European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 18, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Final peace cold War Lawson continued from Page 51 who was working for United press International in Bonn and Fleming filed a wire report about the censorship order. Surprisingly Lawson allowed stripes to print Fleming a piece although references to Kiessling a alleged homosexuality had to be edited out. In another Surprise move Lawson came to stripes to face an angry crowd of reporters and editors in a two hour meeting on the controversy. A you have my word that the allegations about Gen. Kiessling Are false a Lawson said repeatedly. Quot i can to let you print a Story that a not  the staff argued that the allegations True or not were news but there was never a meeting of the minds. Lawson returned to his a Stuttgart Headquarters and stripes staffers began another letter writing Campaign to Congress. They found a staunch ally in sen. William Proxmire the Democrat from Wisconsin who blasted Lawson in a Senate speech in february 1984. A the general decided that military personnel Are so weak of character that they must be protected from news stories so they done to say something wrong a Proxmire said. A what  German Chancellor Helmut Kohl later restored Kiessling to Active duty with full rank and honors. It is now believed that the allegations of Kiessling a homosexuality were the work of the Stasi the East German secret police. Although Proxmire continued to keep the heat on the military his efforts did Little to improve the situation in Europe where interference from the military remained business As usual. The situation came to a head in August 1986 when Navy capt. Dale Patterson stripes Proxmire editor in chief resigned and retired after serving 16 months of a three year tour. In an interview with the Columbia journalism review Patterson said a the degree of command influence became intolerable to me. It got to the Point where i was getting Calls on weekends from underlings speaking for generals and admirals. I just got sick of  problems were even More widespread at stripes sister paper in the Pacific where the staff was in open revolt against the editor in chief who was accused of killing controversial news stories and obeying the Pacific Comdr a every whim. Proxmire and other members of Congress continued to Call for an investigation of military censorship at the two papers and in 1988 the general accounting office was finally ordered to step in. The Gao a seven month investigation substantiated 45 instances of censorship or unwarranted command influence in the Pacific and 12 similar occurrences in Europe. At european stars and stripes the censorship took the form of what the Gao called a new German army Gan. Of enter Kiessling. Management by european come officials or the papers senior editors. The examples cited included the Kiessling affair the censorship of a 1987 Story on a new facade at european come Headquarters in Stuttgart and a 1985 article also killed on the Purchase of 100 flagpoles to decorate the Headquarters of the . Air forces in Europe. The Gao a 121-Page report issued in late 1988, also recommended sweeping changes at the paper including the hiring of a civilian editor in chief and the Patterson creation of an ombudsman to broker future disagreements with the military. The Gao also suggested that regulations and policy statements governing the paper be rewritten and that the stars and stripes policy advisory Board and fund Council be replaced with a single panel similar to a corporate Board of directors. The stars and stripes usually sent a single photographer to cover the annual airshow at Ramstein a Germany but the paper broke with tradition in 1988. There had been a string of crashes involving nato aircraft that year and the editors decided to hedge their bets by sending photo staffers Ken George and Dave Didio. Deedee Arrington Doke the papers Kaiserslautern Bureau reporter was on the scene to write about the event which attracted 300,000 spectators. It was aug. 28, a warm sunny sunday. By 3 ., George had collected enough shots for a photo spread and was on the Road Back to the papers Griesheim Headquarters intent on making a 7  Deadline. Didio the paper s insurance policy was snapping shots of an italian aerobatic team that had just begun its performance. Doke was watching from the rear of the crowd. The unthinkable occurred at 3 36  While performing an elaborate heart shaped Man Euver one of the italian jets clipped two other planes in the formation sending flaming chunks of fuselage and other wreckage crashing into the crowd. Forty six people were killed and another 120 were injured. While Doke interviewed survivors and searched desperately for a phone Didio snapped dozens of shots of the infernos aftermath then fought his Way past the gnarled Jumble of departing spectators and police cars in a mad Effort to get his film to the paper. Meanwhile a hastily assembled editing team in Griesheim began Patching together a front Page Story based on Dokes eyewitness account. As word of the crash spread members of the stripes reporting staff trickled in and began calling air Force agencies hospitals and the German police. The news editors ripped up previously prepared pages and John Flanagan an air Force sergeant who had attended the open House showed up with snapshots of the crash. Didio having finally mastered the traffic Jam arrived with an armload of horrifying shots of the tragedy. The frantic nine hour Effort produced two much quoted editions that were later nominated for a pulitzer prize. The Story remained frontage news for a week As the staff covered everything from the psychological Impact on children who had seen the crash to German government complaints that emergency planning had been inadequate. Doke followed the Story for More than a year attending funerals memorial events and government hearings and updating the Progress of spectators who had been injured in the crash. A Short time later the air Force banned air shows at most of its bases in Europe. Ken Clauson the stars and stripes Bureau reporter for Northern Germany and Berlin was kicked Back in his apartment on the evening of nov. 9,1989, sipping Beer and listening to a blues album when the Telephone interrupted. A have you heard the news a the editor on the line demanded. Continued on Page 55 the Ramstein crash killed 46 and injured 120. File Page 52 a 50th anniversary special edition saturday april 18. 1992