European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 10, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Friday january 10, 1992 the stars and stripes a Page 9nco takes 20-year grand tour of Europe by Lynda Davidson Kaiserslautern Bureau Vogel Weh Germany a when Douglas Haines left grand Forks n.d., in october of 1971, he never dreamed it would be the beginning of a 20-year european tour. A i was just following the system letting the system work a he said. A it worked so Here i now a master sergeant in the air Force he met and married his italian born wife Carmen during his first tour in Europe a 10-year stint in Naples Italy. Haines then was transferred to Rhein main a Germany for three years and then y of can t just go from military base to military base and come Back and aay Quot hey i saw Europe Quot a a master sgt Douglas Haines years spent another three years at Camp new Amsterdam Netherlands now known As Oesterberg a. A moving around helped us get a broader understanding of different cultures a said Haines 40. Currently the Law enforcement superintendent at the 569th . Forces police in Vogel Weh he says there Are pros and cons to a 20__ year european career. Culture Shock hit him last september while on emergency leave in United states. He tried to Call Germany from the states and discovered that Bell Telephone no longer held a monopoly on phone service. A it was really something for me. This Isnit the America i remember when you just picked up the phone and there was Only one phone Haines and his family have travelled Back to the states approximately seven times in the past 20 years specifically for family visits but baseball games Are also a draw for Haines. A i like to go watch the cubs play a he confessed. He finds however he a More in tune with european attitudes toward sports and Leisure activities. A one thing that sets european culture apart from american culture is that europeans seem to enjoy their free time More a Haines said. Also he said europeans place greater value for instance on participating in a sport or Hobby than most americans who follow their sport of Choice a Golf Tennis football or baseball a from the sidelines. Coaching an american youth activities soccer team working with a local theater group and seeing Europe Are among the Hobs amps Lynda Davidson air Force master sgt. Douglas Haines goes Over a patrol area with staff sgt. Michele Putnam the desk sergeant. Bies Haines pursues in his own spare time. A a to does no to hold enough for me a he said. During his stay in Europe the Delphi ind., native has travelled throughout Germany France England Austria and Italy and advised other americans stationed overseas to do likewise. A a you la get to see things that you be Only read about. You la have the Little experiences that you la be Able to Tell your family a he said. As an example he cited his visit to a local Castle recently when he realized that �?o600 years ago there were knights in this same space this same air. Its something i can Tell my kids about but my brother encouraging newcomers to see Europe is a Mission that Haines takes seriously. A you can to just go from military base to military base and come Back and say a hey i saw Europe a a he said. A a that a not what Europe is. Europe s Riding on a train and going to Frankfurt Down to Sachsenhause and having a Pilsner with a German and familiarizing oneself with a foreign language does no to Hurt. Haines Speaks italian. In addition to italian and English his wife Speaks German and French. Their 17-year-old son David Speaks English italian and some dutch. Haines cited one event which he says would never have happened if he did no to always make an Effort to experience German culture. During the reunification of Germany he and his wife visited a Coffee shop in Sachsenhause during a shopping trip to Frankfurt. A we were drinking our Coffee and this old Guy came in. He had Gray hair and a Little hat and there was a newspaper on the Wall which said a Germany United again a a said Haines. A i caught his Eye that he was looking at the paper and then he looked Back at me and he said a its a Beautiful Day a its a Schones tag a and he started crying a said Haines. A and we started crying too. It was just the Joy in this Guys heart. If we Hadnot been in that Coffee shop we never would have experienced that. And to think that by being Here in Europe i had something to do with that. That really makes me hate mail forces sex pow to avoid Media interviews Detroit up a fear of More hate mail Over her interracial marriage is making americans first female prisoner of War Media shy. The former Melissa Rathbun Nealy a now Melissa Rathbun Coleman a declined a recent Detroit free press request for an interview because most of the offensive letters she received after her marriage came from the Detroit area. A a she a afraid of generating another Jave of hate mail a said army capt. Barry Napp a spokesman at it. Bliss Texas where Coleman 22, and her husband fellow persian Gulf War Veteran Michael Coleman 32, Are now stationed. The Colemansr she a White and he a Black a were married in March near the base within three weeks after she returned from 33 Days in iraqi Captivity. Her father Leo Rathbun of Newaygo mich., said his daughter is expecting the couples first child in late Spring. He said her current duty is behind a receptionist s desk at the bases Public affairs office. Rathbun told the free press he a More or less expected that his daughter would be harassed because of her marriage. A photo of the couple in their Elpaso Texas Home in a december year in re View Issue of people Magazine probably will Spur More hate mail he said. A we have a highly racist society and interracial marriages still Aren t expected a Rathbun said. A but she a doing Fine. Her biggest problem when she got Back was All the Media hype and the celebrity status. She did no to like it. She deliberately dropped from the Rathbun said his daughter gives an occasional interview such As the satellite broadcast she did with an austrian television station and a to appearance in Italy last summer. In addition to the people photo Coleman a dressed in desert camouflage a also posed atop a dirt caked tank for a portrait taken by photographer Coleman Annie Leibovitz for the december Issue of vanity fair. Melissa Rathbun Nealy and fellow army spec. David Lockett were captured by iraqi troops shortly after the persian Gulf War began last january. They were in a flatbed Supply truck that made a wrong turn and got stuck in Sand near the kuwaiti Border on Jan. 30. Rathbun said his daughters army hitch is up in the fall and she is undecided about re enlisting. He said the couple have told him they May be assigned to Germany. Air travellers complaints plunge to 20-year Low Washington a air travellers seemed to have Little to complain about a at least to the government a during november. The transportation department reported wednesday that airline passengers lodged fewer complaints with the department during november than in any month in the last 20 years. Department spokesman Bill Mosley said there was no readily apparent explanation for the Low number of complaints during the month when the airlines on time performance worsened slightly. According to department figures 468 complaints were received about airline service during november 38 percent fewer than the 642 complaints received in november 1990 and 21 percent fewer than the 566 complaints last october. The major airlines carried 34.3 million passengers during november about 900,000 fewer passengers than they carried the previous november. The 468 complaints for november marked the lowest number of airline complaints for any single month since june 1971, when complaints were tabulated by the old civil aeronautics Board according to the department. Meanwhile the 11 largest . Carriers reported an average 82.7 percent on time performance Down from 83.4 percent in october and 84.6 percent in november 1990. The airlines also reported fewer lost bags. During november there were 4.52 baggage complaints for every 1,000 passengers compared with 5.60 complaints per 1,000 passengers in november 1990. German study endorses magnetic train Bonn Germany apr Germany on of the a trans rapid a which floats on a thursday announced positive test results magnetic Cushion had concluded that the for a planned super fast magnetic train concept is ready for actual development that could help solve the country a grow Germany has already invested 1.6filing traffic congestion. Lion Marks a Little More than $1 billion the government said an experts study in the project
