That summer we moved into a 30-foot mobile home in a trailer park owned by her parents, which was adjacent to the Airport Inn, a tavern also owned by her parents. I received orders to Germany and would have to leave in January. The problem was that President Eisenhower had suspended dependent travel to “reduce the gold flow.” That meant that I wouldn’t be present for the birth of our first child due in March.  The proximity of her parents suddenly became most fortuitous. 

I received a letter in March telling me she and her dad were on the way to the hospital and then — nothing for four days. I went to our local Duetsches Post where you could make international phone calls. The call cost $4.00 per minute ($42.24 in 2024 dollars). Although the sound quality wasn’t very good, I found out that we had a girl named Deborah Ann.  I forgot to ask how to spell the first name and thought I heard her weight as seven pounds.  The Red Cross was supposed to notify me, but that fell through the cracks.

The newly elected President Kennedy ended the dependent travel ban, but there was a huge backup of dependents waiting to join their spouses. Marilee and Debbie finally received orders allowing them to travel to German in August. They arrived at Rhein-Main air force base (outside of Frankfurt) with no one to meet them as notice of an earlier than scheduled arrival hadn’t been received.  As soon as we found out, Chuck Riley drove me to Reine-Main AFB. We found a very exhausted Marilee and drove back to Fulda. I was nervous about the gurgles and other noises Debbie was making but was assured they were normal.

Family quarters were backlogged but I had already rented an upstairs of a farmhouse within walking distance of Downs Barracks, where I worked. A few days after we moved in, a tank was ambushed during an exercise right below our bedroom window. It fired its main gun, producing a loud boom. Marilee jumped out of bed and was at the window (about 8 feet away) seemingly without touching the floor. I stayed in bed laughing.  I knew the difference in sound between a 90mm blank firing and of a 90mm service round firing. Marilee, of course didn’t, and with tension with the Soviet block at an all-time high, her response was quite understandable.

The resident “opa” (grandfather) took a shine to Marilee and started bringing her candy after his weekly sojourn to the store.  One day, I came home just as he came up with his gift and in I, in my “broken” German, jokingly told him it would make my” Frau große ” (wife large).  From then on, he brought her fruit. She has never quite forgiven me for that comment!

About 2½ months later we moved into a government-leased house in Steinau, just east of Fulda. It was here that, while lying in bed on a Sunday morning, Marilee woke me up and said, “it’s time.” I started to argue before realizing it was time to get moving as baby Sandra was getting ready to be born. Marilee had to endure a 60-mile ride in an army (no springs) ambulance to Frankfurt General Hospital.

A few months later we moved into government housing on base. It was great having English speaking neighbors and to be withing walking distance to all of the facilities such as NCO club, PX, commissary, etc. In February1964, Teresa caused another 60-mile ride to Frankfurt General Hospital for her debut.

We returned to the United States with a walker, a toddler, and a babe-in-arms in June.