Excerpts from Letters to Mom in italics.
AG3 Stephen S. Fehr
6901st S.C.G., Box 168
A.P.O. 872, N.Y., N.Y.
15 January 1962
I arrived in Germany at Frankfurt Rhein-Main Air Base Friday [Jan. 12th] about dinner time. Late in the afternoon I travelled [sic] by train to here [Zweibrücken]. There were two switches [train transfers] to make. The Germans seem helpful and friendly. I arrived here Friday nite but only got my [mail] box # today.
[When AG3 Fehr stepped off the train, his assessment of the USAF rose. He was greeted by an A1/C in utilities who helped him throw his baggage into the back of a blue military pickup truck and drove up the winding mountain road to the US Army's Kreuzberg Kaserne (barracks). Inside the gate on the right, the USAF 6901st Special Communications Group was quartered at the upper end just beyond the string of identical, bleak U.S. Army barracks lining both sides of the street. He was signed in by the sergeant on duty and assigned a temporary bunk. One of the airmen escorted him to the EM Club to unwind after the journey. It was a Friday night; he couldn't get checked in until Monday morning.
|
In order to learn German better, I made friends with 2 German paratroopers who are stationed a couple blocks from here. Right now I am supposed to be in their Cantina drinking beer on them.
The countryside is beautiful. You have to see it to believe it. I must go through red tape & trouble to get a German driver's license and wait 90 days before I'm allowed to buy a car. I hope Pepper [stepfather] will sell the car so I can get a car. I can't wait to travel and see more of the country.
Tell Joe Bihon [high school friend] I drank some Beck bier. That was 15¢ a bottle. Parkbrau is a good local beer and costs only 20c a half-liter.
Mixed drinks cost about 20¢ & 25¢ in the club (enlisted men's). Downtown they probably cost a little more. For a dollar you can get a good meal. So far my German is coming along OK. I've been to quite a few places with Gunther and Fred where I was the only American. I've also seen quite a few lovely fräuleins. All the American popular songs are here with German artists. The Twist is in English by Chubby Checker but most songs are in German. Rock n Roll singers sound funny in German.
By tomorrow I should be settled and in the groove. I'm still living out of a seabag yet. I am with the air force and will have to pay a $2 a month to get out of KP. They hire German women to do it. It's really worth the money. We are allowed to send up to $10 worth duty free to the states as a gift. I'm making paragraphs for looks only, not to separate thoughts. The German soldiers don't get paid very much at all. Gunther makes 69 D.M. a month. That is about $4.50 a week. I don't complain much about my pay now.
To use American appliances with German voltage, I must buy a transformer. I think it costs a few dollars. The University of Maryland has extension courses here. I will look into it and maybe take some. It's getting late so I'll sign off. Auf Wiedersehen
22 January 1962
How is everyone? I'm fine! I hope everyone back home is too. Perhaps I should have waited a few days till I got a letter from you, so I would know what to say nor ask questions you might already have answered.
There are two main things here which I quite haven't adapted to yet. They are the door handles and the toilet seats. [And the narrow sandpaper called toiletenpapier!] There just aren't any door knobs in Deutschland. The toilet seats have a larger opening with a narrower periphery. I don't experience the sensation of falling through as when I first arrived.
Over the weekend I made quite a few friends with some very nice Germans in Niederauerbach , a town just several kilometers from here. At Oskar's Gasthaus I saw Rin Tin Tin bark in German. It was amusing to hear Rusty and everyone speak Deutsch. I also saw a Western and an old Jimmy Durante movie. Surprisingly enough, I can follow their TV fairly well.
The only time I had a tinge of homesickness was when I saw some German kinder at the Gasthaus about Bobby's & Betsy's age. How is everyone? Are you still working so hard? You probably are, but I hope not. Auf Wiedersehen!
28 January 1962
I got your letter on Fri. (26). I left McGuire [Air Force Base, NJ] on Thursday about 1:30 in afternoon. We stopped at the Azores for 1½ hrs. When I got to Frankfort [sic] I got train tickets on my orders [i.e. paid by the U.S. Navy]. I had to change trains twice. It was a struggle with all my baggage, but I made it OK. The German people, the friendly, helpful German people, made it possible for me to make all the train connections.
Right now I have one big wall locker. Soon, I'll have half of another and a foot locker. I'll have room for my clothes. I sure need more clothes. I might even buy some.
You asked if my money held out. Well, I went out on the town Fri, Sat, & Sun when I first got here. Payday was supposed to be Monday, but as it turned out I didn't get payed [sic] till that Wed. I'm glad I got that out of my system (going downtown). I saw all the GI bars and the bar girls. Now, I'm sort of settled down with some friends (both US & Deutsch) at Oskar's Gasthaus about 3 miles away. I usually hitch a ride down the mountain & walk the other two miles. I'm getting exercise. Believe it or not, today is a beautiful day. The sun is shining & the sky is clear except for a little haze.
