Free Republic

-excerpt- "We Germans fought for the Russians to go, now we are fighting for the Americans to stay," jokes Brunner, chairman of the German-American contact club in Grafenwoehr, whose lifeblood is its U.S. military base. -excerpt- News that the 172nd infantry brigade, with its 3,500 soldiers and 8,000 family members, is being pulled from Grafenwoehr to return to the United States has hit this town hard. After 67 years of living together, locals in Bavaria say the Americans are not just their employers and customers, but also close friends. -excerpt- Under the new strategy, two combat brigades, one in Grafenwoehr,...