GERMAN BEER DRINKING SONGS

Posted on August 14, 2018August 24, 2018 by walt313 1 Comment

Auf! Auf! Auf dem Tisch und SING!

Up! Up! Up on the table and SING!

So there we were in Munich for Oktoberfest.  We walked into the Lowenbrau tent and they were playing Glenn Miller. “In the Mood”.  Quite a culture shock, not what I expected.  When we finally found a table we were wedged between the “Italian Beer Drinking Team”, some Army tankers from Baumholder and of course some Germans.  People would jump on the tables and shout a toast.

“Hier ist nach Deutschland!” [crowd roars]

“Ecco l’italia!”[crowd roars]

“Here’s to America!”[crowd roars]

At one point, I hoisted myself up and screamed:

“Here’s to daylight precision bombing!”[crowd roars]

I got back down and the German next to me, leaned over and said, “I heard that”. and winked. “PROST!”

I knew the songs and sang along.  My fellow Puppies felt left out.  We huddled.  We then belted out the theme to “Gilligan’s Island”.  The Germans loved it.  We thought we were so cleaver.  But the Army guys went into a huddle and then belted out theme song for “The Brady Bunch”. [crowd roars]

Thus began the Battle of the TV Show Songs.  We went back at forth. “Addams Family”, “Batman”, “Super Chicken”.  Google it.  Even the Germans kicked in with a good rendition of “Hi,ho,hi,ho, it’s off to work we go”. In  English no less.  The Italian Beer Drinking Team was too busy drinking.

Yeah, that’s Jon Cooley conducting.

 

AT OKTOBEREST IT’S NOT ALL POLKAS

 

Lucky Puppy Paintball

Posted on October 14, 2016July 3, 2018 by walt313 Leave a comment

Hahn Airbase, West Germany, 1989 I had just put my family on the airplane back to the States and was very depressed.  My friends rallied around me and invited me to play paintball with them.  Over the months it grew from a couple of guys on the weekend to intramural Squadron events involving 40 or 50 folks.  We were reminded to not pull people off of weekend duty to play.

paintballOur favorite place was an abandoned slate factory.  Five stories embedded into the side of a hill.  We also played in various parks and places where the Germans did their volksmarching. Imagine being out on a weekend with the family, strolling along a forest path when five or six camouflaged figures come bolting across the path.  Germans would flee.  Americans would throw down a picnic and root us on.  More than once the Polizei (cops) would be called and we would fade into the forest until they left.

swear-paintball

One of the coolest placed we played was in a medieval castle.  It was a drizzly day but that didn’t stop us.  With all the germans hanging around everywhere we played we prided ourselves by not shooting a civilian.  On this day I was stalking around a corner when this guy wearing a OD poncho came around the other corner.  I almost put two in his chest before I realized he was a German.  Not just any German but the “Schlossmeister”.  the Castle Keeper.  Think “Park Ranger”.  He was pissed and wanted to know why in the Hell we were marking up a historical site with paint. I told him that the paint was water soluble and promptly popped one in my mouth to proof they were harmless.

We then sat down and started talking paintball

SM: “Is this military training?”

Me: “No, we do this for fun.”

SM: “But you have military equipment?”

Me: “It’s private military equipment.”

SM: “That’s why we lost the war.”

He wanted to know the rules of the game.  I told him that two hits in arms, legs or torso meant you’re dead.  Head shots killed you immediately.

“Then I should be dead twice”, he said. “We shot you?” “No, I was wounded four times in the War.”

He then regaled me with stories about his participation in the march on Moscow during World War Two.

pball1I can’t for the life of me remember which castle it was.  If you remember, please share with the group.

 

Mike Yeager and his German girlfriend.
Mike Yeager and his German girlfriend. What was her name?

Base Commander sent out a photographer from the Hahn Hawk to take these BW pictures.  Anyone have a copy?  Anyone have more paintball pics? Post them of Facebook.