In October 2005 several of us made a return trip back to Grossachsenheim, Germany. For myself it was my first trip back since I had left there in March 1961. When I left there in 1961 I was ready to leave and ready to put that part of my life behind me, but as the years passed, those two years that I spent there became a very important part of my life. The people that I met there and the friends that I made there became a even more important part of my life.

On this return trip, I had a mental list of the things that I wanted to do and the places that I wanted to see. The first thing on that list was going back to the site, the place that I was so ready to leave forty-four years earlier.

Dave Rouzer and I drove out to the site shortly after we arrived in Sachsenheim. When we arrived at the site, I could see that time had erased almost all of it and just the scars from the building foundations and some of the road was all that was left.

Time had erased almost all of it from the land, but I still had it captured in my mind as to how it used to look. Eventually, time will probably take that too. The next few days we were kept very busy visiting various places around the area on day trips that we would take. On the first morning after we arrived, we all took a walking tour of Sachsenheim. It was cool and foggy that morning like so many of the early morning hours that I remember from the past. Many of the places that I remembered was still there like the old Church, the Castle, the Bahnhof, the old Post Office, the building where the Tal was located, but now closed, the swimming pool and Eppich's.

Remember all of the off duty hours that we spent at Eppich's? There may have been a few on duty hours spent there also. That's where the mind gets a little fuzzy. Grossachsenheim had not withered away after the site closed down in the mid 80's, but had really prospered and had became a nice small city with around 17,000 in population. Many new buildings had sprung up all over the area and reached almost all the way out to the site. It was evident that time had not stood still for Sachsenheim or Grossachsenheim as it will always be to me. The old and the new had been blended together very well.

That first full morning was filled with local sightseeing and just resting up after a long flight. In the afternoon we went to a reception that the Mayor of Sachsenheim held for us at the Castle which now holds the City offices. The thought went through my mind that here is a man that is very busy running his city and he takes time from his schedule to meet with a group of former American GI's and their families. It was a hour or so of informative information about what they are now using the land for where our former Missile site was located. It was also a hour or so that we were made to feel welcome in a community where we spent a short time of our lives so many years ago. The time that the Mayor and his Staff spent with us was very much appreciated and it was one of the highlights of our visit.

That evening, we had dinner at the Hirsch Gasthof with some invited guests from the area. The Hirsch Gasthof was our headquarters during our stay in Sachsenheim. The food and the hospitality at the Hirsch gets five stars from our group. If you should ever visit the area, stop and eat at the Hirsch and tell Monica Hacker that her place comes highly recommended.

You cannot return to Grossachsenheim and miss going to Eppich's. We made about three or four trips to Eppich's during our visit and it was almost like old times except about 8:30 PM I was ready for bed. I guess that time had taken its toll on me also. Visiting with Erich Eppich was another highlight of the trip and the welcome and hospitality he gave to our group was very much appreciated. My only disappointment at Eppich's was that they no longer served that schnitzel sandwich that I remembered from long ago, but they did have pizza.

Our day trips took us to places like Bietigheim, Ludwigsburg, Kornwestheim, Wilkins Barracks, Bad Durkheim, Speyer, Baden Baden and the Hohenzollern Castle that is about a hour or so south of Stuttgart.

Walking the streets of Bietigheim that we used to drive and are now closed to automobile traffic was another thing that brought back a few memories. The only thing that looked familiar to me was the arch that we used to drive our trucks and trailers through and sometimes scrape the sides. The scrapes and gouges are still there and I brought back pictures as evidence of someone's handy work. Looking at the arch today, I wonder how we ever got a five ton truck and missile trailer through there. I guess that we needed that extra inch or two that we gouged in the sides to make the clearance. Through my eyes, Bietigheim had really changed and there was not much there that I remembered. Even the road back to Grossachsenheim seemed as if it was farther now. We used to walk it and not think much about it.

Wilkins Barracks at Kornwestheim was the first place that I was stationed at when I arrived in Germany. I had just came from a Missile site in Seattle and arriving at Wilkins was sort of felt like dying and going to heaven. The duty at Seattle was nothing to write home about, but at Wilkins Barracks it was kind of like getting a new lease on life while holding down a eight to five job. No KP, very little Guard duty and it only took two to operate a section at night which gave us a lot of free time. Upon returning to where Wilkins Barracks was located, the only thing that remained of heaven was the old service club building that was across the street. There was some other buildings in the area, but none that was there when I was. Where my former barracks once stood was a vacant lot overgrown with weeds. So much for heaven on earth.

We had nine days of trying to cram as much in to our schedule as possible and most of the things on my mental list was accomplished. The trip back was well worth the effort and is another memory that we will cherish for a long time to come. We had a great group of friends to travel with and share this experience.

I want to thank Dave Rouzer for putting the trip together and leading us around Germany. All of his efforts is very much appreciated by the entire group that went on the trip.

Below are the links to our Photos. When you click on a Link, it will open in a new window. Simply close that window to return to this page.

A Walk through Gross Sachsenheim