European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 07, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes saturday August 7,1993 Sas Jon co Norrick Delsing prepares fresh Sweet Rolls for the reopening of the Baum older commissary wednesday As customers Jam the aisles of the newly renovated facility. Renovated commissary was Worth the wait by Jon Connor staff writer 13aumholder, Germany the waiting lines extended to the Back of the store and the parking lot was packed. But no one complained. The reason the Baum older commis sary at Smith Barracks reopened wednesday after a six month closure to modernize its  was Worth the wait said family member Debbie Churchward after she loaded her and a Friend s groceries into her car. The $1.7 million renovation to the 16 year old building includes an expanded produce Section and bigger Deli. It also includes a new bakery offering a wide variety of fresh goodies Energy saving Cool ers and refrigerators a Public address system playing music pipes to support the Cooling system and floor tiling. It looks More like a stateside super Market said family member Helen my Reynolds. The Money to pay for the renovation came from the 5 percent surcharge added on to grocery Bills said Connie Ellis Deputy commissary officer. A German construction company Rcch was awarded the contract. Four years ago the commissary received a new floor ceiling shelving and some refrigerators Ellis said. During the face lifting residents of the Baum older military Community with nearly 16,000 people could shop at a temporary store set up in a Supply Ware House there or could drive about 40 Miles Southeast to commissaries at Ramstein a or Vogel Weh. The temporary store carried the full line of items that any other commissary would have Ellis said. The temporary facility also had six checkout lanes and a special baby Supply room was set up. Produce meat along with Freezer and chill items were trans ported several times a Day from the regu Lar commissary s warehouse to the temporary store. It worked out Well said commissary manager Giinther Krohnert who has worked in the Baum older commissary for 38 years. The majority of people liked  thanks to Volunteer children and sol Diers assigned to help Ellis said the movement of goods from the temporary store to the regular store has gone smoothly. And fortunately for customers Krohnert said the renovations ended Al most four months ahead of schedule. U.s., russian vets of Vietnam gather in spirit of cooperation Moscow a proudly displaying chests full of medals russian and american veterans of the Viet Nam War Shook hands and embraced thursday vowing to never again be pitted against each other As enemies. The emotional meeting of 11 american and about 50 soviet veterans in front of a huge Stone bust of Karl Marx near the Kremlin was the first time that the for Mer combatants met in an official capacity although they have met informally before. The War is All past us and the Only thing we need to do now is remember our fallen comrades said a Thomas lurch or chairman of the National Vietnam veterans coalition foundation. We work together in peace so that we Are never looking across at each other  about 15,000 soviets served in North Vietnam Dur ing the War primarily providing technical and tactical assistance to the North vietnamese army said retired a Gen Vladimir Abramov who commanded soviet forces in North Vietnam. Many of the soviets specialized in . Radio equip ment and taught the North vietnamese to use soviet made weapons Abramov said. American aviation at that time was an enemy to us. The vietnamese regarded you As enemies and you regarded the vietnamese As enemies Abramov told . Veterans but the . And the russian governments have now reached the Point where we  at one tableland express our thoughts to each  accompanying the . Veterans to Russia were members of the International knights of Malta a Mili tary order that dates to the mid-11th Century and Atsas a service group. The group which plans to reinstate the order in rus Sia by inducting several russians on sunday brought medical supplies and five pacemakers to help need veterans and their families. We want to help the russian people in any Way pos sible As they undergo the change in their nation said James Laws a cardiologist from Dayton Ohio who will help russian doctors install the pacemakers. The atmosphere was upbeat thursday As veterans of both countries reminisced and chatted underneath the slogan proletarians of All countries unite etched into the Stone base of the Marx bust. In the aftermath of the failed 1991 soviet coup someone had painted the words proletarians of All countries forgive me Over the etching. I m Happy that 25 years after j landed in Hanoi North Vietnam As an enemy of America i now can meet americans Here As friends said Konstantin to Goz Hev. He said russian Vietnam veterans meet annually under Marx s gaze on aug. 5, mimicking a soviet War film in which sex soldiers gather every year at the statue. William t. Bennet general Secretary of the . Vet Erans organization said it would have been impossible for russians and americans to fraternize even a few years ago because of the cold War. Somebody asked me if i had known this one rus Sian Veteran in Vietnam. I said no. If i had then one of us would have been a traitor he said. Russian Veteran Valentin Kozarev was More to the Point. Sure we had contacts with american pilots. They bombed us and we beat them. That s it. That s the Way it was Kozarev said chuckling. At least we  j Germany frees terrorist convicted in kidnapping Berlin a Germany on Friday released from prison a lebanese terrorist convicted in a Case related to the 1985 Twa hijacking in Beirut and murder of a . Navy Sailor. Abbas Hamadi left the maximum Security Penitentiary in the far Western state of Saarland at7 30 . In a police Convoy. He was immediately taken to Frankfurt inter National Airport where authorities planned to Deport him by putting him on a plane for Beirut later in the Day German television said. The 34-year-old convict who was granted nearly release figures into one of Germany s most spectacular terrorism affairs. He helped Kidnap germans in Beirut in an at tempt to Gam the release of his brother Moham med a Hamadi who was captured in Germany and held in the hijacking of Twa flight 847 in Beirut on june 14,1985. A . Navy diver Rob Ert Dean Stethem 23, was killed in the incident and his body was dumped on the Tarmac at Bei rut International Airport. Mohammed Hamadi is serving a life sentence in Germany f or the hijacking and murder. Hewon t be eligible for parole for nine years. German authorities arrested Abbas Hamadi at the Frankfurt Airport in 1987 after a flight from Beirut where he had engineered the Kidnap pings. He was convicted and sentenced to 13 years in prison in 1988. Abbas was Given Early re lease under a Law that permits a foreigner to beset tree and immediately  by As Hamadi a member of the iranian backed Hezbollah hid his head under a jacket As the car carrying him and his escorts sped out of the prison accompanied by three police cars