Darn it .... oh well maybe Jim can make it another time!

Hey guys,
 
Sorry, but I am "bailing out" of this esteemed gathering.  I just returned from a ski trip to Austria which I had to "terminate early" due to blizzard conditions.  As a result, I decided to due a "nostalgia" trip to Augsburg, where I had residences on both Sheridan (FS/1st OPS BN) and Flak (326th ASA and 511th MI) Kasernes from '81-'86.  Good thing I showed up when I did, because both Kasernes are literally in the process of being "torn down/dismantled".  I actually drove onto the "demolition" sites and watched the workers doing their thing.  It won't be much longer (by years end) before all trace of these two historic sites are gone, like FS-Ausburg's Flare 9 antenna which one used to pass by entering and exiting Augsburg off the autobahn in the old days.  I'm really glad I saw them one last time and remembered those good times.  Anyway, other events have developed and I will not be able to come to B-grun.  I wish everyone a great MI day at the reunion!  Thanks again to Phil for maintaining a fabulous web site for those of us who continue to remember those exciting and rewarding times (we got the wall down!).  Best regards, Jim.

A little help for our friends .....

Phil would you please post the following notice on the Schneeberg web page for me?

I was stationed at Schneeberg from May 1968 through August 1970 and would like to know if anyone has an address for Robert "Bob" Harrington or Dennis
Carter both were MPs.  I would also like to know if anyone has an address for Fletcher he was a cook and Hal Smith a German Merry (SP).  If you could
help me out I would be most appreciative.

Thanks.

Woody Dixon

The above note now appears in the Guestbook for all to read ...

And the beat goes on .... one more time for a Schneeberg site marker!

Hi Phil
Here I am again, asking the same question. Do you, or any one from the hill have an idea
of what kind of marker we could put topside? I know I ask that all the time. Now I have the
chance to talk to the man in charge. I am going to hear what he says, and maybe they
will let us put something there. I was thinking of a metal plaque, that will be on the stone
that is there now.

In Remembrance
of all the U.S. Military Personnel
that served a tour of duty here

7th U.S. Army outpost
Mt. Schneeberg
1945-1994


I going to show them this and see what they say. So by for now. Fritz

It just doesn't get better than this?  Maybe they might come to Schneeberg next year!

Dear Phil,

Thank You for the invitation to Reunion2009 at Rimbach. Unfortunately I cannot participate for being busy at work, but I wish You succeed and have fun while meeting. I deeply regret I cannot meet You, thus I'll try to hand Your invitation over to some former soldiers I know and I'll also place a short memo on my web for potential participants to see.
If You'd want to use my photos, feel free to write to me about which stations You're interested in and I'll send You the recent photos and clips.

Yours sincerely
Václav Ilčík, Brno, Czech republic (formerly placed in Klenci pod Cerchovem)

Schneeberg & Bischofsgruen 1953-54!!!!!

 http://www.schneebergvets.org/billtaylor/billtaylor.htm 

Includes a picture of the operations building at night and Schneeberg Before the German tower.

.... the stuff below is from the Feb. 2009 Update

Hi Phil,
Please make the following entry to the guest book:

It's been a long time since contacting the page. Finally, I am going to make it to an Easter reunion, on April 11 this year. My wife and I now live in Cluny, France after giving up on being in the wine business in Portugal. I am semi-retired. We will be seeing Heidi Pike and her husband Rolf who are back in Bisch...Have sadly lost contact with Yankee Papa, Pete Young. If anybody has a new e-mail or contact, please forward to me...See you all this year in Bisch. Jerry Luper,
ALS, CZ-12-75. Mary, Schneeberg, Sept/63-Feb/65.

The above note now appears in the Guestbook for all to read ...

Don "Rigger" Riggs

Phil

I’m Don "Rigger" Riggs. I see you have a picture of me in your “people we knew” photo album. First picture. I don’t remember who is in the picture with me.

I discovered your web site a couple months ago. Great web site. You’ve done an amazing job. I stole a few e-mail addresses from your site and contacted a few guys

My wife Deb and I, live above 9,000 feet in the mountains of Colorado . Near the little town of Bailey . We love it. We get some pretty snowy winters but nothing like Schneeberg.

