Yet another year, come and gone. I hope the holidays are good to you and yours as snows accumulate more and more both outside and on our collective heads.
I still think of all of you often throughout the year but more during the Holiday Season. I just cannot forget all those memories of you during the holidays of 1975 and
This year, I think of my new found friend Billy Bils and his beautiful wife Michaela and handsome son Anthony from Nellingen, Germany. In July past I had the pleasure
of taking my wife Rose and daughter Natalie to Germany and all those places I had spoken to them about. We stayed at the Am-Scheltor in Esslingen and the Bils'
were kind enough to drive us around and invite us to dinner in their home. They live in Nellingen just outside what was the front gate of our barracks. Sadly, hardly
anything remains of the place where we all lived but the vibe is still there. Billy gave us a tour of where everything used to be. The only things that any of us would
recognize was the Rec Center and the building next to it where I once bought a harmonica. The Commanding General's office also remains. All else is gone. Even
the Strassenbahn behind La Paloma (also gone) no longer exists. The only remnant was a piece of track about 5 feet long. I remember taking a picture of Dave
walking along those tracks. However Stuttgart, Nellingen, Esslingen and the surrounding areas are still pretty much the same and beautiful as always. I can only
imagine how beautiful it must be during these days with the heavy snows Germany has had recently and the Christmas Market in Esslingen. They still have the open
air Farmer's Market there every Saturday throughout the year. The Bahnhof in Stuttgart still has the beautiful old decor but has been invaded by many shops including
McDonald's and Burger King. Bummer. We toured Munich and Dachau then went on to Paris and London. Thank you again Billy for the generosity and time you
extended to us. I enclose a few pictures for you and see if you recognize anything . . . especialy me.