that all four of us were able to stay together for all of these years and we thank God and we thank Walter and Kathryn and we thank Bennington for giving us life again. I was eighteen years old when we arrived in Bennington and was placed with the class of 1953 who were then freshmen. I knew very, very little English and so the girls in the upper classes were assigned to teach me how to read the English language. Though the boys were not assigned to teach me the language, they did teach me some language among other things. I was put on the football and basketball teams and I didn't know the first thing about either. Since Miss Thoren spoke German (our second language) she was assigned to be our interperter. She was not a sports person and so everything was a funny, hit and miss episode. I played soccer in Germany; a sport, which was virtually unknown in America, but that, was 'football' to me. So when I was asked if I wanted to play football, I was delighted to say yes. Then I was handed the football and I looked at it and I thought "what's wrong with this ball, it is shaped funny". This is the first time that I have ever seen the 'American football'. Well I became the kicker of that 'funny shaped' football for the Bennington Bulldogs. I did not have any football or basketball shoes so Coach Foutes got shoes from other players. We were given food, clothing, furniture and and anything else that people felt that we needed. I couldn't understand why I needed more than one or two shirts. Once again, we were overwhelmed but so very thankful. I think that my Mother cried more when we were in Bennington then she cried during the whole German occupation and the war, only this time it was tears of joy.
Due to the patience and goodwill of the students and faculty of Bennington High School and the people of Bennington I was reborn and my family and I started to live again, we merely existed for about the ten previous years. All four of us became successful, useful American citizens. Thank you, thank you!
I was gone from Bennington for almost fifty years and I finally returned to visit everyone for the first time in 1998, then in 1999 and now again in 2000, but I have never forgoften any of you. My parents moved to Raritan, Illinois in February 1951 due to the dust storms. Danuta and I remained in Bennington to finish the school term. I lived with Coach Bob Foutes and his wife Doris and I worked at Markley's gas station part time. Danuta lived with Walter and Kathryn. She was only thirteen years old but she worked in the cafes in Bennington. She worked for Mrs. Fleming in the cafe in 'downtown' Bennington and she also worked in the little cafe near the railroad. We joined our parents in Illinois in the summer of 1951 after school was out. Father continued being a blacksmith. We moved to Stronghurst, Illinois where my parents bought their own home and Father had bought his own blacksmith shop. Danuta went to school and I worked for a farm implement shop and then for the Sante Fe Railroad.
In 1952 I got a letter that started out with "Greetings", I was drafted into the United States Army and would you believe my first assignment was Germany where I was a tank driver and squad leader. I served in the Army for two years and then I enlisted in the Air Force. I stayed in the United States Air Force for twenty-one years. I worked in Base Supply, Supply and Logistics in United States Air Force European/Headquarters and in the SR-71 Reconnaissance Wing.  My military assignments included Fort Sheridan Illinois, El Paso and Austin Texas, Beale AFB California, Kadena Okinawa, Udorn Thailand, Seville and Moron Spain and two tours in Germany at Hanau, Wiesbaden and Ramstein.



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