European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 28, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Marchers Are Kings of the Road a for four Days a As automobile traffic halts to let them  continued from Page 18 incl break a Little Way Down the Road. The next Stop is in crave. My legs Are wobbly and i feel disoriented perhaps because of All the painkillers but i slowly drive on. It s 0 30 a.m., and All i want to do is reach the third Stop a Buijk a by around noon. Outside of grave i pass a working Windmill a a perfect excuse or reason to Stop awhile. It s becoming More and More necessary to break every 30 minutes for no More than five minutes for water. It takes a hour to reach Buijk. I celebrate by visiting you guessed it the Blister tent for a final tuneup before the push through the three m s Ompok Moten Hoek and finally Malden a to near Hermens where we re awarded our medals. Limping away from the rest Point i begin to notice the crowds lining the roads Are becoming bigger and livelier than those of the previous Days. The Waves of encouragement and cheers give the needed boost to keep going and the ongoing festivities lift spirits and feet for those much needed second and third winds. Along the last Straightaway i learn to appreciate the British contingents is amps out Schrenier a ss3 qua Schuett Lof medical technicians from the 212th Mash normally based in Wiesbaden Germany attend to some of the More serious Blister problems. Perhaps the Best trained and most Happy go Lucky teams competing a even More. These teams come for one reason and one reason Only. To have fun. Complete with Power squirt guns unit stickers and Stamps they set out to both motivate the troops and wow the spectators. It definitely worked for me. Two Kilometres out and i m pumped up for the final push. The reality of finishing is beginning to set in and a feeling of Calm overcomes me. I did it. One of my dutch friends greets me at the finish with a Beer. It tastes so Good. He grabs my control card and rushes. Over to get my medal. After he pins it on me i feel redeemed. I have shown that if i want something bad enough i can get it. Nijm Egen i now know is not a race a a Competition to beat others and prove yourself to others. It is a test. Between you and the Road that helps to better define yourself to yourself. Readers action Lin getting details on Early retirement pay c a what is the latest news on the Early retirement pay and benefits retroactively to members with 15 or More years of service who left the military under the special separation Benefit voluntary separation incentive Bonus programs of 1992? Warren b. Tuft Ansbach Germany ski Shari Lawrence Media relations officer . Total  personnel come department of the  Alexandria va., replies although this Isnit an Active duty question i have researched a general answer and coordinated this response with the   Reserve personnel Center a percen Public affairs office in St Louis. To. This information applies to any Soldier who has separated from the  through any Bonus program for instance the voluntary separation incentive or voluntary Early transition programs. These former soldiers May Call the a percen transition assistance management task Force at 800 874-8451, 314 538-3647 or Dan 892-3647. We emphasize that this task Force is available for former soldiers. Active duty soldiers must Contact their local transition offices for assistance. The task Force May provide assistance in requesting record. Information verifying income under the Bonus programs and explaining general benefits information. Reader action line which appears mondays and wednesdays strives to answer questions about life in a military environment v you Don t know where to turn for help write read Ere action line co the stars and stripes uni 29480. Apo a 09211. All letters must be signed. Please include a phone number and address to accelerate the response process. A Mapplethorpe exhibit quietly touring Europe Byra casert the associated press Europe is not Cincinnati. And Jesse Helms finds to match on this Side of the Ocean. After creating a storm of controversy in the United states at the turn of the decade an exhibit of works by photographer Robert Mapplethorpe is breezing through Europe this year with barely a whisper of discontent. Yet at the beaux arts Palace in Brussels Belgium there is no escaping the pictures of Oral sex homosexual fondling bondage and sadomasochism lacing the prints of Pristine Flowers and ornate portraits. Quot sure some people Are taken Aback and say some pictures Are just too much. But they done to cause any problems a said Piet Coessens director of exhibitions at the beaux arts Palace. The same photos however caused a landmark obscenity trial in the United states controversy in the . Congress and a bitter nationwide debate whether Public Fonds should be used for what some consider obscene Art in october 1990, a jury acquitted the contemporary arts Center in Cincinnati and its director of pandering obscenity and using children in nudity related material. The charges were prompted by the exhibit Robert Mapplethorpe the perfect moment which had a seven week run and Drew More than 80,000 people an attendance record for an Art exhibit in Cincinnati. The show travelled elsewhere in the United states. A Mapplethorpe exhibit in 1989 at the Corcoran gallery of Art in Washington was cancelled after sen. Helms r-n.c., declared some of the artists photographs to be obscene. Helms objections resulted in a move by Congress to limit Federal funds to the arts. Mapplethorpe died in March 1989 at the age of 42 of complications from aids. In death he became a Symbol of the struggle Between artistic Freedom and government restraints. Quot it does no to Shock me. It s Art Quot said Andre Lefevre As he walked through the exhibit at the beaux arts Palace a Brussels Premier showcase for Art. An Entrance sign at the museum tells visitors that the Mapplethorpe show is being staged Quot with the cooperation of the City of  in addition City Hall has offered the shows organizers free and space on Public billboards across town. Apart from More being More tolerant Quot politics is totally cultural Here Quot said theater producer and parliamentarian Jan decode. A the Only time a politician sees the inside of a museum is to Cut a ceremonial ribbon Quot he said. He said few politicians knew the Mapplethorpe show which runs through sunday was in Brussels. In the United states there was an outcry because the Mapplethorpe show used Federal funds. In Denmark where the european tour opened late last year there was not even a problem getting commercial sponsorship. The nations no. 1 Bank uni Bank gladly obliged when the Louisiana museum of Modem and near Copenhagen asked. In three months there the show Drew v 280,000 people. It also toured in Hamburg Venice Stockholm and Turku Finland with Little controversy before coming Here. After Brussels the show goes to Turin Italy i Lisbon Portugal and Barcelona Spain. 20 wednesday july 28,1993 the stars and stripes