Pictures While at HHC, Third Armored Division (Spearhead)

Frankfurt am Main

I arrived in Frankfurt on 4 June 1985. I was assigned to my unit on 6 June 1985. That's a D-Day anniversary. My neighbors said Germany was great, except they didn't like Frankfurt. When I was at the replacement center, they told me I'd be going to Frankfurt. I asked the personnel specialist to punch something else in on that computer. (Nothin' doin'.) She said, though, that Frankfurt was a whole region, not only that particular city. Still hope. Then I get to 3AD's replacement center. They started naming the assignments. I was hoping for Giessen. When I still hadn't heard mine, I asked. The personnel sergeant said I'd be staying right there and that someone would be by to pick me up. One of my classmates from Fort Lee was also assigned to the M.P. company on the same base. Actually, it turned out that I liked Frankfurt an dem Main Fluss (Frankfurt on the Main river) very much.

To the left is the Kaserne (Deutsch for 'Barracks') I was on — Drake; to the right is Edwards Kaserne. Bases in Germany are usually small and scattered. Most of the buildings on these Kasernes date to World War I, if I remember right. Elvis had been part of Third Armored, but I believe he had been on a different post. Though at Drake we had an Elvis section in the Division museum.

This picture was taken on my first trip out of Frankfurt after a "field problem." I really needed to be gone from the base a while, so I went to Hamburg. For taking the picture itself; it was a memento of my first walk on the rails in Europe. In the U.S.A. I was a major rail buff as a teenager. As a soldier that needed to stay out of trouble — though — I couldn't "hop" one.

Believe this was in Munich. It's one of the first times I'd ever seen street performers good enough for me to stick around and watch; it was also the first time I ever tipped any.

One of my pensive train rides. For the first year I was in Germany, I spent most of my off-time at school learning German, at some pub or disco on the weekend nights, doing some kind of shopping weekend days, or working late-night at the motor pool. Aside from the working late, I spent little time around the base. I liked to take trips alone whenever I could.

One of my roommates, private Koontz. He was one of the better one's; I had a few before him that I did not get along with — especially the one that like to think of himself as "Room Commander."

Railfan as usual. This is a picture of a train pulling out of Koelner Hauptbahnhof (Cologne). I originally had a platform-side picture of the Muenchner (Munich) Hbf, but because I think it is the ugliest train station in Germany, replaced it with this. Would you believe I never got a picture of the famous Dom (Cathedral)? Got more than just this one of the trains in Koeln, though.

This one was also, I believe, in Koeln. I just happened upon what? — A peace march of some sort. This is not usually something a soldier should be hanging around to watch (for his own safety, mostly). I did anyway and took several pictures — probably the only parade of any type I saw in Germany.