European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 16, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Wednesday december 16, 1992 the stars and stripes b Page 3spuds, soap and Hope for croat army wife s mercy Mission bathed in Success by Joseph Owen Heidelberg Bureau Heidelberg Germany a Here Are some items Linda Benda has acquired while Christmas shopping this year a seven tons of potatoes. A three Hundred pounds of Bath soap. A four tons of used clothing. You need a Christmas list like that when you play Santa Claus to thousands of refugees in Barlovac Croatia. Benda a 40-year-old native of Grafton n.y., put her family a traditional Holiday Celebration on the Back Burner this year so she can bring food clothing and other needed goods to hungry croats who have lost their possessions in the Balkan War. As the organizer of Mission mercy she has solicited donations cleared Legal hurdles and supervised volunteers who packed goods at the army a Mark Twain Village Chapel. The Heidelberg High school wrestling team was scheduled to Load the hundreds of boxes and bags onto a rented truck late tuesday. Then it was to leave for Barlovac a Small City 30 Miles Southwest of Zagreb the croatian capital. Benda became involved with Balkan War victims when her husband army capt. Gregory Benda joined a pilgrimage to med Gorje the site of a religious shrine near Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Before he left two months ago Linda Benda asked fellow roman Catholic parishioners for donated toiletries he could take with him. They donated 1,100 pounds. A a that show it All began a she said. A i Only wanted a few bars of soap. I did no to expect to get into this As a when Gregory Benda went to the Airport at Frank France paralysed by protest strikes Paris apr strikers paralysed rail and air service across France on tuesday stranding hundreds of thousands of people and prompting angry commuters to throw stones occupy a City Hall and take Over a train station. The rail workers who serve More than 3 million travellers a Day were protesting mondays conviction and sentencing of two Drivers they claim were made scapegoats for a 1988 crash that killed 55 people. Meanwhile air France employees walked off the Job for 24 hours Over the state owned airlines plans to Lay off 5,000 people by 1994 to slash heavy losses. Half the Days flights were cancelled. In the most dramatic action about 100 air France employees briefly blocked the runway at Nice Airport on the Riviera preventing an air inter Light from taking off for Paris. The rail unions called the walkout after the Driver of a train that slammed into another locomotive killing 55 people was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison monday for involuntary manslaughter. All but six months of the sentence against Daniel Sau Lin 47, were suspended but unions representing train Drivers described it As a a harsh and called Saulin a Scapegoat for mismanagement of the National railway system. The Driver of the other train Andre Fouquet received a two year suspended sentence for involuntary manslaughter. The Accident june 27, 1988, occurred in Central Paris during the evening Rush hour and was one of the worst in French history. Body of kidnapped israeli discovered in West Bank Jerusalem a the body of an israeli Border policeman kidnapped by Muslim fundamentalists was found in the occupied West Bank on tuesday the army said. Two Days after his abduction sgt. Maj. Nissim Tole Dano 29, was found in a ditch just off the Highway that links Jerusalem with the West Bank City of Jericho a statement said. The audacity of the kidnapping of the armed police officer on an israeli Street has shocked the nation. Toledano a kidnappers had threatened to kill him unless Israel freed an imprisoned Muslim fundamentalist Leader. Israel refused to negotiate until it received evidence Toledano was Well. Furt a Croatia air supervisor would not let him carry the donated goods without paying 700 Marks about $455 for extra weight Linda Benda said. She solved that problem by asking several other passengers while passenger service workers watched to Check in the packages As part of their Luggage. Nobody refused she said and her husband picked up the goods in Zagreb after he landed. Gregory Benda and his fellow pilgrims found croats desperate for help so they left All their clothes behind except the ones they wore Home. In the meantime his wife continued getting donations. She accumulated 5 tons of food and clothes. A German religious organization sending donations to Barlovac offered space on its truck so Linda Benda and the 5 tons went to Barlovac three weeks ago. She plans to follow the second shipment there today. Benda Barlovac had some 60,000 people before the War Benda said. About a third fled when War began in Croatia but tens of thousands of refugees filled the City when fighting moved to nearby Bosnia. The bosnian among them get help from some