European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 18, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday May 18, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 9over Here duty Calls during Detour through Panama sergeant on Short leave finds himself % pressed into service for . Invasion h by Gary Pomeroy staff writer Frankfurt West Germany a As sgt. 1st class Gonzalo Moscoso strolled through the Panama City Airport his Only thought was of catching his connecting flight Back to Frankfurt. The 228th signal co operations sergeant was returning from his fathers funeral in Bolivia and was looking Forward to Christmas with his wife and two children. Unfortunately the connection was in Panama and the Date was dec. 19. The . Invasion of Panama would begin in about eight hours. Moscoso who is known to say that a you have to get involved a was about to become part of operation just cause. The panamanian defense Force under dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega was preparing for a . Attack and had seized control of the Airport but Moscoso was oblivious to the heightened tensions As he approached a panamanian Soldier checking passports. The Soldier refused to believe Moscoso was passing through the Airport on leave. He thought he had preempted a . Sneak attack trickling into Panama via the commercial airlines. A there was no Way i could Tell him i was not in the army a the 40-year-old Moscoso said. A the could Tell by my army Issue glasses and my haircut a he said. A panamanian officer approached the Exchange. A the the officer let me go but the other Guy was upset a Moscoso said. Once past the guard Moscoso discovered that his airlines passenger service Center had been abandoned. His Luggage  show up for three More weeks. He hopped into a taxicab and paid a Surprise visit to his Mother in Law who lives in the City. A she looked at me and said a what the hell Are you doing Here they re killing americans. Get to the  a that show he Learned of the death of Marine 1 St it. Robert Paz shot by panamanian soldiers three Days earlier. Moscoso took a cab to fort Clayton Home of the 193rd inf brigade where he again was Given the suspicious traveler treatment this time by the . Army military policeman at the Entrance. A the Guy said a what Are you doing out there you re restricted to the  a once on the Post Moscoso headed for the Home of a Friend staff sgt. Enrique Jones who is assigned there. As Jones explained the tense situation to mos Coso their conversation was interrupted by a phone Call from Jones unit fort Clayton was on High Alert. Everyone was to report for duty. Moscoso turned himself in to the 92nd personnel service Center a Catchall organization for soldiers on leave or otherwise not specifically attached to the Post. The career communications specialist was issued a combat uniform and the tools for Battle. He also was put in charge of a platoon of 30 administrative soldiers who would defend part of the Eastern perimeter of fort Clayton. Shortly after moving to their positions the word trickled Down that this Alert was not an exercise. A around 11  a when the commanders came and said the United states army will invade Panama a Moscoso said. At that Point Moscoso was no longer thinking about family Fate or Christmas. A i was making sure my people had All the things they needed a he said. A a after 17 years of continuous training continuous training drilling Over and Over doing things we re supposed to and 1 never had a Chance to take advantage and this was the time. And it counted. Around Midnight helicopters began flying and sometime around 1 . The firing  the major portion of the Battle took place at panamanian defense Force Headquarters in the City but Moscoso and troops at fort Clayton exchanged random fire with members of the a dignity battalions positioned about 450 feet away. A they were civilians trained by the psf a Moscoso said. A they weren t very  none of his troops was Hurt and by 4 . The americans were rounding up panamanian prisoners. They were processed into Empire Range a makeshift pow Camp across the Panama canal. Moscoso who Speaks Spanish said there were not enough a a assets to handle the processing so he was put in charge of 60 soldiers who in the following month would handle 2,500 prisoners. For the first week there were several alerts at the Range brought on by rumours of attacks aimed at freeing the pos Moscoco said. He spent Christmas eve in a foxhole during one such Alert. That was the Day Carmen Moscoso received a phone Call from her husbands unit in Frankfurt informing her that Gonzalo would not be Home for Christmas. The red Cross had told her on dec. 20 that he had been delayed. A i did no to expect him to be Here a Carmen said. A amps Gary Pomeroy sgt. 1st class Gonzalo Moscoso celebrated Christmas several months