European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 22, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Pfc. Eric Thompson a cavalry scout from the 1st so 2nd army Cav stands near the covered Wagon that Marks c troops Barracks in Bundlach West Germany. Life the Rock vanishing Borders bring changes to Bundlach a amps map Young Aaron Mcanelly attends a ceremony marking his fathers departure after 22 months As a Bundlach troop commander. Mayor Hans Steininger says a it would be very difficult Quot if the american soldiers were to leave Bundlach. Story and photographs by Vince Crawley Nurnberg Bureau once upon a time As Long ago As half a year Bundlach was on the Edge of nowhere. The cavalry outpost on a Hilltop North of Bayreuth West Germany was huddled in a far Corner of the free world surrounded on three sides by what former president Reagan called Quot the evil the East German and czechoslovak Borders were both 27 Miles away and beyond these Lay vast stretches of threatening unknown the kind of sinister void where medieval mapmakers might have written Quot Here be the dragons Are still real ask a lithuanian his opinion of soviet soldiers. But instead of tanks the Borders near Bundlach now Are overrun by Odd Little East German cars affectionately called Travis. Over the easter weekend a a traffic Jam of Travis stretched 35 Miles Down autobahn 9, Bavaria s main link with the East German Rustbelt in Thuringia and Saxony. More than a half million East germans visited Bayreuth in the month and a half before Christmas and townspeople say they saw american soldiers from Bundlach helping to run the soup lines. You should have seen the people of the town when the first East German cars arrived Quot said Heinrich Dumproff a state judge whose Bayreuth Chambers Are in the same building the 2nd army Cav regt occupied immediately after the War. Quot not in Hamburg or Munich or Nurnberg nobody lived so close to the Iron curtain like we did for 45 years Quot Dumproff said. For my generation East Germany and the people there Are still germans. For my children Leipzig or Dresden will be like Vienna or Paris Are about 2,500 americans live in Bundlach 900 of them soldiers. They re assigned to the 1st so of the 2nd army Cav regt the same outfit that arrived at the Little big Horn the Day after Custer died. On army roles the Post is called Anri Stensen Barracks named after a world War ii lieutenant who was killed in action in new Guinea about two Steps Short of his platoons objective. A thu s?.lciers�?T 3,1 of Flem men cal1 the place Quot a Little fort Apache. Or just Quot the locals Call it Quot the soldiers wives say its a Good place to raise children except husbands work so hard and Are gone so often that they can t keep a boy scout troop solvent. Yes the Post s two dozen High school students have a Page 14 a a a two hour daily bus commute and balloons launched by children at the american elementary school Drift into East Germany. But these Days the americans in Bundlach say they Aren t on the Edge anymore but in the Middle. The geographic Center of Europe in fact lies in the Fichtel Geirge Highlands a few Miles to the East near the headwaters of the main River. Karl Marx Stadt which recently reclaimed its prewar name of Chemnitz is 80 Miles to the Northeast. Nurnberg s big Post Exchange Community is 70 Miles in the opposite direction. Leipzig Dresden and Prague Are each about 150 Highway Miles away nearer than the major . Communities in Frankfurt or Stuttgart. Travel to Berlin for american military personnel is still shrouded in postwar red tape. But if those restrictions Are eased then Germany a once divided City will be a four hour drive to the North. On the other hand Bundlach is an hour from the nearest american Community. Longtime Bundlach residents a and there Are Many who be volunteered to stay on a say it has a Small town atmosphere that the rest of the army in Europe is missing out on. Shorter trips though can be Tough for Bundlach soldiers. The downtown bars Aren t right outside the main Gate they re in Bayreuth a 20-minute drive away. Drunken driving has been a problem says Rick Sidley of Bundlach s Community counselling Center. Quot that 20 minutes Back from Bayreuth can be a career ending 20 another problem is Highway 2, the Steep narrow Road that snakes from the foot of Bundlach Hill up past thep61?860 arrays to Sony Public Road leading to one of the sad things about Bundlach is Highway 2,&Quot mayor Hans Steininger said through a translator. Quot a lot of so Diers Are injured or Hurt on this narrow Road. Ninety percent of the accidents at the Bottom of the Hill involve unlike some other mayors who covet their neighbors caverns Steininger said there is no Strong drive to kick the s out. Neither is there any economic need for the americans to stay. Christensen Barracks was built in 1937 As a maintenance Airstrip for the German air Force. Before in it was a Bald Hilltop. The army Barracks would t be a a site for a factory but nobody a seriously expressed interest in buying it. It s always been an advantage of Bundlach that we Nave Many diverse kinds of Trade Quot Steininger said. His own of 5,300 is Home for a clothing factory Iron forgers an machine shops a brewery and transport and instruction companies. Bayreuth just to the South is a of 72,000. No one would go out of business if the Leri cans packed up and left. 3ut Steininger said