European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 18, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Cold War continued from Page 45 order the stars and stripes had 500 Newsstands and was grossing $3.5 million from the Sale of magazines and pocketbooks with excess profits going to help pay for the armed forces network and assorted morale programs. Newspaper circulation however was less healthy. The . Army of the occupation had shrunk to a single division and a couple of constabulary outfits and stripes readership had declined with it to As Low As 40,000 in late 1947. Newspaper sales started to climb the following year when the soviets began the blockade of Berlin and four . Divisions were reassigned to Europe As part of the fledgling North Atlantic treaty organization. When the 7th army was reactivated the paper was enlarged to 24 pages and sales climbed slowly Back toward 100,000. On Jan. 29, 1948, photographer Carrol Sprague became the fourth stars and stripes staffer to die in the line of duty when the b-17 search plane in which he was flying crashed near Digne France. Sprague and the eight others killed in the Accident were searching for the wreckage of a c-47 plane carrying military wives and children that had crashed the Day before. The stars and stripes renamed the papers Sprague enlisted Barracks set up in a of Ungstad elementary school in Spragues Honor the paper moved once again in september 1949, this time to a former Luftwaffe Airfield and Zeppelin port in Griesheim a suburb of Darmstadt. The paper also streamlined its military title with a change from the 7744th stars and stripes unit to simply the stars and stripes Apo 175. Military personnel assigned to the paper were still stuck with the ponderous tag of cod 7811th Sci Darmstadt sub Post 7888th special troops training information amp education division european come Eisenhower reacts to news of Gen. Douglas Macarthur s firing. Til be darned Quot Ike said. Red Grandy whew. Francis a a red Grandy managed to talk his Way onto the papers photography staff in january 1951, despite the fact that his experience amounted to Little More than a few shots for the University of Southern California student newspaper. Three months later Grandy was trudging along Grandy stripes moved to a former Luftwaffe and Zeppelin base near Darmstadt Germany in 1949. Fila behind Eisenhower then the supreme Allied commander on a French army exercise near Koblenz Germany. After a morning of freezing weather and limited shots of the general Grandy had joined the rest of the press for lunch at Koblenz spark hotel. There the word spread president Truman had fired Gen. Douglas Macarthur. The French it turned out had kept the news from Eisenhower fearing he would Bolt Back to his Headquarters and miss watching the rest of their Maneu vers Grandy Felt the press had an obligation to Tell Eisenhower and besides it might make a Good picture when Ike Learned about Macarthur a Fate. Following lunch the press corps moved to the Crest of a Small Hill where Eisenhower was chatting with a pair of French generals. Grandy had just taken up a position in front of the general when Dick of Malley of the associated press stationed to Ike a right popped the question a have you heard the news about Gen