late with his wife Carmen and sons Carlos left and Gonzalo or. After an unexpected assignment in Panama. Noting that they be spent seven of their 10 christmases apart. Quot there a nothing 1 could  her husbands absence was hard on the boys. Carlos 4, and Gonzalo jr., 8. Ever hopeful she left the tree up until Jan. 15. But Moscoso a diversion in Panama had just begun. He proved to be a valuable a a assets and moved to a new Job Jan. 2 i. A i was a Liaison for damage claims from panamanians and those trying to find relatives who were pos Quot he said. The duty in the District of Ancon lasted until March 30, when he was finally released. �?o1 told my commander that i wanted to be at Home for Gonzalo a birthday Quot he said. Moscoso arrived in Frankfurt on april i and celebrated his son s 8th birthday a and Christmas a the following Day. Moscoso returned to work and was met with a Bronze Star nomination and orders for a new assignment at. Fort Clayton. This time he gets to bring the  passion play bows to modern times Oberammergau West Germany apr in a break from centuries of tradition jews wont have horns and a 37-year-old Mother will play the Virgin Mary when the Oberammergau passion play opens sunday criticism of the play which attracts nearly a half million visitors from around the world has been rocking the Small bavarian Village for decades. The strongest challenges by far have come from jewish organizations who say traditional accounts of Jesus final Days cast a bad Light on the jewish people and fuels anti semitism a sensitive Issue in Post holocaust West Germany. But the play has come under fire from feminists too. In february three women won a lawsuit against the Village for upholding old Laws that barred All married women and single women Over 35 from participating. Some 260 women who would have been barred will appear on the stage this year organizers say. And Elisabeth Petre a 37-year-old Mother of two will be one of the two actresses alternating in the role of Virgin Mary. This years play the directors say will bring a breath of fresh air. A uptight aggressive traditionalism no longer determines things in Oberammergau a director Otto Huber told the associated press on thursday. A a we re becoming More modern Here More  the Oberammergau passion play dates to 1633, when the bubonic plague swept the area. The roman Catholic villagers vowed to stage a passion play every 10 years if the plague abated. The epidemic according to historical accounts vanished in what was considered a Miracle. Now the play turns the Village famous for its Beautiful woodcarvings into a Christian Mecca every 10 years. The last performance in 1984, a special Jubilee presentation attracted 470,000 spectators to the town of 5,000. This years 95 performances of the Daylong production which runs until sept. 30, have been sold out for months. Discussing the current production Huber said he was especially pleased to Amend the plays negative portrayal of jews. He said the changes were suggested by the american jewish committee the anti defamation league of by Nai by Rith and the National conference of Catholic Bishops. A your goal is to show the Light of Jesus to show Jesus As a human being and healer of humanity without casting a dark Shadow on the jews a Huber said. Numerous changes have been made in the play. They include discarding horns traditionally placed on the Heads of jewish High priests and portraying Judas the disciple who betrayed Jesus As a confused rather than mercenary Man. Most important Huber says the jewish roots of Jesus and of christianity will be emphasized. A the jewish roots of christianity arc absolutely Clear everyone can see that our Faith comes out of jewish belief a Huber said. A we arc also portraying Jesus very clearly As a jewish  for example Jesus and his followers will for the first time Wear traditional prayer shawls Huber said. But a bitter Pill for jews remains with the famous a blood curse Quot passage from Matthew in which jews at the time of Jesus condemnation cry a this blood be on us and on our  the passage has been used throughout the centuries to Burden the jewish people with collective guilt for Christ a death. Play organizers Are issuing a brochure with the program outlining the history of anti semitism and providing an interpretation of the Matthew passage which does not blame jews. But some jewish Community representatives say that the changes done to go far enough. A the Basic message of the play has to be cleared of every anti semitic image Given by the Christian churches during the last 2,000 years Quot said Michel Friedman a spokesman for the jewish Community in Frankfurt. A if those images Are removed there is a real Chance of avoiding that problem Quot Friedman said adding that he would possibly attend the play to see in the new changes Are adequate