I was on Schneeberg in late ’67, ’68 and ’69 .... and a lot more follows on:   Don Riggs Memories  ... to include a poem  On The Mountain with the Snow and some names and locations of fellow comrades.
 

Ed Cornett

Hi Phil,
Thanks for keeping this site alive.
I served in the 326th from 82 - 84 as a 98GRU.  We deployed to Schneeberg often.
I remember Kevin Farmer, Charles Bogino, Stretch Morgan, Mark Kotanchik and others whose names I can't recall at the moment.
 
Do you know what ever happened to Robert Smith's "My Schneeberg Page"?  He had some great photos posted.
 
Keep up the good work.
 
Ed Cornett
Dillsburg PA
 
Please feel free to post my email edcornett@msn.com.

Ed's comments have been posted to the Guestbook.

Dr. Robert Grotschel

.... and then you just never know who will drop by the web site and say hello!

Dear Mr Ward,

Concerning the erection of some kind of monument remembering the servicemen on the Schneeberg, you should contact the Fichtelgebirgsverein - the association for rumbling, hiking and conservation of the culture of the fichtel mountains region, the biggest of its kind in Germany. I'm going to ask some of its representatives.  http://www2.fichtelgebirgsverein.de 
Besides, there's the Steinfachschule in Wunsiedel, the best school for stone masonry in Germany and international - perhaps they have an American scholar this year, not just other European.   http://www.efbz.de/ 
The only place for a marker is the "Backöfele" tower of the Fichtelgebirgsverein. The peak around is a conservation area, so you might find some opposition against building anything or carving stones already there. 40 years of limited access for humans to the peak made it an unique area for seldom flowers an animals. No there are no soldiers or guards any more, the regulations of conservation are harder.

The fichtel mountains museum got a model of the tower and is going to display it in February and March.

Dr. Robert Grötschel
Fichtelgebirgsmuseum
Spitalhof
95632 Wunsiedel


----- Original Message ----- From: "Phil Ward" <pward@micoks.net>
To: <info@fichtelgebirgsmuseum.de>
Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2009 3:00 AM
Subject: Schneeberg Vets ... a cold war listening post remembered


> Hello,
>
> Thanks for subscribing to Schneebergvets.org. I understand the Museum is located in Wunsiedel. As you can see we have a great many memories and photographs of Schneeberg during the "cold war" era. Do you happen to have an exhibit at the Museum about the German and American mission at Schneeberg? We are always interested in any history about the "listening post". We had always hoped to have some type of marker placed on Schneeberg which honored those who served - similar to the stone monument which was placed at Mt. Hoherbogen in Rimbach Germany - but the American site was demolished in 2004 and only a "pile of rumble" was left with a corner stone with an engraved star. There still are a dozen or so Americans who were stationed in the Army at Schneeberg who still live in the Bischofsgruen area.
>
> Thanks
>
   Phil Ward ... Schneeberg 1966-1967

Bill Taylor

?????  Anyone recognize Bill.  He subscribed to updates but has not returned my email.

Egmar Gaessler

.... and then it just amazes me as to who might have an interest in Schneeberg!

Hello

I am one of the Guys who selected and delivered Equipment to Schneeberg and similar Sites, being a Bavarian (German Passport therefore, of Course U.S. Visa and more).

I just discovered Your Site coming from the Augsburg Site and like it.

Could You perhaps find out about something related?

There was a U.S. General Van Zant who participated in the Greek Civil War in 1948 in a presumable political-strategically Funktion (cooperating with a Greek named Alexander Papagos).
Can You find out more about this Man? Dates about his Life, his military Career, his Locations?

Might be of Interest for our Profession.

Best Regards

Egmar Gaessler, Munich, Germany

 

DB Atkins

.... and a few more words from DB:

Yes sir I do have a few photos from Schneeberg.  I just have to dig them up from whence they have sauntered off to over the last 33 plus years.  Some are in color and others in black and white that I developed and look like crap but you can still make them out.  I just have to find them.  I would like to see more representation of this period but back then, we had no idea that down the road, being there would be such a big deal and did not fool around with photo taking and such.  A few years ago, I demanded that everyone in my family - kids included - maintain a camera with them at all times which I paid for.  Wish ta hell I was that way back then. 

I really, and I mean it, really appreciate the work you have done to keep this portion of out lives, alive. 

