Memories of John Batten
Camp King holds a very special place in my heart. I was lucky enough to be stationed there on two different occasions as a computer programmer.
Right after AIT in 1986 I found myself at Rhein-Main waiting to find out where I would go. I had no idea what to expect and was a bit anxious about the whole situation. I needn’t have worried, I started this assignment as a PV2 and would make SP4 before it was time to go. I was initially assigned to the 228th Signal Company. After about a year and a half however we were merged with the 36th DPU (data processing unit). During this assignment I lived in the barracks. While there, I met some of the greatest people I have ever and probably will ever meet one of whom became my wife. I worked in the first building on the right as you head “up the hill” . Short-timers prior to heading back to the states would tie their boots together and throw them up in trees where they remained for years until the strings rotted and they fell of their own accord. On special weekends when the German families would throw out their old furniture we would “trade-up” whatever we were using in the barracks.
We would also have Bar-B-Ques and throw theme parties in the barracks. The themes were varied and came down to whatever we could dream up and throw together in a weeks time. The Toga parties were extremely popular. On one very special evening after a friend in the barracks had received a care package which contained a rubber chicken we even held a “rubber chicken sacrificing ceremony” which the participants will remember for the rest of their lives. Other fond memories include the pizzeria which was less than a block away and sold what I consider to be he finest rigatoni on the face of the planet. Sunday rituals involved all of our friends gathering in our room watching football on AFRTS and talking about how great those rigatoni’s were until someone broke down and took orders and made the run. It was definitely an act of supreme willpower to be able to hold out. MTV was extremely popular back then and several of the guys had family members who would record several days worth of MTV which we would play over and over non-stop eventually wearing the tapes out.
German American day celebrations would last all day with Bar-B-Ques, outdoor games and drinks for everyone. Christmas was also a special time with things such as the annual tree lighting ceremony, he annual Christmas ball at the Headquarters building (you could still see the swastikas in the iron works there) I also was lucky enough to be “adopted” by a German family brought me into their home for Christmas. I remember pulling gate guard over the holidays and the generosity of the local families who would bring bottles of wine and other goodies to whomever was on duty. Other memories included the crazy weather. One morning a bunch of us in the barracks got up and went out to the PT field to play some football. It was a beautiful sunny morning. After about 30. minutes it began to rain, followed shortly by hail and snow. Within another 30 minutes the sun was back out again and it was warm again.
Several years later in 1991, after the Gulf War was over, I was a SGT and had been assigned to the 142nd Signal Battalion which drew down and we were re-assigned. Thanks to a wonderful Captain and Warrant Officer I was invited to join HHC 22nd Signal Brigade and was lucky enough to find myself back at Camp King. This time I was married and lived in family housing (the first building on the right as you came in the gate) While the experience the second time was nowhere near as wild as it was for me during my first tour, it was extremely enjoyable nonetheless. Everything was as I had remembered it and my old barracks roommate was still there too! My memories during that second tour involved a lot of going to the field as well as working on the 10Base2 network we had established in the main building. The gym was still there and I was once again able to enjoy after PT saunas! Having a family this time my focus was on things such as the playground and the families on post. As always everyone looked out for each other and the sense of belonging to an extended family made my tours ones which I will always remember fondly.
John Batten