Once finished with lunch, the group headed for the tanks and trucks. Because Hans and Günther were with them, even the American kids got up on the vehicles to show them everything. Charlie pointed to where a .50-caliber machine gun could be mounted. Hans and Günther loved that. Jack told them in German that their dads were Army officers, and tankers, in 4th Armored Division.
As they climbed all over a tank, Hans said, “Jack, how is it you speak so much German? That’s not something we expect Americans to do.”
Jack smiled. “My nanny—Kindermädchen—only speaks German so I had to learn in order to survive.”
Charlie cut in. “We’re outta here! I want us to get a good spot.”
Jayla explained that this afternoon there was a big event, and they had to get a move on.
Even the brats were impressed when an M-48 tank came roaring up in front of the crowd. The voice booming over a loudspeaker explained that they were about to show everyone how 4th Armored Division repaired a tank—right on the battlefield. Hans and Günther definitely thought the whole thing was great.
A team of mechanics jumped from a deuce-and-a-half as it rolled up to the tank. They immediately got to work loosening nuts, bolts, and the hydraulic and electrical connections of the tank’s engine. The announcer kept up a steady explanation in English and German, until he was drowned out by the deafening approach of a huge Sikorsky H04S-3 helicopter. In a matter of minutes, without ever landing, the hovering helicopter lifted the six-ton engine out of the tank and hauled it on board.
Moments later her crew lowered a replacement engine back into the tank. The mechanics immediately connected up the new engine. That fifty-ton M-48 tank, with its 90-millimeter gun and its new 690-horsepower engine, roared back to life and drove away. It was definitely an impressive demonstration of the US Army’s efficiency and skills. Hans and Günther were left astounded.
“Incredible,” said Kevin.
“I am absolutely, positively going to become a helicopter pilot,” said Jayla, eyes full of passion.
Sam explained to their new friends that her dad was responsible for getting all the parts they used in the tank repairs. Hans and Günther said that was a lot more exciting than being a farmer or a mayor.
“I don’t know about that,” said Sam. “I wouldn’t mind checking out your farm.”
“And I wouldn’t mind checking out the mayor’s office,” said Jack.
Hans said he’d see if he could arrange a visit to the mayor’s office in Göppingen, and Günther said he’d try to get them invited to his farm.
Jack thought, These two are okay.
Jayla whispered to him, “Maybe Günther knows how to get from his farm to the Hohenstaufen.”
Jack gave a slight nod. “Pretty soon we’ll ask.” Meeting these two might actually become part of the plan.
The chopper they liked best was Little-Bird, pretty much a large glass bubble that flew two people. Little-Bird’s pilot called it a flying seat, since you could see out in all directions. When he began explaining how it was flown, they didn’t understand half of what he said. But it didn’t take a genius to figure out it was pretty complicated.
Well, that’s not completely accurate. One of them was getting a whole lot out of the talk. Anyone could see that Jayla’s brain was fully engaged and lit up to megawatt level.
At first that pilot hadn’t said all that much. But when Jayla started in on the questions. . . .
Charlie leaned over to Jack and Kevin. “Jayla’s gonna get that guy to teach her the entire nine-month ’copter training manual from flight school if we don’t drag her outta here.”
“And she’ll probably think she can fly it,” Kevin whispered back.
“No, it’s much worse than that,” Jack said. “She probably will be able to fly it.”
His friends might not have noticed, but Jack was half serious.
That night there was a huge dinner in the white tent. Several long tables had been pushed end to end, and Jack’s, Jayla’s, and Sam’s parents, other officers, and a whole group of Germans were seated around them. Hans’s and Günther’s parents were part of the gathering. Jack and his friends, along with Hans and Günther, were told to sit with Ingrid and Queenie and her friends at a nearby table. Rabbit and her buddies were at another table full of little kids. It did not escape Jack that his mother had clear line of sight to both tables.
Hans went over to talk to his parents about his new American friends coming for a visit to Göppingen. He came back smiling. “My mother said something is already being arranged. We will see you guys again!”
Once dinner was finished, the band came on stage, and people began heading for the dance floor. Their parents motioned for the kids to dance, but Jack and his crew didn’t look inclined to leave the safety of their table. And the German guys didn’t seem any more anxious to dance than their American counterparts. Queenie and her friends, on the other hand, wanted to get out on the dance floor, but no one asked them.
Their parents got up to dance, and the only one left behind at the adult table was a young officer named Captain Saunders. Saunders was the general’s aide-de-camp. He was single and didn’t have a date that night, so he had no one to dance with. That is, until he came over to their table and started talking to Queenie and her girlfriends. But it didn’t take long for the girls to figure out that he was a lot more interested in talking to Ingrid than to them. The next thing the girls knew, Ingrid and Captain Saunders were out on the dance floor. After that, Captain Saunders seemed to forget to go back to his own table.
Queenie and the girls continued to chat, but didn’t miss a trick. They remained glued to the whole Captain Saunders and Ingrid situation.
“Do you think she likes him?” asked Camila.
