I lived in a small town, Traben-Trarbach, along the Mosel River, from 78-81. During the 1980 elections, my neighbors pleaded with me to vote for Carter, they were sure that Reagan would start WWIII.
I dined at the neighborhood gasthaus at least twice a week, and the debate went on for a couple of months. By then, my German was good enough, that I explained my support for Reagan in their language. RR had been my governor for 8 years, and his portfolio contained hundreds of speeches and public appearances.
It was EASY to rebuff my neighbors' utterances. The major thrust of my arguments were that the world is a safer place when America is strong. Reagan was just the man to make America stronger.
Checkmate arrived on Inauguration Day, when the Iranian hostages landed at Ramstein AB. On my next visit to the gasthaus, I was invited to sit at the stammtisch, an honor I cherish to this day.
As a sidenote, I used this to great effect during our Battalion ARTEP. As the S-4, I put together a hellacious resupply plan (mostly fictional) should our supply lines get cut. We had a wide operational area, defending 3 NATO airbases, probably 1200 square miles.
The Chief Evaluator didn't appreciate my imagination (though that's exactly what my Battalion Commander wanted). After my briefing, he comes up to me, saying "where the HELL did you come up with that?"
I said, "Colonel, I understand your objections, so let me illustrate it's efficacy by taking you to one of the gasthauses that I've actually coordinated with, and I'll buy you dinner there."
Before he could answer, my best friend, the A Battery Commander said to him, "you don't want to do that, sir. Whenever he dines there, he sits at the stammtisch." LOL, little was said after that...the Old Man was laughing, too.
If anything, the anti-American feeling in Germany is metastasizing over the years since I've been here. The present debate about the Leopard tanks is more than just German trepidation about exposing themselves to the Russians, there is an underlying antipathy toward America at its root.
Thanks for the personal note, I'm doing well for the shape I'm in.
