Kaiserslautern, Germany, September 1948. By now, I've posted most of the extant photos from the interval when Mr. Irene's Dad worked in the canine security unit. Here's a last image from that era.
Showing posts with label Berlin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Berlin. Show all posts
February 25, 2013
Related by Marriage: Work at the canine security unit is finished.
Kaiserslautern, Germany, September 1948. By now, I've posted most of the extant photos from the interval when Mr. Irene's Dad worked in the canine security unit. Here's a last image from that era.
November 19, 2012
Related by Marriage: Close Quarters
Kaiserslautern, Germany, September 1948. Mr. Irene's Dad—standing on the right—poses with fellow Displaced Persons outside of their tent at the canine security unit.
November 13, 2012
Related by Marriage: A Young Recruit
Kaiserslautern, Germany, June or July 1948. Here's Mr. Irene's Dad when he began working with the U.S. Army's canine security unit. He had not yet celebrated his twentieth birthday.
November 10, 2012
Related by Marriage: A Shared Purpose
Kaiserslautern, Germany, June or July 1948. Mr. Irene's Dad—in the center—stands with fellow Displaced Persons as the men work in the U.S. Army's canine security unit.
October 24, 2012
Look over here!
Kaiserslautern, Germany, June or July 1948. A buddy of Mr. Irene's Dad works with his canine-security-unit dog. This photo provides a closer look at the base's dog kennel.
October 8, 2012
"You look like a dog."
Kaiserslautern, Germany, December 24, 1948. The Displaced Persons serving in the U.S. Army's canine security unit celebrate Kūčios (Christmas Eve.) After a few drinks, one of the men decided that his bearded colleague looked like a German Shepherd patrol dog. He sketched a canine portrait and made a gift out of it.
September 26, 2012
Related by Marriage: Civilian Driver
Kaiserslautern, Germany, June or July 1948. Mr. Irene's Dad—in the center—poses with other Lithuanian DPs recruited to assist the U.S. Army during the Berlin Blockade.
September 18, 2012
Related by Marriage: Canine Recruit
Kaiserslautern, Germany, 1948. Mr. Irene's Dad—seated in the front, on the far left—joins fellow Displaced Persons in the canine security unit as they welcome a new, furry recruit.
September 13, 2012
Related by Marriage: Exercising Arno
Kaiserslautern, Germany, 1948. Mr. Irene's Dad—on the left—exercises his dog, Arno, as he walks with a friend from the canine security unit.
September 4, 2012
Related by Marriage: On Patrol
Kaiserslautern, Germany, 1948. Mr. Irene's Dad—on the left—makes his rounds with his U.S. Army dog, Arno.
August 30, 2012
Related by Marriage: Hearty Thanks!
Kaiserslautern, Germany, Summer 1948. Mr. Irene's Dad, on the left, gets recognized for his work in the canine security unit.
August 26, 2012
Good Dog
Kaiserslautern, Germany, June or July 1948. A member of the canine security unit lifts his dog's spirits.
August 23, 2012
Related by Marriage: Reporting for Duty
Seligenstadt, Germany, June 1948. The Lithaunian Displaced Persons who volunteered to work in the U.S. Army's canine security unit prepare to depart for Kaiserslautern.
August 18, 2012
Related by Marriage: Lesson Plans
Kaiserslautern, Germany, June or July 1948. The Displaced Persons recruited to work for the U.S. Army's canine security unit study the scope of their work. Mr. Irene's Dad sits in the back, third from the left.
August 9, 2012
Related by Marriage: It's rewarding to work with dogs.
Kaiserslautern, Germany, June or July 1948. Mr. Irene's Dad—on the left with his German Shepherd dog, Arno—stands with a fellow Displaced Person as the men work in the U.S. Army's canine security unit.
August 4, 2012
Temporary Quarters
Kaiserslautern, Germany, June or July 1948. These tents constituted the barracks at the Kaiserslautern base shortly before the United States launched the Berlin Blockade.
August 3, 2012
Action!
Kaiserslautern, Germany, June or July 1948. A member of the U.S. Army films maneuvers at the base around the time of the Berlin Blockade.
