European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 6, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Monday August 6, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Pago 9 careless gis Are dying on train continued from Page 1 happen easier than you think it would a said Brandt a Generator Mechanic with the 3rd army div. A when you first get Here you just Arentt aware of although the circumstances in the 15 accidents vary Only two of the train victims were Over 24 years old. And there Are alarming similarities among the seven victims in v corps last year. The average age was 20, and four were 19. All had been in West Germany less than nine months and six had consumed alcohol. The Soldier who had not been drinking was wearing a stereo Headset while taking a shortcut Home from an Early morning walk in bad Hersfeldt. A in v corps it is now mandatory in All of the in processing for the dangers of trains to be explained to new soldiers Quot Gibson said. Some commanders arc taking troops out to Railroad tracks. And some take soldiers to locations where others have died. These efforts however do not in sure that people Are not walking on the tracks Gibson said. A the Lack of accidents does no to always indicate that the message is getting out. There a a hell of a lot of Chance. People May still be crossing and nobody a getting hit. You can Only Tell a person not to Slit their wrist. You can to tic them to the bunk 24 hours a a in addition to the Soldier fatalities the track deaths include a . Navy Petty officer who was retrieving an umbrella dropped onto tracks by an elderly woman in Naples Italy two Canadian children who were playing on the tracks near Offenburg West Germany and an air Force civilian contract employee who was killed while carrying his bicycle across the tracks at san Vito Dei nor Manni Italy. Gibson said the High proportion of fatalities in v corps is related in part to train traffic density in the areas around Frankfurt where the corps is headquartered a you be got continual 24-hour-a-Day traffic on multiple tracks Quot she said. A and when you add to that intoxication where your judgment is already screwed up your reaction time is already screwed up your senses Are dulled because you Don t hear As Well you done to Sec As Well you done to think As fast a you be got a lethal unlike the hundreds of German fatalities which German rail officials list As suicides the american deaths were Acci. Sgt As Poffel Troy West germans Are used to being properly wary of High Speed trains and accustomed to waiting patiently while they Speed past. Dental. Gibson said such carelessness on mangled bodies we had to put the pieces particularly Young Servie members is the tracks can be avoided by a risk Man together to figure out if it was really key in the Battle to save lives she said . What a the gain for taking that a most 19-year-Olds believe they re in a a what a the gain what a the risk if \ shortcut a mortal. And a 19-year-old on alcohol is they looked at one of these poor getting the attention or new arrivals a i shouted. Then it dawned on me my god head been killed by Effie Batman Niernberg Bureau Furth West Germany a a when the Violice found Eric Trautz Cine a body it a like a twisted rag doll beside the tracks 300 Yards from where the German High Speed train had hit him. The trains Engineer thought head hit something but it Wasny to until the next Stop that he saw blood and reported it. A i went to look for him maybe he d broken a Bone or whatever a but i find him Quot said Mark Durr a Friend from Trautwein a platoon who was walking with him Only moments before the Accident. A i went about 200 meters Down. I find him. A i shouted his name. Then it dawned on me my god head been Trautwein and Durr both privates with the 5th in 17lh Field arty were finding their Way Back to their Barracks in Herzog Hurach after a night out in Niernberg on May 27. They were smart enough not to walk on the autobahn not to Hitchhike and not to have gotten drunk. But then Trautwein drifted off to the right past a few Bushes and onto a Railroad track. Within moments he became one of the dozen americans kilted by european trains in the last 18 months. A i did no to hear a thing Quot Durr said �?o1 saw the train hit him but i did no to hear it. Maybe it was because i was in Shock at the time. I did no to hear anything until the train was Halfway Durr said that losing a Friend so tragically still a sinks deep Quot in his mind. After the death people in his unit came up and said they knew How he fell. A no you done to Quot he told them Curtly. Although he Only met the fellow Cannon crewman eight Days before the Accident they became friends right away. What troubles him the most he said is thinking about 22-year-old Trautwein a wife and baby in the United Stales the Soldier s baby girl will have to grow up without knowing her father. He also said he angry at some of the Guys in the unit who help them get Back to the base that night. And he is enraged he said that one Soldier actually told hint that there were rumours that he pushed his Friend onto the tracks. The 20-year-old Soldier is keeping Busy trying to keep the Accident out of his mind. But lie said he still remembers How the train Light suddenly appeared out of the Dawn sky and How he yelled a took test teaches gis not to tune out trains by Gary Pomeroy staff writer Frankfurt West Germany a listening to Bruce Springsteen music blare through a stereo Headset did no to sound like worthwhile army training to soldiers at Gibbs Cavern. And when the members of he co 18th my brigade heard that the Effort was aimed at preventing them from being killed by trains several scoffed. A everybody was apprehensive at first a pfc. Alvin Banks said. A they thought we could be doing something better with our Quot still capt. John Brudvig. The company a commander pressed ahead with his idea. It was his Way of doing something different for v corps safely Dayan May. He said. A i was trying to make them aware a said Brudvig who has spent 17 years in West Germany five on his current tour and 12 growing up As an army brat. A when us think of trams in Germany they re he said the headphones were meant to a add other the music could simulate the distractions caused by alcohol or City noise. So Brudvig and 30 members of his unit gathered in front of Gibbs to administer the Headset test alongside amps Griir / a Headset helps capt. John Brudvig a soldiers learn that trains pose a quiet but deadly danger. The Streetcar tracks that surround the Casein on two sides. One at a Lime the soldiers took turns wearing the Headset and stood with i hair backs to the tracks a few feet away. While another Soldier acted As a safety of serv Quot the first Soldier cranked up the music i he goal was to raise a hand when a train could be heard Over the music. Banks a native of Pensacola fla., said Many did t hear the train until it was too late. A some people actually did no to hear the train at All a said Banks who walked on the Railroad tracks Hack Home. One Soldier in the company said the Headset test should he mandatory. A i think most people think they will hear a Tram from a distance Quot spec. Barbara George said a when the train is almost on you you hear it. But there a More noise around you in the City. A people done to take things seriously unless you go through it. It take a Hundred people to die to get the Point Brudvig includes the dangers of trains in his Une on one sessions with each new Soldier in his unit and he s considering taking each newcomer out to the tracks and cranking up that Springsteen tape
