My story begins on a transportship leaving New York heading for Bremerhaven, West Germany. It was a nine day trip and it was the last ship to transport GI’s from the US. From that day forward, all US Army soldiers were flown to Germany. It took nine days. The name was the USNS Geiger. I slept in the 3rd hole down. About 90 guys in that hole. One guy was sick for all 9 days. An ambulance picked him up when we landed in Germany.

A Russian vessel followed us for two days. Close enough where we could see them looking with binoculars.

My orders were to serve at the 7th Army (3rd Support) Brigade Headquarters at Stuttgart. After reporting there and finding no slot for my MOS, I was asked what area I preferred to be stationed at in Germany. All the office personnel said I should ask to go to Bavaria. I requested that and was sent to the 657th Quartermaster Company as a quartermaster supply specialist. This was in 1966.

I spent the next nineteen months stationed there. My job was to issue fuel to military vehicles as I was the operations corporal in the office. I was promoted to Sergeant before I was discharged. No one before me was actual trained for the position.

Our company was very small. I think all totaled, about 60. We lived in Quonset huts heated by kerosene. Slept about 20 GI's each. I was lucky as I lived in the old German building, two story,upstairs and had my own bedroom. The building also had an office for a German individual by the name of Hurding who was responsible for the fuel train deliveries to the underground tanks.

We were attached to the 242nd Supply Company (Hq Company, 242nd Service & Supply Battalion) on the same property but they were housed in two story brick structures. That is where we would eat which was a 200 yard walk from our area.

The underground fuel tanks on the Kaserne (Camp) housed AVGAS, MOGAS, JP4, JP5 and diesel fuel. They were 25 feet below ground and all instructions were written in German. I decided to learn the language as I had 19 months there and several of the German nationals worked for me.

The little town of Unterfoffenhofen, Freiham was the location of the camp. The population was about four thousand. Once you got off of the train from Munich, you would walk to the main road, walk about 2 miles straight to the camp.

Highlights while I was stationed there were:
1. 1967- Charles de Gaulle, President of France told the United States to remove its military installations from France.
2. 1967- Six Day War On June 11th the Arab-Israeli War Began and ended six days later. Our company mobilized since we were a support group for the aviation and land troops. We were ready to move our troops into Israeli to support the country.
3. I decided to learn German and that has helped my wife and I on the several trips we have made to Europe over the years and also going back to visiting the 657th.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
My wife and I made our first trip to Europe in 1997. I planned to visit my old camp (657th) while touring Europe. I had rented a car in Frankfurt as we landed there and spent the next 2½ months touring Europe on our own. Since I speak German, it opened up many doors in the surrounding countries.

We drove off of the Autobahn in Unterfoffenhofen and not surprisingly, the little town had grown to about 25,000. Matter of fact, the day we got there, they were removing the old train station as they had built a new one. I thought, how many times I would come and go from that station.

I drove around and could not find the camp. I went to the police station for help. They did not give me any but when I walked out, I was approached by a young German women who said she knew where the camp was but it is now a secrete German installation. She would drive me to the gate and I was on my own. I was met by a German soldier with a rifle. I told him in German that I was stationed there in 1966-68 and wanted to show my wife. He said no admittance. I showed him pictures of the installation and pleaded with him to make a call which he did. He said (naturally in German) that the camp officer would be here. I gave my wife a thumbs up as she sat in the car.

I was met at the gate by a German officer who escorted my wife and I all around the camp. My wife will tell you that even though she cannot speak German, she knew by my conversation with him and our laughter that this was a special moment for both he and I.

We visited the camp twice after that and the last time, all the structures were torn down and removed.

Here is the history of the land that became the 657th Company (242nd Battalion). As told to me by the Germans who worked for me at the installation.
Remember, Hitler got his start in Munich and the ground we are talking about was the fuel supply tanks for his military bases around Germany. One afternoon as the Americans were getting closer to taking control of German land, an America fighter was going over head and one of his bombs disengaged and hit a vent pipe above ground for an underground storage tank. The tank exploded and shook the plane. He came around and pin pointed the land for the Americans to attack.

I was lucky, I went through jungle war fare training at Fort Mead and at the eleventh hour, my orders were pulled and I did not go to Nam. Since I had a college degree, the Army wanted me to go to OCS but I declined as I wanted to serve my country for two years and get out.

I had a wonderful experience in Germany and the 657th Company I was honored to serve in.