Tks much again,

db

Richard Wilkenson

... don't believe I was every at Schneeberg when the snow wasn't as deep at the buildings. I was there for a month at a time between 1974 and 1976. I have great memories with D.B. Atkins, Creig Peterson, and many others. We spent many evenings downtown at the disco, and even more cold nights on the mountain. I am sad to see the photos of the destruction of the building.

Richard Wilkinson
502nd ASA Group (326 ASA CO) Augsburg, Germany
MOS: 05H

The above note is now posted on the Guestbook.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKNfG1WGWNM 

Ami Charlie

Latest word on the Det K Hoherbogen Reunion June 12, 13, 14 in Rimbach!

Hi People,

Now that the holiday season is over maybe everyone will have more time to think about the reunion in Rimbach this year.

First of all i am not anticipating that there is going to be a bus trip before the actually reunion on the 12, 13, 14 of June. There has been very little interest in the trip, I have at the moment only about 1/3 of the people necessary to even think about making the trip. That's no big thing, it was just a idea I had, it was a little pricey and who know maybe it's a idea for another reunion.

What is good though is that about 15 to 20 people are planning to come to the reunion. We can now start thinking about things to do during the reunion.

Some thing new that has come up is that the Germany counterpart, ( Fernmelde Sector 11 ), of what we were doing up on "the Hill" is holding a "gardenfest" on Sat. the 13th of June in Kötzting, might be a place to go. Maybe they would like to march into to tent with us on Friday evening, would be another nice gesture of American/Germany friendship.

Anyway there is a list of people that are planning to come to the reunion on the website, but some people that have told me that they are coming have not yet put there name on the list maybe they can get around to that now, also my name is missing, but after over 40 years in Rimbach I still hope to be here when you people get here.

If there is anyone who needs help about getting to Rimbach, rooms or such please contact me, I'm off to another little trip to Asia soon, will be back in a couple of weeks.

                                          You all take care, Ami Charlie

For the latest Reunion 2009 news log on to  http://www.rimbachvets.org  

Guenther Weisse

... and there are plans for Museums at Hoherbogen and Berlin?

Dear Phil,
Presently I am busy with the corrections to my latest Book which will be due in March 2009.
However , the Traditionsverein at Trier and their collection of historical "SIGINT-Hardware" has been disbanded starting in December 2008 and will be finalized by end of January 2009. . The Traditionsverein itself also will fading out of history due to the transfer of the Trier - Intallation to Daun in the Eifel-Mountains. This is the bad news.

However, a civilian person has bought the entire Hohenbogen-Site .He plans to convert the Site to a resort. Additionally, he will also build up a mock-up SIGINT -Floor , including the remnants from the former Schneeberg Site and, other remaining hardware will be brought in "situ". Final negotiations are planned for end of January 2009. Additionally , a new "Espionage-Museum" is in the planning stage for the former building(s) of the "Tempelhof Air Base" at Berlin. The planning is carried out on a high governmental stage .
As soonest , a schedule will materialize, I should inform you and the fellow "Schneeberg-Vets" about the outcome.
Kind regards
Guenther

Thanks to all who have recently "made the scene".  We are in hopes to see new contributions to the site for the late 70s and beyond.

Make it to Bischofsgruen for Easter weekend if you can:  meet around 10:00 am Saturday morning at the Market Place, then off to The Hill and back again for "lunch" around 2:00 pm at the Adler.

I have my "home page" set to the Bisch Web Cam

                      (  http://www.schneebergvets.org/bischcam.htm  ) 

and this year it has been snowing as I remember from the 60s.  The new web cam located on the German Tower is wonderful to view on a clear day ... brings back many memories!

Keep those memories alive!

Phil Ward

... an old Cz intercept op from the mid 60s ... Schneeberg, Hoherbogen and Wobeck

Previous Updates:

read on and on but it's older news ....

Hello Fellow Schneeberg Vets and other comrades ....

It has been quite a while since the last update - June 2007.  Time flies these days in retirement!  I am working on updating the links on the web site and hope to have them completed by the end of this week or at least before Thanksgiving.

For those who have not yet found the new area web cams they are really terrific - we now have a web camera located on the old German Tower which does include some of The Hill and, of course, the Bisch web cam has been relocated on the top of the church in the marketplace.  Fritz Foltz has sent a 360 degree "video" of The Hill - Spring 2008 which should be available shortly ...