International organizations but Many croats whose Homes were destroyed Are left to fend for themselves Benda said. The Rev. John Marsh the Heidelberg chapels priest said the Charity project has affected the whole Parish including Small children who bring gifts for Croatia to the altar at mass. A a we re teaching them very Early on the idea of giving to the poor a said Marsh who also planned to leave for Croatia today. Some Church donors used the Campaign As an Means of dumping unwanted goods. The packers reported finding two evening gowns several bathing suits and dirty or torn laundry among the clothes. A there we Are going to a War zone where people Are starving and some people Are giving us bikinis and microwaveable food a Benda said. Others surprised volunteers with their generosity. One woman tilled two garbage bags with Candy canes for the 3,000 refugee children in Barlovac. Another donor left a Hundred Mark Bill in a Box of chocolates anonymously. The Winner of a microwave oven sold his contest prize to Benda for about one fifth its Cost so that it could be sent along to Cook the microwave Only foods. She also bought a butchers meat sheer at one twelfth the Normal Cost. Both appliances will be Given to the croats. Benda also has established links with the Caritas organization which plans to Fly several tons of Medicine from the United states next month to Croatia. A a in be always done charitable things but not anything with As much Impact As this a Benda said. She added later a a in a planning every time i get a Load to go Down until the wars contributions of Tood or Money Tor Bonda s Olfort can to sont to Mission Morey croatian Rollo fun car 419, Mark Twain Village Chapel Apo a 09102. Clothing donations Aro no Longor Nocos sary. More information is available by calling the Chapel at 370-8448 military or 06221-578448 civilian. Soldier says it s no big Deal but fire heroics wow germans by Mark Kinkade staff writer Fulda Germany a army warrant officer Wes Baker does no to understand what All the fuss is about. After All All he did was pull some bulls out of a barn fire. But the germans in Fulda think differently. Baker is a hero there designated for an award from the Fulda county commissioner at 4 . Thursday during a Christmas party at his office. It All started when a thunderstorm woke Baker 28, in his Home in dipper Germany in the Early hours of sept. 1. He looked out the window and saw a glow on the horizon that jogged memories from growing up on a farm in his Hometown of Nuremberg a. A it was a big the 11th army regt helicopter said. A there smoke and a Bright glow about two blocks from the House. Something was burning Baker said he put on his jeans a shirt and boots slipped his fire Baker resistant flight suit Over his clothes donned his camouflage hat and ran to the scene. When he got to the fire he found a barn burning As German firefighters watched. A i guess they done to get As excited about things like that Here As they do at Home a he said. A but i went ahead and ran in because i could see some bulls in the Baker said he was Able to pull out five bulls with the help of the firefighters who netted him Down with fire hoses before he went into the barn. However several pigs and at least seven other bulls were lost to the inferno. A cattle Are real dumb a he said. A a cow will go Back into a fire just to be in its Home. Some of them would stand there eating while their hides burned. And the pigs Well they just again and again the Young hero rushed into the burning barns. Without breathing Protection he ventured to run into the blazing report on Baker in local Fulda paper eventually Baker slipped away and went Home. A i was tired and the smoke was getting to me Quot be said. A and the people seemed to be awfully casual about it All. They must have very Good insurance the locals May not have been concerned but they were impressed. The Day after the fire the Fulda Zeitung the local newspaper ran a Story about the fire and paid tribute to Baker. A with great astonishment they helpers at the fire noticed his unbelievable venture a the paper reported. A again and again the Young hero rushed into the burning barn. Without breathing Protection he ventured to run into the blazing after the article appeared the Fulda Community decided to Honor Baker. According to Renata Stieber an 11th army Cav regt spokeswoman its the first time Fulda has honoured an american in this Way. A the commissioner thought it was a Good Way to pay tribute to this Man who has showed such Good relations with the Community a she said. A so we decided to make it part of our annual Christmas party with the Community when some of our soldiers join the Community to celebrate the Baker is Happy about the award but still bewildered by the attention. A where i come from you help out a he said. A if you re a Farmer that a your livelihood on fire. Its Only natural to try to save it. I just done to see what the big Deal
