Border Games

The summer breeze carried the sweet smell of chestnuts up from the valley below. The afternoon sun shone brightly and glistened through the fluttering leaves and the young soldier temporarily got lost in memories of his morning journey. He was awakened by someone calling: “Fall in; fall in.” He snapped out of his dreaming just as the other five soldiers were throwing their duffle bags in a heap and were already lining up in a row. “On the double, private,” came the words as he too piled his duffle bag and hurried to his position at the end of the line. “Welcome to Wilhelmshӧhe and the 318th. This will be your home for the next several months. We hope you had a good train trip up from Frankfurt.” The private thought back again on this morning’s trip, his first train ride in his entire life. He had found the last seat in a second-class nonsmoking compartment while the other five American soldiers had decided to remain together in the corridor of the express train from Frankfurt. He had taken part in a conversation with three German passengers about the pretty landscape, the weather and the train ride. He had been impressed by their openness and friendliness. From this trip alone he had already decided that he liked this place and the things and people he saw. At the station in Kassel they had waited for 30 minutes for the military bus to pick them up for the short trip up to Wilhelmshӧhe. He had not stayed with the others but had wandered through the train station where everything seemed so strange, new, and exciting. He observed people rushing to get a connection, buying newspapers or getting a bite to eat. It seemed that he blended into the crowd. Even with his uniform on, his monkey suit as he affectionately called it, no one even seemed to notice him. And now here they were at their new duty station and he was looking forward with great excitement and apprehension. “Now that I finally have your complete attention,” he continued, looking at the short line of soldiers, “I am Corporal Smith, your barracks coordinator. If you have a problem in the barracks you see me and only me. After role call you will each be assigned a room with a roommate who is now working his shift. You will go to the dispensary and get bedding and towels to take to your rooms. After that you will have two hours free time so that you can get acclimated to your new surroundings, set up your living space and to rest up from your long journey. I understand that most of you probably got very little sleep in the last 36 hours. Dinner is in the mess hall is at 1800 hours. Any questions?” “Good, when I call your name, respond with “Here, sir.” He began: “Gehrling?” “Here, sir,” responded the second soldier in the line. “Cummings?” “Here, sir.” “Curtin?” “Here, sir.” “Savery?” “Here, sir.” “Tow…?” broke off the corporal, who suddenly got a strange, surprised expression on his face. “Savery?” repeated the corporal again, “Are you a 988?” ”Point 3” responded the private half in a boasting sort of way. “Everyone except Savery, fall out. My assistant Private Scott here will accompany you into the barracks.” With that the corporal turned to a lieutenant standing nearby, and the two of them spoke quietly for a few moments. Private first class Savery was still standing at attention. He wondered what the discussion was about. It seemed to have something to do with his MOS. 988. But didn’t everyone have basically the same MOS? Wasn’t everyone a linguist? Suddenly the Pfc. felt the two of them staring at him. “Savery, where have you been? We’ve been waiting for you. Follow me!” “But, sir, my duffle bag.” “Just leave it; someone will take care of it. They’re waiting for you in the Ice House. We’ve got to go now!” And with that Corporal Smith approached the lieutenant again, said a few words, saluted and started walking away with a “Come on, on the double, Private!” The private just followed as fast as he could, wondering where he was going and what was waiting for him. They left the barracks area, which was surrounded by hundreds of trees. For the first time the private realized how big the area was. The many buildings looked like old college dormitories with accompanying structures for vehicles, laundry, heat and supply. As they hurried along, they emerged onto an open plain well over a half mile long and several hundred feet wide, which was lined with oak and maple trees. Along this open field were immense metal towers dwarfing the trees. Savery noticed that from the top of these towers every five were wired together forming a rhombic pattern set up in random groups and seemingly aimed in random directions. Through a break in the trees a ruin of what appeared to be a bombed out castle could be seen a couple miles away. “What kind of a place is this?” the private asked. “It used to be a camouflaged Nazi air field” responded Smith, “Not one single bomb fell on it. From the air it looked like a farm but during the war there were dozens of planes here with hundreds of pilots and other soldiers. It was not discovered until our troops actually entered it near the end of the war. That’s why it’s in such good condition today and that’s why we still use it but for drastically different reasons. The two of them walked in silence for five minutes. Suddenly the sound of two approaching airplanes burst over them. The swusch of the engines was sudden and piercing and Pfc. Savery twisted around to try to see the source of the sound. Corporal Smith hardly reacted at all but rather laughed and shouted: “Wave, they’re taking our picture.”