I have almost completed the Google Earth Cold War Listening Posts project and will be adding the link to the web site.  Not much to add related to photos as I have not received any lately from folks.  Get out those old shoe boxes and scour the attic for some relics to include on the web site.

You will read later in this update about the 2009 Reunion planned by the Hoherbogen Det K folks.  The 2004 reunion was wonderful and the group hopes to top that in 2009.

Several additional vets have found the web site ... welcome aboard!

On a sad note four veterans have gone to their  final listening post since our last update:  Al Gray, Lt. Col. Larry Medlin, Col. John McFadden and Tom "Flapper" Ellis.  I am in the process of creating an "obit" web page in addition to their being listed in "taps".

As for me, I'm really  busy and have started a journey as an automobile fine artist ( http://www.moondoggiegraphics.com )  Anyone interested in providing some material for my collection? - just contact me off-line phillip@moondoggiegraphics.com 

Enjoy the correspondence below as there are many items of interest .. and several books are now available.

Keep the memories alive!

Phil Ward

....an old Cz intercept op from the mid 60s -  Schneeberg, Hoherbogen and Wobeck

Remember for those outside the US please use my  phil.schneebergvets@yahoo.com email address.

I was stationed at Schneeberg during this time and recognize several of the unknown GI’s in the Mountaineers Photo section. The photo labeled uigi1.jpg is of Abe Hernendez our admin/clerk guy (71L type) who had a real fetish for all things Marilyn Monroe. The photo labeled uigi2.jpg is of Charles Bogino (apparently the Mountaineers called him Jerry Lewis).  Chuck was a 98GRU.

If I remember any more names I will send those in.

Cheers,

Kevin Farmer

SFC (Ret.)

98G4LRUC8

326^th ASA Co/511^th MI BN. Augsburg 1981-1983

Schneeberg 1983-1986

      http://picasaweb.google.com/joedgan/Monterey1968

I once again should like to thank You for the support which You have given to me. I hope , we shall stay in contact in the future. I have two projects in the box for next year and also two printing houses which will furnish me some support for the project. One of the books will  deal with the developments in the area of SIGINT within the Western community after 1989 , the other one will cover the German Air Force SIGINT between 1933 and 1945.

Once again , all the best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year  and all the best to You personally
kindly yours
Guenther Weisse

Hi Gene,
Let me introduce you to Ron McGraw, who is cc: on this email.  You may wish to share this with others whom you know are Schneeberg vets.
Ron wrote a novel based on his experiences in ASA—and at Schneeberg in the late 1950’s.
 

Here’s a quote from Ron and a website:
 

“…Take a look at it, at www.outskirtspress.com/thewaldentalgasthaus. ...
 

Incidentally, it's amazing the response I'm getting from ASA vets; in fact, it's actually heartwarming.  The Waldental Gasthaus is a testament to our outfit without extolling our virtues.  We all know what we contributed to the defense of Europe and the world during the Cold War; but that's not what the novel's about.  It's about the men living, adapting and interacting with their surroundings in addition to their duties.  You'll find it extremely difficult to put down.
 

The Waldental Gasthaus is a work of fiction, but as with any work of fiction, it is based upon experiences and a knowledge of the human condition.  As Hemingway once said, "There's more truth in fiction than there is in truth."
 

I was living in the village of Bischhofsgruen in the late fifties, long before they built a barracks on Schneeberg.  It was a wonderful experience that I've long remembered with affection, but my experiences there could have occurred at any number of stations in Germany and elsewhere.  I admit I was very fortunate, and about that I could write another novel!”
 

Ron, I am also sending a jpeg of the Gasthaus Post, which I found on Phil Ward’s site.
 

Bill

Schneeberg Project....

   DOGS 

When I arrived on Schneeberg in October of 1960 (from Berlin/Rudow), there were two dogs on the hill: Teddy and Shadow.  Of the two, Teddy was the most dominent; a very large (yellow) mixed short haired breed which looked like a cross between a Chesapeake Bay Retriever and a Golden Retriever, with the Chessy winning out.  He was a fantastic playmate who loved to chase rocks and deer, which I believe one day lead to his disappearance at the hands of the local Forstverwaltung.  Shadow was cared for (during the 1960-1962 timeframe), by SP4/5 Jim Youngblood, who also ran the small PX located in the hallway of the old ops (or Admin) building.

