MEMORIES OF RON KIRKLEN

My company was a complete intelligence outfit, we had our own officers with a colonel on down.We also had satellite post in Frankfurt and in Nuremberg & Munich.    My job was in the motor pool we had about 8 jeeps and 2 of the 21/2 ton trucks one was a com center, we also had a few of the spook mobile which at that time would be Ford Fairlanes. When I first arrived in Germany I was at the 21st replacement company  then on to Stuttgart for three weeks and then they didn't need all the of us there so myself and the other guys were back at the 21st I was sent to 531st MI camp king and it started.

When I first came to king it was as everyone said a small out of the way  post with all  these enmities. I lived in the barracks closest to the fence and the mess we would watch them play fusseball on the field next door.  

 

In 67 they kicked us out of France so we were receiving all of these soldier with no place to go and so there were many guys going over the hill and back into France.

Being in the MI you were not able to do a lot of traveling out of Germany, or even in Germany like Berlin. We were given code names even though we had nothing to do with the information gathering side. My code name was Mr. Carrie

I was reading last night one of the memories and they talk about sliding down hills with some injuries.    We had a little girl who had Ruptered her spleen and the doctor we had who was a German and he was not good as a doctor, but under the military rules he had his job for life they just moved him to another place.

There was a medic there at that time who was a better doctor than what we had, they use to call him Doc.

Our company had two houses we used one as the headquarters and another, which  was across the street, is where the motor guys had our offices.

It is a little hard to remember all the details but when you came into the post the road went past the housing then thru the guard shack and on the left was a long two story building  which housed the finance and supply  there was a breeze way which went thru.    Past that on the left up the hill was a house, brown, which was ours. It had a basement in which there was a large safe.   

I remember some of the names of people that were there then, Sgt. William Self, Sgt Colvin, Sgt Earl Rickman. There were more but after 35 yrs. it gets so gray.

 

No one mention the tunnels but they were there then and we had kittens in our building and they were wild as they could get.    The MP Sgt lived in the building as you come into the first housing on the right they had a cat down in the basement and he went into this tunnel  there to get the cat out and it bit him on his thumb thru his glove and as a result he had to take the rabies vaccine.

 

I used to hang out with another Californian.  He was an MP so anything that happened I was told about it.     There was and Indian MP married to a German girl and he was not good with fire water. He would beat up his wife and one time he took his revolver and try to kill her.  He was sent to the brig.  He Never to return to king.

 

There was also a defection from the Russian circus in 67 and they had the whole place locked down with the Russian trying to come over the fence to get there people.

 

There was also a drug barracks where they housed all the people that were user, the lights were on all night long.

 

We use to go up to the Felburg on the Taunus mountains where the Air Force had a Com-center and we could get them to do a patch to talk to relatives in the states.

 

I lived in Oberursel from 10/66 till 8/67 with my wife and then my daughter who was born in Frankfurt hospital.    We lived in the basement of a home within walking distance of the post.  We would walk the fence line till we made it to the street that came up to meet the fence.    I don't remember the address but there was a trinkhalle in the front and the Mueller's own it. They had a son Rolf who at that time was 19 yrs. He was there only child.

The father was in the army under Hitler.

 

I owned a car while I was there it was a Lloyd, English car and it set outside of the housing complex when I rotated back to the states.    I had heard that it was used by the kids playground for awhile.

 

There was a big fight in the NCO club with the Sgt Major and a Sp4, the major was drunk and he was cussing  up a storm and the SP4 wife made a comment and the war was on, it ended up with the SP being sent to Vietnam and his wife being sent home. The power of the stripes.

 

 

We also loaned a jeep to a guy from the 513th and he took it up the Taunus. He was seen by a Colonel driving reckless. he rolled it and had to buy it.

 

No one mentions the Mayday uprising at the camp.   

We were suppose to be secret at Camp King and every year we had a crowd of German that wanted us out of there.

 

My memories of the German people was that they didn't like us and they lets us know. There was a shooting in Frankfurt with two GI's they were with German girls and some German guys accosted them one of the GI's pulled a gun and shot at the Germans but hit the roof of the car and hit his friend in the head. They didn't know that the bullet was in his brain and so they went to sick call and had an X-ray, there it was. It had no effect on the guy, other then being in serious trouble.  I was in the hospital at the same time and saw the X-ray. Oh yea he hadn't been circumcised so they threw that in for a treat for him.

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