PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
The following Reflection represents SSG Ryan Victoria’s legacy of their military service from 1973 to 1988. If you are a Veteran, consider preserving a record of your own military service, including your memories and photographs, on Togetherweserved.com (TWS), the leading archive of living military history. The Service Reflections is an easy-to-complete self-interview, located on your TWS Military Service Page, which enables you to remember key people and events from your military service and the impact they made on your life.
Where Was Your Favorite Place Visited, Either Through Deployment or R&R, From Your Time in the Service? Can You Recall Any Memories of This Place You Found Particularly Impressive or Enjoyable?
My son was a toddler when I received orders in early 1982 to relocate from Ft Belvoir, VA to a NATO assignment at the 650th Military Intelligence Group (aka Allied Command Europe – Counterintelligence) at Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT) in Brunssum, Netherlands.
Arriving in March 1982, we were housed in a local hotel until we were able to secure “off-post” housing. There was no “on-post” housing; however, we would eventually be afforded government-leased housing once our name reached the top of the availability list. We met SGT Mike McDermott, his wife Lynne and young son, who had arrived in-country about a week prior. We became fast friends, and we are still in touch to this day.
Our first residence was a huge house in Nuth right off an autobahn (interstate) exit and across from a train station and adjacent pub. It was here where Lynne helped me potty-train my son and where he learned to ride a tricycle. In this house, we also acquired our adorable pet, a cocker spaniel/Scottish terrier mix puppy, named Bonnie.
A little over a year later, we were offered government-leased housing in Kerkrade, which was a bit closer to travel to AFCENT in Brunssum. As fate would have it, our friends, Mike and Lynne, occupied quarters just behind us.
We hosted several holiday get-togethers with co-workers and family (my sister was stationed in Germany during those years). On several occasions, I would drive with my son to my sister’s residence in Germany (she lived for a time in Wildflecken and then transferred to another location). We went to a Julio Iglesias concert in Mannheim and saw the then-popular band, Spandau Ballet in concert.
Since this was my first time out of the US, the friendliness of the local citizenry in Holland struck me. Everyone spoke English and quite well! They would tell us that most Americans spoke American Slang, but the British spoke proper English. The shopping was similar, yet somewhat different. Each town had its own Centrum a centralized shopping and marketing area, varying in size based on the city’s size.
We bought new furniture for our house in Nuth from a retailer in Heerlen. The salesman, John Kuit, befriended us, and we met and became very friendly with his family, who resided in Brunssum. His daughter would often babysit our son for us. His wife, Mia, taught me how to needlepoint, and I created several wall-hangings which still adorn my walls today in my current home.
On one occasion, our office participated in a joint off-post excursion, taking a walking tour of Maastricht, where we visited numerous historical buildings and churches. On another occasion, our office had the opportunity to visit the Brandt beer facility and were shown the process for making the beer. It was fascinating to see this accomplished on such a massive scale.
The food in Holland is something I will always remember. The pizza was some of the best I’ve ever had, before or since, in a small restaurant, just outside the main gate of AFCENT. Whereas the Americans use oil, the Dutch use butter – an amazing difference. Pie in Holland is also somewhat different. Our office would sometimes order cherry pie to have on Friday afternoons when we would close the office at 2:00 pm, rent a VHS movie and obtain a case of Grolsch beer for Happy Hour. But, it was not called pie; it was referred to as “flah,” yet it still had the same lattice pastry with a major difference. Topping the “flah” were large sugar crystals. American sugar is much more finely processed, as opposed to the sugar in Holland.
Although the climate in Holland was not as sunny and warm as many places, and darkness during the winter months began by 4:00 pm (nightfall in summer was not until at least 11:00 pm), the entire geographical area was a treat for all the senses.
My three years in Holland truly drove home that everyone is the same regardless of where people live, where they work and their jobs. They all have the same goals, desires and dreams, to live in peace, to raise their families, to work hard and reap the joys of their labors. No matter their language and their culture. They are different – yet they are not!
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I really enjoyed reading this Victoria. You are so talented. Good luck in everything you do., Beverly & Don