   THE DEER INCIDENT (summer of 1961)

Schneeberg was ecologically administered to by the Forstverwaltung Weissenhaidt (on the Voitsumra-Weissenstadt side of the hill) under the occasionally sedated (burp!) hand of Herr Eitner, the local Oberforster and great protector of the flora and fauna.  In most of his dealings with us, I served as the site translator, having lost my clearance due to marriage (and awaiting a waiver for almost a year).  While he is nowadays a friend, it was not always so.

Herr Eitner was a burly giant, standing about 6 foot 4 and holding a firm 270 pounds of Bavaria’s finest beer and bratwuerst.  He professed to speak no English; and, while he did not hate Americans, he feared our impact upon the German culture. (A fact he subsequently revealed during our many hours in the forest together).  His great size and glowering presence were pretty imposing.

One day (in fact, the day that we had just returned from qualification with our M1’s at Grafenwoehr) the German guard (Herr Flessa) called from the gate to say that Herr Eitner was there in a rage and demanded entry...  He charged that the Americans killed one of his hirsch (elk) and taken it inside the compound.  I was summoned from mop and buffer duty in the dayroom to translate.  As I walked down the hall, I couldn't help but notice the blood and deer hair on the stone flooring. Passing by the kitchen, I saw SGT (“Brad”) Bradford, locally feted as the best cook in the universe, wildly slicing meat while his assistant, SP4 Baumgartner was fervently wrapping the product in waxed paper and carting it off to the freezer.

“Murdock!” Brad called. “Stall for time!  We need 20 minutes!”  “What happened?”, I asked. At that moment Captain Robison, who’d overheard us, appeared and stated that an unfortunate accident between Herr Eitner’s 350 lb. stag and our returning supply truck had occurred an hour earlier.  I felt kind of funny about this, because there were five spent and misshapen bullets sitting on Brad’s cutting board.  But, as the Germans used to say “I haff my Ohdahs”.  So I first ducked into the toilet, had a smoke (6 minutes) and then headed for the guard shack.

Herr Eitner was, ah, as we used to say, pissed.  He told me that he didn’t want to deal with underlings and to get Captain Robison to admit him at once.  I asked him to please tell me what this was about, to which he replied “You have murdered my prize animal!  I heard the shots.  There were about 20 of them. I saw the blood.  I heard your truck.  You have poached our wildlife!  You are attempting to destroy the evidence!

I knew at once that we were in trouble, and that the accident thing wasn’t going to wear.  So I told Herr Eitner that I knew nothing (but would inquire), and dramatically seized the field phone, cranked the ringer and asked for Captain Robison.  Herr Eitner was no dummy, and while he stood within earshot, professing no English knowledge, I knew that I had to be careful.  One can never tell.....  “Captain Robison.  Yes sir; Spec 5 Murdock here, sir. Ah, I have Oberfoerster Eitner here sir.  He is looking for one of his deer.  He says that the Americans shot it.  About 20 rounds were fired; sort of like a semiautomatic.  He says he also heard a truck.  What should I do, sir?”

Herb Robison was a really cool guy.  Coming up through the ranks, he’d won his lieutenant’s bar at Fort Sill and was, consequently, more mature that his peers.  He immediately grasped the situation and said “Murdock, deny everything.  Tell your forest master that this is an outrageous assertion.  Tell him that there is a military exercise in progress and that we have infantry low-lifers from Graf and Vilseck all over the area.  Tell him I’ll immediately call Grafenwoehr and request the Provost Marshall investigate.  In fact, tell him that I will be happy to open my facility to his inspection.  But we need another 10 minutes; so stall for time.”  I offered Herr Eitner an American Marlboro.  He froze.

It is a tribute to Brad and his outstanding mess crew (which included Heinz, a local lad from Bischofsgruen forever bonded to silence), that, when I entered the admin building with Herr Eitner in tow, the aroma of chlorine from the freshly mopped floors was omnipresent.  Brad and his crew were were calmly sitting in the mess area, drinking coffee.  The kitchen was spotless.  Captain Robison was there to meet (for the first time) with Herr Eitner and provide his condolences for the apparent loss of a fine animal.