“It certainly looks like it to me,” said Liz. “See how close they’re dancing?”
“And they aren’t just dancing,” chimed in Queenie. “They even seem to be talking to each other. How I have no clue, but maybe the captain knows a little German.”
“I saw her smile at him,” said Karen.
“Yeah, that boy can’t take his eyes off her,” smirked Camila.
“True. But you can never really tell with Ingrid,” said Queenie. “She’s a good chameleon. She’d make it look good, even if she didn’t like him.”
“Well, I think she does. But what do we think about him?” asked Liz.
“He’s certainly cute,” said Camila.
“He’d better be, ’cause she could be in Seventeen magazine,” said Queenie, protective and proud of Ingrid at the same time.
“My dad says the general really likes Captain Saunders,” Karen said.
“I don’t care who he is. He’d better just watch himself,” said Queenie. “We need to keep a close eye on this.”
While Queenie and her friends remained focused on Ingrid and the captain, Jack and his crew felt free to share with Hans and Günther their plans to explore the German countryside beyond the base. Charlie happened to mention Black Squirrel Crossing.
“Ach! Wait a minute,” Hans said. “You guys can get over the big ravine? How is that possible? We’ve never been able to get across.”
Jack grinned. “American ingenuity. That means we Americans find a way to do things. What we did is top secret, but we’ll tell you.”
Charlie explained Black Squirrel Crossing.
Günther’s eyes were huge. “If you can get over the big ravine, then you can get all the way to my farm. It is by the northeast part of the base.” He described a spot where they could all meet along the Cooke Barracks perimeter fence.
Charlie held up a hand. “Whoa! We can’t get over that fence. Believe me, we’ve tried.”
Günther flashed a conspirator’s grin that needed no translation. “Do not worry, Charlie. You just go to your side of the fence. We will go to our side. Then we will g
et you over. We Germans are also quite clever.”
“I will see if I can go to Günther’s house tomorrow so we can show you,” said Hans, flashing a mischievous grin of his own.
Jack grinned right back. “Let’s do it.” I wish all the things Dad made me do were as cool as meeting Hans and Günther.
31
German Ingenuity
As promised, Jack and crew headed out the next morning to meet up with the Germans. Jayla and Charlie were on wide flanking patrol, providing an early warning system. However, once over Black Squirrel Crossing, the mood lightened and they dispensed with security. This was their turf. They made their way to the perimeter fence and headed north. As they looked through the barbed wire for the water trough and hand pump that Hans had described as the meeting point, they saw magnificent rolling fields and orchards. Far in the distance they could just make out the Hohenstaufen.
“From what Hans said, we should be close now,” said Jack.
Coming over a rise, they saw Hans and Günther sitting on the edge of the trough.
“Ya gotta love it when a plan comes together,” said Jack.
Everyone started talking at once.
“So, how do we get over the fence?” Sam asked.
Grinning, Günther said, “Einfach!”
Sam looked at him, confused.
“It means simple,” Jack translated.
Günther signaled for them to follow him along the fence. About a quarter mile farther, Hans walked up to a huge, old oak tree by the fence and started climbing. Günther followed. Within seconds the boys were crawling out on a big limb that reached over the barbed wire. Once on the American side, they grabbed a couple of smaller branches so they could hang down and drop to the ground. The brats gave them a round of applause, making Hans and Günther beam.
Kevin tried jumping for the limb in an attempt to reverse the trick, but no matter how high he jumped, he couldn’t grasp it.
“So how do you get back over?” asked Sam.
“Einfach!” Günther gestured for them to follow him once more. A bit farther down, they walked up to a tree with a strong limb reaching over the fence onto the German side.
Günther said, “We call this tree Die Einbahnstraße nach Deutschland, and we call the other tree Die Einbahnstraße nach Amerika.”
Jack burst out laughing. “This one they call The One-Way Street to Germany, and they call the other tree The One-Way Street to America.”
Now they all were laughing.
Kevin looked like he was ready to hug the tree. “I call this Highway to Freedom.”
Nothing could stop the brats from scrambling up and over.
Jack thought, No wonder they were excited when they heard about Black Squirrel Crossing. They get it.
The next two hours were dedicated to exploring the farm, which seemed like something out of a picture book: lush fields, sheep grazing on hillsides, a brilliant sky, and fluffy clouds. Perfect.
They first explored the barn, where Günther’s family milked their sheep twice a day and sheared off the wool twice a year. Then they peeked in the windows of a separate stone building where his family made cheese from the sheep’s milk. His family made their living selling wool and cheese. His dad hired shepherds to take their sheep grazing at different locations in the valley.
Günther laughed. “My dad has a great arrangement with the American Army so our sheep can graze on the base. Our sheep are the lawn mowers along der Flugplatz runways. The Army gets the grass cut for free, and the sheep get to graze for free. Everyone gets something.”
The German boys could understand some English, but spoke very little, so most of what they said was in German. Jack did his best to translate for his crew. When he didn’t understand them, Hans and Günther kept saying it in different ways until he finally caught on. It was pretty obvious to everyone that with Hans and Günther around, Jack’s German was going to get challenged, pushed, and improved.
