European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 27, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday january 27, 1992 the stars and stripes a Page 3britons recall go invasion 50 years ago London apr fifty years ago sunday the first gis arrived to help the British defeat hitlers army. A overpaid oversexed and Over Here a some britons muttered. Others loved the . Soldiers. A they always came with these wonderful presents of nylons a recalled Helen Long whose parents invited lonely gis to their London Home. The a Friendly invasion a which gave Many villagers and City dwellers alike their first impressions of americans is recalled in an exhibition at the Imperial War museum. The Memorabilia include i uniforms gum wrappers and gifts of Nylon stockings saved by the British. American soldiers were issued a a Short guide to Britain. It contained such does and done Tsas a if you Are invited to eat with a family done to eat too much. Otherwise you May eat up their weekly  the nylons were Nice but Long resented the free spending americans who earned five times As much As British privates. When she served As a naval nurse in Egypt she saw taxis pass British soldiers by for big tipping gis. A they were Bumpious. They were Bossy. They were fresh. We were stale. The 8th army had been in the desert for years a said Long who said she declined dates with the americans. Many Young British women did fall for the americans and 70,000 married the gis Many settling permanently in the United states. The exhibit includes a letter from a i requesting permission to marry accompanied by a letter of consent from his prospective in Laws. The first troops arrived in Belfast Northern Ireland 50 years ago starting a buildup that peaked at 1.5 million in May 1944. The americans impressed British children handing out chewing gum and staging parties on their bases. A a we a never been used to being made such a fuss of a recalled Patricia Everson who was 9 when the 448th bomb group set up an Airfield at her Remote Village of Seething in Norfolk. On be night when Germany a surrender was announced she sat by her window watching gis shoot off firecrackers. Everson and her husband Ronald started the 448th bomb group collection of Memorabilia and helped to organize troop reunions. The next one will be held sept. 6. Anona Mocsar 85, served in the american red Cross organizing recreation for troops in Bedford 50 Miles North of London. The Green Bay wis., native remembers serving Coffee to band Leader Glenn Miller and sir Adrian Boult conductor of the bbl symphony following a morale boosting concert. A it was a strange time but a wonderful time a Moeser said. The exhibits opening coincided with the release of a Book titled Over Here the gis in wartime Britain by historian Juliet Gardiner. Gardiner said she wanted to explore the social and cultural history of the gis in Britain because american culture a a colonized  economic repair will take years expert says a amps Lynda Davidson professor Karl Heinz Hoppe by Kevin Dougherty Kaiserslautern Bureau Ramstein a Germany a it May take decades before the former soviet republics develop viable economies that can compete on world markets said a German University professor who is Active in the governments unification efforts. One of the primary problems facing the fledgling Commonwealth of Independent states is that Russia is perhaps playing too dominant a role Karl Heinz Hoppe said. A russians Are going to Lead the continent the former soviet Union again and do the same mistakes a Hoppe said during a recent luncheon sponsored by the Ramstein Council on International relations. A that seems to be a very dangerous  bom and raised behind the Iron curtain Hoppe teaches economics and marketing at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena in Eastern Germany. Hoppe worked for Many years with an optics company that was one of former East Germany a most successful state enterprises. As Export manager in charge of East West Trade he was permitted to travel to the soviet Union the United states Japan and elsewhere. However he was not allowed to go to then West Germany. His knowledge of the communist system and russian people has led him to the conclusion that Russia despite its abundance of natural resources lacks the know How to guide itself and the Commonwealth to delivery of . Fighters is first step n upgrading postwar kuwaiti Force Kuwait City apr Kuwait on saturday took delivery of the first of 40 sophisticated . Fighter jets that Are to be the Backbone of a new High tech postwar military. But Many senior military officers Are hoping for More fundamental changes in the Way the armed forces Are run. Many Are dismayed by the slow Pace of Reform in the military