Herr Eitner left with a carton of Marlboros and a 20 pound tin of coffee.  It was, as Humphrey Boghart once said, the start of a beautiful friendship.  As of this writing, he has long retired and still lives in Weissenhaidt with his second wife.

THE FUEL TANKER INCIDENT OF 1963

I recently read a Schneeberg memoir which mentioned that fuel was drawn from a multi thousand gallon tanker during the early 70’s.  Some of you may recall that the tanker was severely damaged on the side away from public view...

During the early 60’s, the Schneeberg POL (fuel) area consisted of two 500 gallon steel tanks mounted on a scaffold about 10 feet above ground.  Local regulations prohibited in-ground fuel storage.  The area around the scaffold was a mixture of berm (small diameter gravel) and sand.  As Schneeberg was the primary watershed for all of Upper Franconia (Oberfranken), the POL area was inspected for leakage every month by the Post Engineers from the Army Sub-post in Bayreuth, as a spill could have disastrous consequences for the area’s water supply, and, more specifically, our beer.

As it turned out, a thousand gallons was an insufficient supply, which meant that the POL trucks visited Schneeberg often.  While this was simply irritating during the summer month(s), it was often impossible during the winter and caused significant hardships which even affected the run to Bisch for midnight trick changes.  The situation was ripe for a solution.

Enter our motor sergeant. During his latest visit to the Bayreuth Sub-post, he’d seen an old tanker, covered with rust from years of abuse unique to the Army environment, which was to be destroyed.  With the fervor of a kid with his first jalopy, he seized upon the vast storage opportunity and asked that it be shipped up to Schneeberg.  The Bayreuth property officer, at once alert to an opportunity to rid himself of a local eyesore, immediately agreed and threw in ten thousand gallons of gasolene plus several gallons of army green paint and the use of a semi to tow it away with!

We were all proud of our motor sergeant when he victoriously appeared at the gate with his prize.

But wait.  As the tanker passed through Schneeberg’s portals and was being backed, perpendicular to the downhill slope, into its final position, the motor sergeant noticed that two of the rear tires on the uphill side were flat.  Not lacking in initiative, he stopped the proceedings and immediately started jacking up the uphill axel to change out the tires.

The resulting crash was spectacular!  A river of gasolene gushed down the hill, plunging headlong toward the Eger, Weissmain, Naab and Saale  rivers which originate on Schneeberg and spread throughout the region.

I read about the settlement in the Bayreuther Abendblatt.  It was for over $125,000, which, in the early 60’s was a staggering sum.  The press said we got off easy.  As this event was unreported, they couldn’t be absolutely certain that we had poisoned their beer; just reasonably so.

Indeed, a good deed does not go unpaid.  But it at least went unpunished.

THE “NEW OPERATIONS BUILDING”

The new (corrugated aluminum) operations building (designated an “AKAMOL” (sp?) hut) was erected in conjunction with the installation of the PROFERF (PROtotype, Fixed Electronic Receiving Facility) system during the summer of 1961. In that timeframe, the PROFERF systems were installed at Schneeberg, Berlin and Meissner.  The lead contractor was EDL of Mountain View, CA.  The Project Officer was CPT (later COL) Paul Sparo of ASA’s DCSRDA at Arlington Hall Station, VA.

From Jim Rooks: 

Dear Friends,

I am very sorry to report to other ASA veterans the death of the Rev. David W. York on January 21, 2007. Dave died in his hometown of Norco, California, of injuries he had sustained on January 6 when he was hit by a pickup truck while walking across a street (in the crosswalk, with the traffic light in his favor). He was 62 years old and was Pastor of the nondenominational Community Church of Norco.

Dave (also known to many Army friends as “Duke”) was a 1967 graduate of the 47-week Czech course at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California. >From fall 1967 to December 1969 he was stationed at the 16^th U.S. Army Security Agency Field Station, Herzogenaurach, West Germany (“Herzo Base”). His MOS was 98G3L22 (voice intercept transcriber and Czech linguist). Most of his work at Herzo Base on “the Czech Problem” involved traffic analysis of the Czechoslovak army’s communications. He participated directly in the Army’s monitoring of the Warsaw Pact countries’ 1968 military invasion of Czechoslovakia, which precipitated an international crisis. As a result of its work during and after the invasion, the Field Station was awarded the USASA Commanding General's Award for outstanding accomplishments. During his service Dave was promoted to Specialist 5^th Class and was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Good Conduct Medal.