July 29, 2012
Related by Marriage: Canine Security Unit
Kaiserslautern, Germany, June or July 1948. The Lithuanian Displaced Persons who served in the U.S. Army's canine security unit work their German Shepherds in the kennel area of the base.
July 22, 2012
Related by Marriage: Berlin Blockade
June, 1948, was a pivotal month for postwar Germany. The Western Allies had just announced their decision to form a Western German state. By month's end, a new currency, the Deutsche Mark, replaced the Reichsmark. The Deutschen Marken had been secretly printed in the United States, and they had arrived in Frankfurt with a U.S. Army escort.
The Soviet Union responded to the formation of Western Germany by blockading roads and canals leading to Berlin and stranding the thousands of U.S. and British troops stationed there. The soldiers lacked food and materials. On June 26, the Western Allies began an airlift of supplies to their Berlin-based soldiers.
Mr. Irene's Dad was finishing his training with the U.S. Army near Frankfurt on that day. He remembers that transport planes departed from the miltary field hourly from that day forward; the airlift lasted almost one full year. He was part of a 250-member corps of Lithuanian men who had been accepted as recruits from the Seligenstadt DP camp for a security detail assisting the U.S. Army. During his six weeks of training in Mannheim, Mr. Irene's Dad volunteered with 29 others to join the canine patrol unit, where he was assigned to work with his German Shepherd, Arno.
The canine security unit abruptly received its orders, and it traveled to a secret location. In thick forests about 50 miles from Frankfurt, the unit assembled in tents and makeshift quarters for the dogs. Mr. Irene's Dad patrolled the perimeter of the newly built camp with Arno every night between midnight and 6:00 am. He saw the new stockpiles of tanks, jeeps, and weapons that he was guarding. Who knows? Perhaps some of the freshly printed supply of Deutschen Marken—destined for the new, Western Germany—also were secured there.
Kaiserslautern, Germany, June or July 1948. Mr Irene's Dad, seated at the table in the foreground, chats with visiting U.S. military commanders. The base at Kaiserslutern would grow over the next decade to become on of the largest American military bases outside the United States. Within a year, Mr Irene's father would be living in Chicago—and soon would be drafted to serve in the U. S. Army during the Korean War.
The Soviet Union responded to the formation of Western Germany by blockading roads and canals leading to Berlin and stranding the thousands of U.S. and British troops stationed there. The soldiers lacked food and materials. On June 26, the Western Allies began an airlift of supplies to their Berlin-based soldiers.
Mr. Irene's Dad was finishing his training with the U.S. Army near Frankfurt on that day. He remembers that transport planes departed from the miltary field hourly from that day forward; the airlift lasted almost one full year. He was part of a 250-member corps of Lithuanian men who had been accepted as recruits from the Seligenstadt DP camp for a security detail assisting the U.S. Army. During his six weeks of training in Mannheim, Mr. Irene's Dad volunteered with 29 others to join the canine patrol unit, where he was assigned to work with his German Shepherd, Arno.
The canine security unit abruptly received its orders, and it traveled to a secret location. In thick forests about 50 miles from Frankfurt, the unit assembled in tents and makeshift quarters for the dogs. Mr. Irene's Dad patrolled the perimeter of the newly built camp with Arno every night between midnight and 6:00 am. He saw the new stockpiles of tanks, jeeps, and weapons that he was guarding. Who knows? Perhaps some of the freshly printed supply of Deutschen Marken—destined for the new, Western Germany—also were secured there.
Kaiserslautern, Germany, June or July 1948. Mr Irene's Dad, seated at the table in the foreground, chats with visiting U.S. military commanders. The base at Kaiserslutern would grow over the next decade to become on of the largest American military bases outside the United States. Within a year, Mr Irene's father would be living in Chicago—and soon would be drafted to serve in the U. S. Army during the Korean War.
January 12, 2012
Please don't feed the animals.
Family friends asked my Dad to restore this photo. When I, as a kid, used to see it, I always found it extraordinarily charming and quirky.
Berlin Zoo, about 1936. Rawr.
Berlin Zoo, about 1936. Rawr.
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