This is where I was stationed from 1978 to 1981. The kaserne was abandoned sometime in the early 90s and then was razed to the ground after that and a business park was built on its site.
I had a hard time recognizing any of the buildings and locations with it being as overgrown as it was and no GIs or military vehicles around the first time I watched it. The only places I did recognize was the motor pool bays, the EMS building and of course, the jail cells in the MP station. The second and third time I watched it, I was able to identify more of the areas he was driving around.
My barracks was the second building shown at the 10 second mark. As you turn in the main gate, the MP barracks and station was on the right, my barracks was directly across the street.
VIDEO (no audio) HERE (18 minutes)
What? No pigeons? I will go to my grave imagining a carefree afternoon of drunken bird punting and other finery.
ReplyDeleteAs a young lad my father was stationed at Patch Barracks in Stuttgart 1970 to 1974. I played for on of our AYA (American Youth Assoc) football teams. We traveled to all the bases, barracks and kasernes playing football. It's a memory I will always cherish
ReplyDeleteMy station in Germany, Spangdahlem AB is almost unrecognizable to me now, and it is STILL a major USAFE installation...
ReplyDeleteI was at Robinson Barracks in Stuttgart 73-75. Most of those buildings have been torn down. I think the PX remains as does the married housing area over on the nw side of the hill.
ReplyDeleteMan, a trip to the PX at RB was a trip to the big city for us.
DeleteWas at Conn Barracks in Schweinfurt from 78 -81.
ReplyDeleteI did a google earth trip to my one and only permanent duty station a few years back. I didn't know, at the time, the base had been decomed in '75. Parts of it are still there. They left the airfield pretty much intact, but about half of the hangers were gone along with all of the barracks buildings including the new one that I was in. When I was there, the harbor was ringed with out of use wooden barracks buildings from WWII. I did manage to find the remnants of the slab the chow hall/EM club was built on and the slab that used to have to new barracks on it. I spent two full winters there and the front part of another. Located a lot closer to the Arctic Circle than where I grew up in the states, the sun didn't come up until ~9:00AM and set ~3:30PM in Dec/Jan. That took a little getting used to. Winters weren't terribly cold as the base was surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. As I recall, we only got one snowstorm that measured over 12" while I was there. Mostly rain in the winter. The base's claim to fame in WWII was "the northernmost ice free harbor on the Atlantic Ocean". I only saw 2 U.S. Navy ships in port while I was there. The most activity at the base was a squadron of P-3 sub hunters. Their main hanger had pictures of Russian subs on the surface and periscopes all over the walls inside and outside the ops center. It was a great place to be stationed. Not many women around. The town outside the base was small, about 1500 people. There was plenty of fresh water fishing to be had though. A couple of us would go off into the back wilds of the base and fish the ponds and a couple of small streams that dotted the landscape. All in all, good duty.
ReplyDeleteNemo
I was stationed at Simpson Barracks outside of Muenster West Germany from 1988 to 1990. It was an extremely small base, between our Ordnance Company and the Headquarters and Headquarters Company for the Artillery Group (Battalion) we still numbered less than 200. Same thing, almost no snow in the winter, lots of drizzle and overcast sky. Really short days in the winter. The base was deactivated and now serves as a horse facility for Ponies. https://www.facebook.com/IslandpferdehofDasVertherland After looking at some of the photos I determined that my office is now a stall in one of the barns. Ironic in that I have a couple of ponies living in the barn in my back yard.
ReplyDeleteI was in Berlin in 93, after the wall came down. 5 weeks of the best TDY of my life.
ReplyDeleteMcCully Barracks 92-94 for me. Remnants of a WW2 Luftwaffe base was at one end and supposedly some hedges that look like a swastika from the air.
ReplyDelete