Getting ready to ring in the New Year the other night, a funny story from my deployment to Germany during Desert Storm popped into my mind. My combat support MP company was sent to Germany to provide backfill for VII Corps. Well, we got there in early December, and spent that month getting settled into our responsibilities, getting our German drivers' licenses, becoming familiar with the German roads through the mountains, and becoming acquainted with the locals and military dependents.
Some of the guys were invited to the homes of the dependents and/or locals for a Christmas dinner and some great cooking. This was really great, and certainly made the guys feel a bit better for having to be gone at this time of year. Some of them were still a bit upset at being sent to Germany as a backfill unit, as opposed to being sent to Saudi Arabia to be in the war effort there. But as I kept telling them, everyone has to be somewhere so here we are. All in all, I think they felt that they contributed quite a bit when it was all said and done. I know our higher-ups thought so.
Anyway, it seems that on that New Years eve, my senior NCOs and platoon leaders decided since all of our troops were taken care of, we needed some time off so they planned for a few hours that night to be spent at a local gasthaus in the town of Pirmasens. Everything had been extremely quiet for the past week so I thought this might be a good reward for them (and me too). It wasn't a very long walk to the town, down the side of a big hill (small mountain to us). It was just beginning to snow again; the lights of the town twinkled and the sound of the church bells in town singled it was time for church before the arrival of the new year. It was very peaceful, very serene.
We went in the gasthaus, had a few drinks, met some of the locals and played some pool. I didn't know much German, but we all had fun playing pool, winning some, losing some. It was getting close to midnight, and the bar tender asked us if we wanted a last drink...his treat. I thought that a bit odd, but what the heck. Then about 5 minutes before midnight, all of the locals left the place and the owner came out from behind the bar with a shot gun. I thought we were all in big trouble now. What had we done to tick him/them off? How were we gonna get out of this mess. Well, midnight hit, and all manner of gunfire starting going off in the streets. None of our guys moved for a while. Then the owner came back in and asked us if we wanted to go out and shoot..."to welcome in the new year." It seems that this is a very old tradition celebrated in Germany at new years. Well, we tried not to look too stupid!! I think he caught on to our "rookiness" and laughed a bit and offered us another drink -- on him, of course.
He told us that whatever wasn't drunk that night would be sold to the new owner who was going to take over operation of this establishment tomorrow. By the way, the new owner was going to turn it from a gasthaus into a "bar" (which, as I understand from his side of the story, means a house of ill-repute.).
Well, we took our leave and headed back to the post. That small hill seemed like a very large mountain going back, and the light, pretty snowfall had turned into a heavy, wet, blowing snow (which, by the way, hung around until later in the month).
I still think back to that time on new years eve and wonder what all those guys are doing, and how they are getting along in life.
Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. (Benjamin Franklin)
Hooah
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