After a while, Günther provided lunch, though his mother never knew they had guests. He brought the kids to an apple orchard, where they picked all the apples they wanted. Günther unearthed a basket holding loaves of bread and some cheese from the farm to eat with the apples.
Jack, starving as usual, was surprised how good the sheep’s-milk cheese was.
After lunch, they roamed around the German countryside, exploring.
From a high point on a hill, Jayla showed Jack at least two likely ways a person could hike to the Hohenstaufen. “Now that we can get off base, nothing stands between us and that mountain.”
“You’re right,” Jack said. “Looks like we just might be able to get there and back all in the same day. But don’t get in a big rush; we still have a lot of planning to bring this thing off without a hitch.”
Jack called everyone over. “We have something to tell Hans and Günther.”
Everyone sat, and Jayla explained Mission Mountaintop, starting with Mrs. Campbell and Sputnik. Jack translated as best he could.
Hans cocked his head to one side, considering. “We have only been there by car, and adults always knew. This will be tough.”
Günther cut in, “In this case, tough means German ingenuity. That means we Germans find a way to do things. You might not know this, but we want to do better than Russian kids even more than you do!”
Hans and Günther voted to join the Americans on their quest.
Done with lunch, they had entered an old storage shed.
Jack spied two canteens. They looked military. “Wow!” he said, tapping Hans’s shoulder. “Are those Nazi canteens?”
Hans’s face lost all color. So did Günther’s.
What did I just do? I said Nazis! He’d been warned not to bring up the Nazis, that it might upset people. That clearly was an understatement. Everyone had gone silent—and not in a good way.
“I’m sorry,” Jack said, truly apologetic. “I forgot I’m not supposed to mention the Nazis. We don’t need to talk about it. Please forgive me.”
Finally Hans cleared his throat. He seemed to be having trouble finding words, even in German. “It wasn’t our fault, you know. We were born after the war ended. We’re very sorry about everything that happened.” Even before Jack translated, the kids knew Hans felt helpless and regretful.
Jayla looked at him with genuine concern. “We know it’s not your fault. No one thinks it was.”
“We don’t have to talk about this,” Sam rushed to say.
“Yeah,” said Charlie. “We really like you guys. We won’t bring it up again.”
“But you don’t understand,” Günther said, ever so quietly. “We need to talk about it. No one ever lets us talk about the war or the Nazis. It is verboten. How do you say? Forbidden.”
“You guys never talk about it?” Jayla was incredulous.
Hans shook his head. “Never.”
“Impossible,” agreed Günther, emphatically.
The brats were stunned.
Sam spoke up. “If you want to tell us, that’s okay. We’ll listen. We can sit by that tree and listen.” She cocked her head beyond the shed door to a spot in the shade.
They all walked outside and sat in the grass, the German boys sitting side by side.
Hans said, “You can’t imagine how it really is. Since the war no one even says the word Nazi or talks about the war at all. No one dares—not even our parents, our teachers, or the priests. They are all embarrassed about what Hitler did—and what they did. It’s like they think if they pretend it never happened, everyone else will forget it happened, too.”
Günther blurted out, “We think that . . . that it’s true . . . that you hate us. Hans slept at my house last night. When no one was awake to hear us, we talked about the great time we had playing with you on the American base. But we think you only acted nice to us because your fathers forced you t
o. How could you possibly like us when we are Germans and Germans tried to destroy you?”
Jack sat there studying his shoes, too shocked even to look at Günther.
Günther concluded, “We were pretty sure you wouldn’t come today. We went to the trough this morning hoping you’d come but expecting you wouldn’t.”
“Why did you come, Jack?” Hans’s voice was barely a whisper.
“We came because we like you. That’s the truth,” said Jack. “Our parents aren’t making us be your friends.”
“But that is not true!” insisted Hans. “At the table in the tent, your father ordered you to take us to lunch. Am I not correct? He said it like it was only a suggestion, but we could tell it was an order.” Hans gave Jack a hard look. “We’re not stupid, Jack. We always watch carefully what is going on around us—especially with adults. Your father ordered you to play with us.”
Instead of looking defensive, Jack couldn’t help grinning. “You’re very sharp. Just one reason I like you. You’ve got what we have—brat-radar. That means you notice everything about adults. And you’re right. We were ordered to play with you. But I didn’t even remember that. We’re used to getting orders that we have to obey instantly. For us, if you don’t obey, they kill you. Well, not exactly kill you, but you know what I mean. Our fathers are military officers first, and fathers second.”
“Or third,” said Kevin, with a grin.
“Or fourth,” Jayla chimed in.
Everyone cracked up, even Hans and Günther. It was astonishing how just that little bit of laughter broke the tension.
“So, you’re right that my dad did order us to play with you. But you’re wrong about it, too. It was his way to get rid of all kids at the table or to look good for the commanding general. You know, all that German/American Friendship stuff. Our kids are playing with your kids, blah, blah, blah . . .”
BRAT and the Kids of Warriors Page 34
