Germany - Learning German

Guten tag!  Good day!

After graduating from BYU with a B.A. in languages, I joined the US Air Force.  I went to Officer Training School in Texas, then Intellingence school in Colorado, then I was sent to Kindsbach, West Germany.  It was during the Cold War.   Germany was still a divided country and the prospect of reunification seemed unimaginable at the time.  My first job was working in an underground bunker monitoring soviet air activity over Czechoslovakia.  It was a NATO operation, so I worked with military from the US, West Germany and France.  I really enjoyed being in an international setting.

I loved Germany.  I was stationed there for three years.  The language seemed fairly easy to pick up and understand.  The grammar was more of a challenge, but I only took one class and picked up the rest on my own.  I now wish I would have studied it more.    I was pretty busy working long hours as a new young intelligence officer and as a new bride.  I had met and married in Denver before I came.

Exploring Germany was such a wonderful experience.  I literally was in love with the castles and the beautiful countryside.  The people were so warm and friendly.  I really enjoyed spending time with my neighbors and practicing my German.    Some of my most favorites places were the Heidelberg castle, the Rhein river and castles, and the Neuschwanstein castle (the Disney castle was modeled after it). 

Another great benefit of living in Germany was how close it was to travel to other countries.  We didn't have much money, but could make a trip for a day or two with a picnic and see amazing things with out the huge cost.  I was able to visit France, including Paris a few times, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria.   I thought the Alps were the most beautiful place, next to Tahiti, I had ever seen.  I thought if you could have the islands of Tahiti and the mountains of the Alps next to each other, you would have the perfect place!

My second military assignment was at Ramstein Air Base working as a European/Middle East/Counter-terrorism analyst at the USAFE Headquarters.  This was before the war on terror, but there were lots of incidents of terrorism that occurred throughout Europe.   On August 31, 1981, I was working on the 4th floor of the headquarters building in our secure, top secret vaulted area, when a bomb exploded.  I was eight months pregnant with my first child.  Terrorist had stolen a car and ID and had parked a car in front of the headquarters building with three homemade bombs inside.  Two exploded and blew out every window and several walls in the building.  15 people were injured.  I was sitting at my desk in a high back chair.  When it exploded I ducked down in my chair and the chair saved me and my unborn child.   Another co-worker was blown out of the room and broke his shoulder.  The third bomb had blown through the wall and landed on the floor in the middle of the room directly below me, but didn't explode.  Luckily, no one was killed that day.  There was a lot of damage.  We moved to an underground bunker near by and began operations to find out who did it.   Some time later, the terrorist were caught.  They were the Bader manhof gang, known for anti-American terrorist acts.

I resigned my commission five days before my daughter, Leah, was born.  It was an option back then.  I knew motherhood and military would not mix for me.  I wanted to be a full time mom.  I've never loved anything more than being a mother.

I continued to explore Europe with my daughter.  I often say, most people back pack around Europe.  I front packed with my daughter loving every minute.  I look forward to going back with her next year.  We will be going to my daughter, Sarah's, graduation with a Masters Degree in Social Anthropolgy from the University of London.  I'm going to take them both back to where we lived and relive the great memories again.