European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 7, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Continued from Page 1 gis Are dying on train happen easier than you think it would Quot said Brandt a Generator Mechanic with the 3rd army div. A when you first get Here you just Aren t 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 task 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 a Gibson said. Some commanders Are 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 tack 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  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 a you be got continual 24-hour-a-Day traffic on multiple tracks a 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 done to hear As Well you done to see 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 Sas Gary Pomeroy 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 servicemen Ibers is the tracks can be avoided by Quot risk Man together to figure out if it was really key in the Battle to save lives she said age mint. Them what i the gain for taking that Quot 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-Ycar-old on alcohol is. They looked at one of these poor getting the attention of new arrivals  a i shouted. Then it dawned on me my god head been killed by Effie Bathen Nurnberg Bureau Furth West Germany a when the police found Eric Trautwein a body it Lay like a twisted rag doll beside the tracks of 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 a maybe head broken a Bone or whatever a but i could t find him Quot said Mark Durr a Friend from Trautwein a platoon who was walking with him Only moments before the Accident. Quot i went about 200 meters Down 1  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 17th Field arty were finding their Way Back to their Barracks in Herzog Nakrach 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 killed by european trains in the last 18 months. A i did no to hear a thing Quot Durr said a i 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 Felt. A no you Don to 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 Bahy in the United states. The Soldier s baby girl will have to grow up without knowing her father. He also said he a 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 him 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 he said he still remembers How the train Light suddenly appeared out of the Dawn sky and How he yelled a look  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  still capt. John Brudvig the company a commander pressed ahead with his idea. It was his Way of doing something different for v corps safety Day in May he said. �?o1 was try ing 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 you think of trains 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 a amps Gary f ,,/ a Headset helps capt. John Brudvig a soldiers learn that trains pose a quiet hut deadly danger. The Streetcar tracks that surround the Cavern on two sides. One at a time the soldiers took turns wearing the head set and stood with their backs to the tracks a Tew feet away. While another Soldier acted As a safety observer the first Soldier cranked up the music. The goal was to raise a hand when a train could be heard Over the music. Banks a native of Pensacola fla., said Many did no to hear the train until it was Loo late. A some people actually did no to hear the train at All Quot said Banks who walked on the Railroad tracks Back Home. One Soldier in the company said the Headset test should be mandatory. A a a think most people Ihrk they will hear a train from a distance Quot spec. Barbara George said. A when the train is almost on you you hear it. But there s More noise around you in the uly. A people Don t take things seriously unless you go through it it should t take a Hundred people to  get the Point across a Brudvig includes the dangers of trams m his one on one sessions with each new Soldier in ins unit and lids considering taking cat h newcomer out to the tracks and cranking up that Springsteen tape