From a kind reader:

“Derb—I think you need a good laugh today. I came from a very poor

family, in Baltimore, and after high school I joined the United States Air

Force rather than face the army draft.

“I got very lucky and was sent to a an offsite detachment (a Forward Air

Controll Post or FACP) near Wurzburg, Germany in July of 66. We were a small

group, about 12 people and 15 vehicles. We did not have any radar. We

never got any radar; the radar was always coming, but at the end of 3 years

we had about 30 people and 40 vehicles. To pass the time, we played chess,

checkers, and childrens stratgery games in our break trailer. We also did

field maneuvers twice a year. I lived in a German Inn and life was better

than I had at home.

“I was able to travel to England, France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, and I

saw the Berlin wall.

“My four children enjoy the battle stories of Octoberfest and Fasching.

“P.S. My oldest brother died in the Korean War as a private in the US Army,

and I had one high school friend die in Vietnam.”