mini reunion 2002

April 19, 2003

Reunion 2002 Photos

Mini_Reunion Updated Aug 2002

Former US spies on the trail of a Bischofsgrün specialty

Once again the Reunion Gang meets at the Market Place to make the "pilgrimage" up the hill!

(Note: I gave the wrong time in the update notice. The "real" time was 10:34 Bisch time as the Web Cam folks already moved their clock forward one hour which does not actually take effect until Sunday the 31st)

Subject: Reunion 2002 Report

Date: Sun, 31 Mar 2002 11:09:00 +0200 (MEST)

From: Ed Railsback To: Phil Ward Det J 66/67 Summary of the Reunion on 30 March 2002 Nine people gathered in front of the church around 10 a.m. for the hike up the Hill. Phil Ward, who was poised in front of his computer back in Kansas, called at around 10.45 to report that he had saved the BischCam photo taken at 10:34, which shows all nine of the hikers. Phil immediately posted the photo in the Reunion 2002 folder. From left to right: Hertha Stelzel, Teresa Railsback, Rosie Hays (dark), Bob Alokones (behind Rosie), Dave Fenwick, Ed Railsback, Sam Hays (black cap), Dave Berger, Fritz Foltz. Unfortunately, the photo is not as sharp as we had hoped. The weather was sunny and we quickly shed our jackets on the way up the Hill. The road was clear, but there was plenty of snow along the edges and in the forest. When we reached the spot where the club/mess hall/cabin once stood back in the '60s, we buried our beer in a snow bank on the spot where the club used to be and continued up to the Backoefle, or Alter Turm as some of us used to call it. We called Phil from atop the Backoefle to report the bearings he had requested. When exiting the old ops building you face due south, give or take a couple of degrees. Fortunately, Bob Alokones had brought along a compass. This was all news to us. The only directions we remembered were uphill and downhill. The weather was sunny and clear and we could see deep into the Czech Republic. The old Ops building was fenced off, but it didn't take Dave Berger long to find a hole in it. At least Dave swears that the hole was already there. Once inside the fence we discovered that one of the doors was unlocked, so we went inside for the first time since 1966 and took a lot of photos of the old day room (Kino), orderly room/commanders office (now one big room), Dave Berger's old room (the one that faced the new ops building), the hallway, etc. We went upstairs to where the maintenance department and com center were once located and found everything completely remodeled. We then returned to the club and dug our beer out of the snow bank. We shared the beer with some hikers from Dresden (ex East German spies?), and we proceeded to explain to them how we used to spy on them from the top of the Hill. We all had a good laugh and some more beer. After we reported in by phone to our former commander, Larry Medlin Lt Col Ret in South Carolina, we headed back down the hill where we found Fred's wife, Hella, waiting for us about a kilometer above the Krankenhaus. Waiting for us back at the Adler were John & Renate Flood, Ken & Irene Knorr and two surprise guests from Munich, Bob Jones (SB 59-61) and his neighbor Mike Wickham, who is the officer who officially closed down Det-S and Bindlach at the end of the Cold War. Mike brought along his two daughters Clarissa and Michelle. The proprietor and head chef of the Deutsche Adler, Hansi Puchtler, was unfortunately recuperating in the hospital (but recovering nicely), so his son Thomas was filling in for him. Many of us ordered the legendary Lustiger Bosniak, which is now also available in a turkey version by request, and Thomas delivered. Everyone wanted to know how it compared to the '60s version, but how do you remember what something tasted like 35 years ago? In any case, the Bosniaks were quite good. Dave Fenwick disagrees, but then Dave was always a finicky connoisseur. The bottom line: great event as always, join us next year!!!!

View of Bisch ...... it was wonderful weather!!!

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Reunion 2002 Photos from ed Railsback:

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Mini-Reunion 2002:

A week ago (weekend of March 16-17th) we had a mini reunion of our own at the home of Sam & Rosie Hays in Fichtenhof near Vilseck. Doug and Evi Yarns drove down from the Kulmbach area, where they were visiting Evi's family, Bill Schmidt and wife Angelika drove down from Berlin, and yours truly with wife Teresa drove "across" from Frankfurt for the occasion. Sam, Bill and I had not seen our buddy Doug since 1966/67!

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Nordbayerischer Kurier – 27 March 2002

The secret of the "Lustiger Bosniak"

Former US spies on the trail of a Bischofsgrün specialty

By Andreas Gewinner

They were spies in uniform. From Schneeberg they listened deep into the East Block. No military radio traffic in the vicinity of the Iron Curtain was safe from them. But there was one secret the members of the US Army Security Agency stationed near Bischofsgrün could never crack: the mystery of the "Lustiger Bosniak" from the Deutscher Adler.

This Saturday the mostly grayed veterans of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s, who once kept the vigil from their elaborate listening post atop Schneeberg, are again getting together in Bischofsgrün.

The soldiers who served near Bischofsgrün came from all over America. Following language training in Monterey, California, they were sent to outposts all over the world – from Viet Nam to West Germany – operated by the Army’s own intelligence service, ASA.

The food served in Bischofsgrün restaurants offered the relatively well-paid soldiers of the ‘60s a welcome change of pace from the hamburger-as-usual cuisine at the mess hall on Schneeberg.

Their favorite was the "Lustiger Bosniak", a Cordon Bleu or sorts, served at the Deutscher Adler. "A dish that changed my life," remembers Jim Rooks (Bischofsgrün 1968), "and no doubt those of many other guys with undereducated US senses of taste."

Phil Ward (Schneeberg and Hoher Bogen 1966-68) even tried using his intelligence skills to crack the secret of the "Lustiger Bosniak". His research led him to the sauce. When he employed legal means by simply asking for the recipe, he was told that it was "top secret." He then tried to sneak into the kitchen to watch the dish being prepared but was promptly told that the area was "off limits."

This Saturday, March 30th, the veterans of days gone by will again have an opportunity to uncover the secret of the "Lustiger Bosniak." Because this legendary delicacy is still on the menu at the Deutsche Adler after over 30 years.

A dozen or so ex-GIs are expected. They are coming from the surrounding area as well as from Vilseck, Frankfurt and Bonn. Two of them are traveling all the way from America to Bischofsgrün.

At 10 am they will meet in front of the church for the hike – or "pilgrimage" as they call it – to Schneeberg.

At around 2 pm the onetime "temporary Bischofsgrün residents" will get together in the Deutsche Adler.

***Schneeberg veterans have a fantastic Website with a wealth of information and literally hundreds of photos from the ‘50s through today. The address: www.schneebergvets.org

Translation by Ed Railsback.

Nordbayerischer Kurier - April 5, 2002

Now it's official: The kitchen is "off limits" to US spies

On Easter Saturday a dozen or so former American soldiers, who were stationed on nearby Schneeberg in the '50s and '60s, got together in the Gasthof zum Deutschen Adler in Bischofsgruen. The Adler was selected for the reunion for a purpose: the restaurant's "Lustiger Bosniak", a Cordon Bleu of sorts, was one of the Americans' favorite dishes. In a throwback to former days when one GI attempted to enter the kitchen to steal the recipe, the veterans placed a sign on the door to the kitchen that read "Off Limits to US Spies." From left to right: Dave Berger, Ed Railsback and Dave Fenwick. Berger and Fenwick traveled all the way from the USA. Berger, who is from Milwaukee, found himself in Bischofsgruen for the first time since 1966! His comment after 36 years: "It's like I never left."

Translation by: Ed Railsback.

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