which was shattered by the 1990 iraqi invasion. The three fa/18 hornets that arrived saturday were the first of 40 being acquired under a $1.6 billion contract to replace the air forces aging a-4 sky Hawks and Mirage of is some of which were lost in the invasion. A if you have High technology you done to have to look for bigger manpower a said defense minister Sheik Ali Al Sabah. A with smaller manpower you can have a protective  another eight fa/18s, which Cost $38 million apiece will be delivered Over the next month. The rest of the fighters will arrive after the $500 million reconstruction of the Al Ahmadi and Al Jathra air bases which were wrecked during the War. Other equipment to be delivered from the United states Over the next 18 months include 700 humvee the . Army a modern jeep. The kuwaitis might also get Hawk anti aircraft missiles to replace those captured by Iraq As Well As Patriot anti missile systems. Orders for tanks and other Battlefield equipment await the outcome of an american military study. Kuwait a military is Down to about 10,000 men including 4,000 in the air Force from a pre invasion level of around 21,000. An initial recruitment drive attracted Only about 2,000 men. Auto Plant May reopen despite labor dispute Seoul South Korea apr South koreans largest to maker plans to resume operations monday after a Day shutdown caused by a severe labor dispute a Spany spokesman said. Despite sundays announcement news reports noted Union leaders As vowing to prevent workers m entering the Hyundai motor co. Plant. They inned Street demonstrations against Hyundai Man ment and the government the reports added. Thousands of militant workers ended a seven Day of pation of the Plant last tuesday after police threat ened to storm it with armoured vehicles supported by helicopters and thousands of riot police. The dispute began dec. 17, when the Union demanded a one time Bonus equal to 150 percent of monthly salaries. After workers voted to strike the company closed the Plant on Jan. 14. The workers took it Over the next Day. Hyundai Auto workers make an average of $1,600 monthly a wage higher than employees of smaller Auto companies. Ward a Market Economy soon. In Eastern Germany a we have the masterpiece Here in West Germany people know what we want a he said. But in the Commonwealth a a there a no direction no plans no ideas. The mentality is absolutely missing. What is their goal they want to reach a added Hoppe a they need a lot of assistance. It could take one two three generations. It could take a very Long  former soviet president Mikhail s. Gorbachev is revered in Eastern Germany while russian president Boris n. Yeltsin is looked upon with suspicion said Hoppe who is on the research and consulting end of German unification. Gorbachev a popularity remains High he said because of the changes he implemented in the mid-1980s that ultimately brought about the fall of the Berlin Wall. Hoppe said what happened in october 1989 in Germany was not so much a revolution As it was an implosion of a system void of substance. At the time he added germans were too caught up in the euphoria of the moment to worry about future difficulties such As High unemployment crime and the costs of rebuilding the infrastructure in Eastern Germany. Despite the problems Hoppe said Germany has made great strides in unifying its people. It is unrealistic to expect that 40 years of communism could be reversed in just Over two years he maintained. A my guess a Hoppe said a is that it might take 10 to 12 years at least a before the two Germany Are  pay unlike russian prices is far from sky High Moscow apr prices Are astronomical these Days in Russia. But salaries including for cosmonauts Are not. The main to news reported saturday that cosmonauts Are considering going on strike to protest salaries equivalent to about $6 a month. Ground controllers it said planned a warning strike today during the Docking of a Progress cargo Craft with the Mir space station. A your renowned cosmonauts today Are prepared to join the ranks of pickets and strikers a the broadcast said. Cosmonauts such As Yuri Gagarin the first Man in space were among the country a greatest heroes under soviet Rule. But the Tough economic reforms imposed by russian president Boris n. Yeltsin this month after the collapse of the soviet Union has them hurting worse than even the average factory worker. The television said cosmonauts average about 600 rubles a month while the average salary is 960 rubles or about $9.60. Its report indicated that civilian cosmonauts primarily researchers were considering a strike against the Enervia conglomerate because of the Low wage. Military cosmonauts usually the pilots of spacecraft apparently would not take part