he does t want that to happen. The Leri cans like any other group of employers or citizens re become an everyday part of the Community life Srejs no reason for them to go. Quot it would be very difficult like losing a lot of personal is stationed any distance from the East German 1 czech Borders might not be familiar with the respect it these West German Border towns have for americans. World War ii Drew to a close and the Allied armies i ded across Germany from both directions germans in d in literal horror of being occupied by the vengeful s Viet army. In those final Days of chaos american tanks re ing into town were by far the least of two evils and in sine pockets that feeling of Relief persists. For 40 years a Teri can jeeps on Border patrol were a daily reminder of at might have been. A they do a wonderful wonderful Job and we Felt very ure under their presence a said Bayreuth Brewer Oscar isel whose american wife was once a schoolteacher up the Rock. Ife up there can be strange for the uninitiated. I the average Soldier is away from Here 150 Days a a Quot said it. Col. Robert Young 1st so commander. Quot it go As High As 200.&Quot Bundlach he said is not the easternmost army Post in visit Germany nor the most isolated but its inhabitants Ai 3 30 minutes from what Are still the most heavily fended Borders in Europe. And Young who has spent it it re years at Bundlach than any other place in his life says to it when he orders the front Gate closed the 536-acre St becomes its own Little world All but Cut off from the i Iverse outside the Fence. Quot i thought we were moving to a War zone Quot said the stars and stripes tuesday m Kimberly fish the 25-year-old wife of a Bundlach Soldier. She said that once they learn to adapt most wives compare Bundlach to life in any other Small town. Quot it kind of has a rhythm. There Are few detractors Quot said capt. Lawrence Kinde 28, a minnesotan who grew up in West Africa with his missionary parents. Kinde s 84th engr co is stationed in the Valley below the Rock in downtown Bayreuth. Quot professionally its a great place to be in. I Don t know How it looks on a resume but we learn things other people Only read Bundlach is Tough duty in a Way most civilians might not understand. Quot if you want to Soldier Quot says sgt. 1st class Harold Brown Quot this is certainly the place to be. If you want a taste of the real army. Not what the Recruiter told you the real a 34-year-old from Brooklyn n.y., he s probably set some kind of a record 13 years in Bundlach. Quot i left once and asked to come Back. They sent me to fort Carson in Colorado. Too Many gis. I could t handle it. The Only place i want to be is Brown admits that not everyone shares his enthusiasm for Bundlach. A this is a make it or break it Post Quot he said Quot if you be got a worthwhile goal if you be got enough guts and enough character to a i Don t want to say endure a then you la end up being a better person for others Are less nietzschean about Bundlach. Quot some people Don t like it Here some people do Quot said Chi. Ken Adams 28, an infantryman from Marion Iowa. Quot but just about everyone you ask is still proud to be up Here on the the Young troops especially say they Haven t yet had any other assignments to compare with. And besides said one Bundlach is heaven compared to Basic training Brewer Oscar Maisel says the . Presence made townspeople feel a very secure. A a staff sgt. Thomas Hines a . Cavalry scout assigned to Bundlach salutes during an evening ceremony staged by the West German army. And Cav scout school. American soldiers Are after All volunteers. The army on top of Bundlach Hill is the fast paced outfit of the television commercials the army they Hoard about in their fathers or grandfathers War stories and they wanted to join it soldiering like kingship often follows bloodlines the ones who did t know what they were getting into Well they either adapt or go Home Quot it is too much for some people Quot said the Squadron executive officer maj. Michael Traham 36. A texan Quot every Opportunity is Given to him if a Soldier can t Cope if he just thinks it s too much beyond his capabilities and we can t get him to Cope a then he probably needs to be somewhere else Quot until six months ago a Mydlach s turf was billed As Quot Freedom s these Are the soldiers who spent the last 40 years being natos steely eyed Point men locked in a staring contest with the cold War enemy on the other Side of the barbed wire Fence they won the other Side blinked first. And now the East German guard towers Are empty and the rusting Fence already is collapsing under its own weight the soldiers were pulled off of daily Border patrols Early tins year but say they still conduct reconnaissance Quot on order Quot which Means not too often instead they re concentrating on their other specially combat training in War they would be similar to Quot Shock troops Quot and they train accordingly they re the kinds of audacious soldiers who Tell you they re glad there will be a draw Down because it s a Chance for the army to Quot get rid of All the duds Quot the kinds of people who say Quot i Pray i never have to carry a briefcase to the kinds of people who say six months after the collapse of East Germany s communist government Quot obviously somewhere Down the Lino the Guys on the other Side were respecting what we re y22, the stars and stripes a a a Page 15 i $
