work at the checkpoint. Quot i feel privileged to work  he said. A we re seeing the closing of the Book on world War 11. We re slowly seeing the end of it  Dodds students adding cheer to Dublin Parade Kaiserslautern West Ger Fly a amps a three High school students from department of defense dependents schools will be strutting their inn pc Patrick a Day Parade today in Dublin Ireland. ?.ra"dy Mcwhite and Kim Little Hora in senior so Are members of the and i f school Drill team Apryl Coleman a Junior is a cheerleader from Kaiserslautern High school. The three were selected to be part of the National cheerleaders associations spirit of America performance team. Besides marching in the Parade the students will perform at the lord mayors Ball saturday evening. Coleman whose parents Are paying for her we Klong stay in Ireland was one of a dozen cheerleaders selected from nearly 450 hopefuls. This is the second year she has been selected to March but the first time she will actually attend. Quot it did no to seem real until i got All the stuff a said Coleman. All the stuff included the vibrant Green and White uniform emblazoned with spirit of America and the weeks itinerary in Dublin. Coleman has been attending Kaiserslautern schools for five years and says she has been a cheerleader since she was 3 years old. The Dodds students along with the other members of the performance team have spent the week in Ireland going on Tours and attending lots of practices to get ready for today a performances