After his discharge from the Army, Dave received a B.A. degree from Simpson College in San Francisco, taught school in Red Bluff, California, and earned a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree from Western Evangelical Seminary in Newberg, Oregon, in 1976. (The school has since become a part of George Fox University, a Quaker institution.) Thereafter Dave pastored in Oregon and Montana, and for 16 years in Tucson, Arizona, before moving to Norco in 2001. Once the Internet became available he enjoyed “discovering” ASA friends and exchanging personal news, comments on current events, and the occasional joke or cartoon.

Dave’s first wife Brenda died of cancer in 1998 after 27 years of marriage. He married Linda York in 2001. Dave is survived by Linda, two sons, and two grandsons. His older son Nathan works for the U.S. Army in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, is a master sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve, and has served in Iraq as a company first sergeant. (“He’s a better soldier than I was,” Dave once told me proudly.) Nathan has two sons (Dave’s grandsons): Rand (age 10), and Nicholas (age 7). Dave’s younger son, Peter, lives in Dixon, Missouri.

Dave’s wife Linda can be reached in care of the Community Church of Norco, 3871 Valley View Avenue, Norco, CA 92860, or by email at shockingandawesome@sbcglobal.net. Memorial gifts may be sent to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Donor Services, P.O. Box 4072, Pittsfield, MA 01202, and should be designated “In memory of the Rev. David W. York of Norco, California.”

“Duke” York will be remembered by his Army friends as a quiet, friendly, thoughtful, kindhearted, funny, modest and loyal soldier who was usually satisfied with his lot in life. He enjoyed having fun as much as anybody else, but he was also as serious about --- and accomplished in --- his Army mission as was anybody else at Herzo Base. He was a fine man, beloved by both his family and his congregation in Norco.

Sincerely yours,

Jim Rooks

Washington, D.C.

P.S. If you have email addresses for others to whom it might be appropriate to send this notice, please pass it along to them. If you can take an extra minute to let me have their address as well, I’d appreciate it. I’m always glad to hear from or about ASA acquaintances. I would particularly like to get this message to the other students in Dave’s (and my) DLI Czech class for whom I presently have no working email addresses: Fred Haack, Dennis Walker, Harry Martin, Jim Diodato, Bill Steen, and Tim Newman. J.R.

Read more about Larry's plans .....

Larry Bunch retirement

Phil,

I found this Obituary (email attachment) on the internet.

Gary Magner was one of my heroes on Schneeberg.  He was on Schneeberg during the late 60’s.  He was still there when I left for USASA-FS, Augsburg in Dec. 1970.  This was when Schneeberg was closed……the 1^st time.

SFC Magner said it was OK if I put beers (German bottled beer with the spring-loaded stopper) on the window ledge in my room next to the orderly room to get them real cold at night…..but to make certain I get them off of the ledge before he arrived in the morning.  He liked a good cold beer, too!  If I left some out, he would get them and put them in his car.  We had many laughs about the “Window Beers”.   I cried, too…..I lost many beers!!

Please enter NCOIC Magner’s Obituary in the TAPS section of Schneeberg-Vets Website.

Thank you.

Tom Ellis

SB, ’69-‘70

Gary E. Magner (January 2001)

Magner, Gary E., 64, retired Army security agency employee and Boeing Wichita security guard, died Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2001. Service 10 a.m. Monday, First Baptist Church, Haysville.

Survivors: wife, Phyllis; sons, Gary, Robert both of Wichita; daughter, Teresa Rosendale of Hesston; brothers, Ronald of Drumwright, Okla., Duane of Ponca City, Okla.; sister, Sharon Drake of Ponca City; 14 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren. Resthaven Mortuary.

My dad was stationed up on Schneeberg 64-67 and I got a chance to go back to
Germany just last month.  My job sent me to Grafenwoehr and I got a half day
off and drove up to Bischofsgrun to see if I could find the old house I grew
up in.  I didn't find the house but attached are some photos of the town.
Enjoy.

Dave Yonkey  david.yonkey@gdit.com  
 
FTI - Network Engineer
General Dynamics Information Technology
Information Systems Group
CCTT Building 22028 Room 117
South Range Road