We get the "Stars & Stripes" everyday. It's a newspaper & we get the latest news. I also pick up some news via German TV and papers. Some day I hope (to use an old German expression) to have "no sweat" with the language.
Brig hasn't gotten here yet but were expecting him any day now. Oh, my cold is OK! I must hurry if I want to shit, shave, n shower and still be in time for chow. So Auf Wiedersehen!
4 February 1962 (Sunday)
The other day I bought in downtown Zwei a pair of pants and a heavy sweater that buttons down the front. The pants are nice & cost about $6 and the sweater (which can be worn instead of a sports coat) cost about $12. Next week I intend to buy some German shoes. Perhaps in March I'll buy a suit. I might let my hair grow long too. I guess I'm really going kraut.
 |
About the door handles, you asked if they had swinging doors. Well, we have door handles in our car and are they swinging doors…The food here is "prima," Deutsch for excellent. However, the food in the chow hall ist nicht so gut. I don't eat too many meals in the chow hall. Instead I eat in the club, downtown, or at Oskars.
Once I get a car, I'll have a chance to see some sights and get some good pictures. I'll probably buy one a few months from now.
What do German boys wear on their heads? Most of them leave their hair grow long and wear nothing [on their heads]. A few wear hats something like the kind "Harry" [Mike Hopkins] had. You might call them Bavarian style. If I have money I might get one next payday.
I bought a transformer so I could use my iron plus [bought] all my clothes so I'm pretty well broke. Brig had a lot of money because He took a month's advance pay. I borrowed $10 from him till next payday. I am not getting into the habit, though!
After I am here 3 months I'll get to go to a [driving] school for a week and then I'll be able to apply for a German driver's license. You see they have all kinds of road signs and things peculiar to America that must be learned. [The international road signs were not yet in use in the states and thus an oddity.]
I'm glad to hear Betsy is in the first reading class. I hope she stays there too. I miss the kids also. I bought a candy bar apiece for two different kids about Bobby & Betsy's age[s] down in Niederauerbach. Kids are kids everywhere. If they wouldn't speak German you could not tell the difference. I hear that the US kids in Germany (dependents of servicemen) pick up a lot of Deutsch! Well, it's getting late and I want to read for about 15 minutes before I hit the rack.
11 February 1962 (Sunday afternoon)
Was there much on TV or in the papers about the mine disaster in Saarbrucken? Almost 300 people were killed. The mine isn't too far from here, probably about 50 miles. My friends in the Bundeswehr [German Army] had to stand by and give blood. There is a German holiday going on called Fasching that lasts about a month. Because of the accident or disaster there was no music or dancing around here this weekend. Perhaps there was none in all of Deutschland; I don't know.
Next Sunday I am to have dinner with a German (civilian) friend I know. He's about 17 or 18 and has a Volkswagen. His mother gave me Kassekuchen, Struedelkuchen, and kaffee last nite. That's cheese cake, Streudel cake and coffee. It was pretty good! I noticed she was rolling cigarretes [sic] for herself so I gave her a pack of Winston that I carry for girls who like to smoke. American cigaretts [sic] cost about $4 or $5 on the German market. Anyway, she was pleased. I watched some TV at their house. I saw the mass funeral services for the mine victims. I understood almost all the German that was said.
I get paid by check which I cash at the American Express office & get American money. I usually change about $10 or $15 for marks every payday at the EM Club. The club gives 4 DM for our dollar and other places give the standard 3.83 DM for our dollar. DM means Deutsch Mark, the ".83" is Pfennigs or cents.
Living with the Air Force on an Army Post complicates things with the U. of Maryland. The Air Force or Army won't help me pay for courses. However, I spoke with a Navy officer from Frankfurt last week and he said it soon would be straightened out. It "machts nichts" (doesn't matter) because I was too late for the one German course. In a few months another one will start & I'll probably get in.
There are two laundry and dry cleaning services on post. I spend approx. $5 or $6 a month on laundry and dry cleaning. Our skivies, socks & towels are done by a German girl. She does as much as you can stuff in your sack for a quarter. This service is only for 6901st personnel. The Army has just opened a small automat. I don't think we (6901st) will be allowed to use it.
The weather has been pleasant the last few days. I've seen a lot of blue sky & sunshine. It's about 4:30 this Sunday afternoon and I've just finished (with the other guys) cleaning the room, shining my shoes, making the bed, ironing some clothes, and now this letter. I'm going to shower & shave and dress. I believe I'll go for a walk. I've been listening to classical music on radio. Brig just dropped down. We might go down town together.