European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 31, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                War stories fade away with father Cathy hand i did t expect regrets of my childhood to Hunt me when i covered the a Day 50th anniversary events at Normandy frat ice. After All i Wasny to even bom when world War ii took place. As i photographed and took notes for various stateside publications i listened to world War ii veterans vividly reliving memories with their sons daughters and grandchildren. I watched As they pointed out the places where the French resistance had hidden them and the spot where the foxhole containing a dead Soldier with a lit cigarette still in his Mouth had been. The words of my youth began to Echo in my head Quot history is Boring. Why do i have to know this stuff it happened so Long ago it does no to make any differ once now. Who wants to go to War anyway Quot Back when i was a child my father sat silently. My words must have sometimes Cut like a knife. I never appreciated the world he grew up in. Born on dec. 7,1901, my father Donald Beenken opening laugh Curtis Enfield England v j v 3i w in / rih. Ujj Quot j Quot my compliments to the  Stevens Usa yg9e a tsp say is i the Gullible network was ii years old when Woodrow Wilson was elected president. I was about that age when i first became aware of who president Kennedy was Wilson was a the first president to place american soldiers in Nicaragua the dominican Republic and Haiti Wilson got America involved in a revolution in Mexico resulting in the famous cat and mouse chases with Pancho Villa that surely captured the interest of the eras Young boys including my father. He was nearly 16 years old when the United states declared War on Germany in 1917, americans first War on european soil. Within 18 months America had an army of More than 4 million men Irr Europe my father was too Young to fight but i wonder about his older Brothers. I done to know if any of them served. Did he know anyone who never came Home he never talked about it. Unfortunately i never asked. I wonder what he Felt when in his 30s, Wilh a wife and children Germany again began military occupation of adjoining countries leading toward world War ii in september 1939. It was on my fathers 42nd birthday that the japanese struck Pearl Harbor and . Bases in the Philippines Guam and Midway resulting in americans entering world War ii. Within a few Days the draft act requiring All men from 18 to 65 to Register with Active duty required for males age 20 to 45, was passed. This included my father. After talking with and looking into the eyes of those who served on Utah and Omaha beaches its Tough to admit i assumed he was too Young to fight in world War i and too old for world War ii. I wish i knew what happened. I want to know if he Felt like shouting from the rooftops in 1945 when Germany and Japan surrendered. Did he attend or participate in the Welcome Home parades i want to know How he personally sensed the growing hostility in the years following the establishment of the Truman doctrine when words such As a cold War a entered the american vocabulary. What was the Mccarthy Era like from his eyes and heart was it the a red scare a or maybe the Berlin blockade that made his jaw set Quot. Taking a Sledge Hammer to the Berlin Wall was one of the most memorable moments of my life. I was too Young to understand its consequences when it went up in 1961.1 doubt he w Ouid Ever have imagined me helping to take it Down in 1989. Post world War ii peace was just settling in when the korean War erupted in 1950. If my dad were alive today he might be Able to Tell my son a fresh Young Marine about the Day in 1945 when the allies divided Korea establishing a communist regime in the North and a Republic in the South. He did t Tell me. All this before i was even born. I was daddy so Little Cathy  we talked about not getting lost in the Corn he taught me How to ride a Bike and How to slap a boy. I used my older Brothers for practice he did no to teach me the relevance of his of our history. Maybe it was too personal. Too emotional. Now its too late. He died at age 70 in 1971. As i stood near the press tent watching the thou Sands of faces leave Omaha Beach i was overwhelmed at the thought of the personal stories and pieces of american history that May never be passed to the next generation. We Are a Young country. Unlike our european hosts we Don t have much history to remember. Much of what makes our past personal is within our reach. Done to hold it at arms length. Hold it tight but pass it on Cathy hand works a Ramstein a. Germany. / Send in your column plus photo of yourself Tot be our guest sunday Magazine the stars and stripes Apo 09211, or Postrach 11 14 37, d-64278 Darmstadt Germany contents from the cover. 4-7 country Over Here Odds amp ends. 8 Erna bomb cock tries to Click with daughter in tune. 9 another Way of looking at Quot the funds tones Quot this weeks films. 10-11 military circuit listings Inch nothing new about Quot the funds tones. A a television listings .12-15 local Cable and satellite schedules. Home entertainment 16 Quot  a Winner. 18 Joe Bob Boggs avoids theme Parks. Words amp wit. 19 James Kilpatrick excited Over frisson books. 20-21 r. L. Stine is the Rock of writers. Hot pages. Sidelights. 22 Clarence Page on then Acap. On parade.23 Superman Dean Cain admits a weakness. Last laugh. 24 Dave Barry on scientific wonders. A. Sunday is a weekly supplement of the stars and stripes Universal even with Halle Berry the funds tones lacks too much says Chuck Vinch. Ilis review is on Page 10. A look Back at the cartoon is on Page 9. Editor Bucky Fox cover Story de Stem Susan Harris production Bernard Jensen Eisa Williams editorial assistance Louis d. Pierce