Prelude to War
In 1965 troops from Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri spent several months training with troops from other military forts in the US. They used the county we lived in as it had all forms of terrain, hilly, flat, creeks, lakes, streams, and caves dotted the landscape. I was in High School when this took place, but I don’t remember how permission was granted for the troops to use private property for training. It was the talk of our school as troops invaded the area. It was like some of those war movies you see where long convoys of troops and machinery take over roads, towns, and fields.
You never knew when a tank would show up at your front door. Or to wake up to a troop of soldiers camped in your field. This happened to us one day; mom heard a noise outside and discovered a tank with its turret pointed right at the back door. The first thing she did was give the driver a piece of her mind for tearing up her yard and telling him this was not part of the agreement. The young driver whose face turned white looked at his commander asked what he should do. The commander looked at mom, apologized, told the driver to back out of the yard. When they were out of the yard mom asked if they wanted coffee and if they had breakfast. The commander got out of the tank and accepted a cup of coffee and assured mom that they would fix the fence and yard.
Another day we were on our way to school when we heard a loud explosion and our bus was stopped by soldiers. We were told to vacate the bus that it had been hit by mortar fire. We had to set on the side of the road, our names were taken and then we were told who was dead and who was a casualty. We were delayed there for over an hour but told that we would not be marked tardy when we got to school. This happened more than once. It gave you an interesting insight into how troops were trained for war. Many of the boys I went to school with were later drafted and sent to Viet Nam. One of the kids I used to babysit for didn’t come back I still think about him often.
Our days were filled with men jumping out of helicopters into hey fields, columns of troops, and convoys of trucks everywhere. We were not allowed to walk along country roads to visit friends anymore. It was hard to concentrate on schoolwork with gunfire and mortars going off all hours of the day and night. It was a scary introduction to the world of military conflict.
After I graduated I took a course in punch card tabulation, the precursor to computers, and became a clerk typist for the Army. I got married and went with my sergeant husband to Germany where I worked in the civil service. What we did was work where ever we were needed to take the place of a GI that was being deployed to the front. We were in Germany from 1967 to 1972.
My Experience
While in Germany in 1968 Russia invaded Czechoslovakia. Communist sympathies were rioting in the streets. All American dependents were put on house arrest for their protection. Because I worked on base I had to have an armed escort to and from work. We had to sleep in the living room away from the street-side windows that had been boarded up. When I had to go out to go to work I had rocks thrown at me and Yankee go home yelled at me. My husband’s unit was guarding the border so I only saw him a couple of times during the conflict. All the women living in the building helped each other out by watching kids, fixing meals together, and building morale. We would put the kids to sleep leave the front doors open then set in the stairwell and play cards, listen to music, or just talk.
We had to be on constant alert with food, water, and clothing for three days, waiting by the door in case the sirens were sounded; which meant we had 20 minutes to get to our checkpoint to be evacuated. We had to go to classes to teach us what to do if the evacuation order came. We were given 7 cards that we were to guard at all times. If we were evacuated there would be seven checkpoints along the way to the port where we would board a ship. At each checkpoint, one card would be taken and sent to our husbands. If he didn’t get the 7th card he would not know if we had gotten out of the country. I never want to be in that situation again. I have a deep respect for the freedom we have in America. It hurts my heart when I hear people tear down our country. If they only realized how good we have it here.
I have often thought of the many times the Lord has had His hand on my life. I think of the times that I was saved from destruction without my even knowing it. Whether you believe in Him or not He is watching out for you, waiting for you to acknowledge Him. Your life will be so much better when you give it to him and become part of His family. He says in His word He will never leave us nor forsake us.
If you are interested in knowing more about the protection of God leave me a comment and your email and I will get back to you.
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