European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 08, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Sunday August 1993 the stars and stripes Page 3\ i draw Down will be just another memory by 95, off Ciais say Bevin Ccrawley staff write the rumours of Frankfurt s death were not greatly . Army last month announced it would withdraw nearly All of its Soldier from the German City by 1995, exactly half a Century after the first gis battled door to door from the Sachsenhause District up the Berge Strasse shopping area in the final weeks of world War ii. In a slow process of attrition schedule to last at least a year Frankfurt will join the other . Army ghost towns whose names haunt the memories of the 3 Mil lion american citizens who have been stationed in Germany since the end of the War. Aschaffenbur. . Munich. And within 18 months Berlin Fulda arid Wil Flecken. Remember that old i saying bigger than Stuttgart Well Stuttgart Ain t so big anymore. The Good news about the draw Down is that bad news like this is almost huge exodus of military people from Europe is gradually slowing an Public announcements have named nearly All the major units and bases left to commanders also vow to be More open about troop reductions in Europe. Last month s bit list targeting Frankfurt and Fulda s Lith army Ca regt among others will nearly finish army in Europe draw Down 200,000 150,000 100,000 $0,000 military pc reduced 72,500" 33.700 23.4 Oci Oci Oci Oci 93 the Job of cutting the army to 65,000 sol Diers in Europe within two years senior army officials said last week. About 213,000 soldiers were stationed i Europe in 1990, most of them in Germany. Cuts among air Force and Navy Mem Bers will reduce the total number of . Service members in Europe to 100,000 by october 1995. About 156,000 military members fro mall three services were stationed in Europe in july Down from 340,000 before the draw Down began according to serv ice spokesmen. Including families and civilian workers about 375,000 americans connected to the military Are living in Europe today. A year ago the Pentagon hoped a base Force of no fewer than 150,000 Active duty service members i Europe. The army s portion of that Fig ure 92,200, was to have been reached this year. However in the final weeks of his presidency George Bush signed legis lation further reducing the number of . Forces in Europe to 100,000 by 1995.the army will continue to make up two thirds of the . Forces in Europe. I think there is considerable concern that we Stop there Gen. David m. Mad Dox commander of . Army Europe told the new York times last week. He added that enough has happened in the world that we Nave rationalized the 100,000" figure. Maddox s Deputy it. Gen. Daniel r. Schroeder said a ground Force num Bering 65,009 will allow one corps with two Divi Sions to remain in Europe though they would be smaller than originally envisioned. Given the nature of the world As it is today what you have in Europe really is a competent and Credi ble Force Schroeder told the stars and stripes. Reducing its ranks far More swiftly than the other services the army s first s4s Jim Cert Ioian . Facilities in Frankfurt such As the commissary Are expected to be gone in two years. 9.900 i 5,000 out m obits two years of draw Down were marked by rapidly departing soldiers and a hesitancy by senior commanders to publicly acknowledge vacating units and bases until the troops were almost packed and gone. In a reversal of its past policy the army july announcement outlined a year s Worth of gradual orderly departures. In whatever future announcements that May be in store Schroeder said the army plans to do a full disclosure on the front end so that soldiers and families can be informed As Early As politics and a lengthy approval process were part of the reason for the slow Dis closures Schroeder said. It was also the policy of Gen. Crosbie e. Saint then commander of the army in Europe to delay notifying units so that soldiers could concentrate on their training mis Sions until they were ready to begin Dis banding. July s announcements of troop Cut Sand base closings will reduce the army in Europe to 74,900 soldiers Over the next14 months said Mclvin c. Mitchell an arms control specialist with the .army in Europe which has its Headquarters in Heidelberg Germany. A final group of 9,900 soldiers Alm stall from support units will be sent Home in fiscal year 1995, Mitchell said. By con Trast the army shipped Home More than 10,000 soldiers a month during october november and december of 1991, the draw Down s most hectic 90 Days. If you Don t believe we Haven t draw Down go to Nellinger in Stuttgart and look Mitchell said referring to another army ghost town in Germany. Go to Garl Studt and look. Go to Gippin Gnand look. They re All s4s of jaq0ru.s. Presence touched hearts of Frankfurt citizens writer Frankfurt Germany the announcement that the american military was leaving this City on the main River sparked a wave of nostalgia among the local population about what the . Pres ence meant to germans personally. The nostalgia went beyond tales of Little German girls and boys getting their first taste of ice Cream and chewing gum or seeing their first Black Soldier. There s a genuine feeling of loss of something that was vital to the Western German Way of life and democracy. When the department of defense announced the closures of 23 installations in the City the rumours that were americans became reality. The idea of the americans the army leaving saddens me said Irene Khateeb chief Secretary with Frankfurt s office of multicultural affairs. They brought us a new culture and a new feeling for life. Things in the City and the country will not be the same she the americans leaving Frankfurt is a great loss said Book publisher Wolfgang Schuler. I m thinking of the great cultural influence americans had Here after the War and that influence was conveyed chiefly by gis. I was always pleased when i saw a i on the streets 01 Frankfurt because they symbolized Freedom and gave the City an air of internationalism. The great jazz clubs in Frankfurt and the German musicians they nurtured and they were the Best in the country Are unthinkable without the i can t imagine this town without american soldiers said wine merchant Karl Heinz Lohrey. They re an integral part of the City s inventory. I have Ameri can customers that i la miss. But most of All the City just won t be the same. Let s be truthful Here Lohrey said. In spite of Many differences in German and american mentalities we germans feel a lot closer to americans than to Many of our european neighbors and certainly More than to the mentality of muslims or even people from the former East bloc we lived in the town of Kristel right outside Frankfurt said Franz Schapfel spokesman for the German labor Union dub. My parents were involved in the Resis Tance to Hitler and some were put into concentration Camps. What a Relief it was is de reacts Karl Heinz Lohrey a Frankfurt wine merchant says americans Are an Inte Gral part of the City s when the first american tanks rolled into Schapley claims it was the american occupation Force that helped establish in Germany the. Pioneering company Constitution for employees which is the foundation of today s works councils. The prospects of the americans Leav. Ing Frankfurt has led to a political lug of War Between the City and the Federal government even before the army has left. The property to be vacated by the americans reverts automatically to the Federal government which in turn will sell it to the City or to private investors. The City has begun a Campaign to talk Down the value of the property in the Hope that the Price will be reduced. But real estate in t Foremost in the minds of most frankfurters when they think about americans leaving town. Walter Wille writing in the Frankfurter Allie mine newspaper july 2, reminded frankfurters who might be Happy about the return of the property occupied by the american forces Why the americans were in the City in the first place. He reminded his readers that when the . Army arrived in Frankfurt there were Only 140 jews left of the original 31,000. And he reminded them of the Many streets squares and Parks that were named after Adolf Hitler. The americans cleared the path for a democratic society Wille wrote. Wille and Many frankfurters believe the american soldiers in Germany rep resented the same values that Frankfurt ers themselves cherish Freedom open Ness and tolerance
