General Apathy Posted August 13, 2011 Share #1 Posted August 13, 2011 The Berlin wall was constructed fifty years ago this week, below is a link to 37 photos showing the construction, American tanks at Checkpoint Charlie, John F Kennedy at the Brandenburg gate and others. Photo # 8 shows an armed east German guard jumping the barbed wire fence in 1961 to join his family who had already fled to the west before the wall was built, the photo became an iconic image sadly it reports that he hung himself from a tree in his garden in 1998. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegal...wall-began.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted August 13, 2011 Share #2 Posted August 13, 2011 The Berlin wall was constructed fifty years ago this week, below is a link to 37 photos showing the construction, American tanks at Checkpoint Charlie, John F Kennedy at the Brandenburg gate and others. Photo # 8 shows an armed east German guard jumping the barbed wire fence in 1961 to join his family who had already fled to the west before the wall was built, the photo became an iconic image sadly it reports that he hung himself from a tree in his garden in 1998. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegal...wall-began.html Great link Ken...and a timely reminder. Thanks. Can you imagine a wall dividing the east and west sides of Manhattan or the east and west ends of London? Inconceivable....yet the commies did it in Berlin! They have a lot to answer for. I recall watching the live pictures of the wall being torn down in '89. Wonderful scenes! Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfamous Posted August 13, 2011 Share #3 Posted August 13, 2011 Interesting anniversary. I have a piece of the wall. A dear friend was a guard at CC the night it "fell". She has many collectables from that night. What's interesting is that I alsomhave a piece of barbed wire from the fence it replaced. I got that from my mother. Short but interesting story there for sure. My moms mom was German. She left Germany just as Hitler was coming to power. She moved to Scotland, married, immigrated to Canada and died shortly after mom was born. Years later my mother was a member of the RCAF. A radar technician I think she called it. She was assigned to watch for Russian missiles and planes while stationed in West Germany. She knew that her grandmother was still alive and living in East Germany. So, against orders and all common sence, she dressed in civilian clothes, boarded a train and went to see her. As my mother tells it, as the train crossed that line, everyone was ordered off of the train, searched and questioned. While waiting, she broke off a chunk of that barbed wire. She did see her grandmother and was not discovered to be a member of the RCAF. If she had, she would have been arrested as a spy! Soon there after she met my dad who was there with the Mace missile program. the rest is history. I remember Reagans speech, and a few years later when the wall fell. I think it is what first awakened me to how intertwined history is. I have read much on the cold war. It was an interesting time. I lived in many a primary target zone growing up but never really understood until years later why the wall was built and why it came down. I was in Berlin a year or two ago during the fall anniversary and it was quite sobering to see the sections they have left up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rakkasan187 Posted August 13, 2011 Share #4 Posted August 13, 2011 Being stationed in Berlin during the 80's and to witness that fall come down was a highlight of my military career. There are many forum members on here who served in Berlin or in West Germany during this period and each one has a personal story or stories about the events that transpired. I am currently writing a book about my experiences in the Cold War Army and during the Global War on Terror. These are all personal accounts and stories of deployments, training exercises and other events that shaped my military career. The chapter on Berlin will probably be the largest since so many events took place that I was part of or witnessed. Guarding Rudolf Hess, meeting President Reagan and Chancellor Kohl, Meeting Queen Elizabeth, watching the wall come down in November 1989, and other events are just part of what this book will include. The decision as a 20 year old infantryman to reenlist for the Berlin Brigade rather than change my MOS to an AH-64 Apache mechanic in the mid 80's was the best choice I had made up to that point regarding my military service. As more time permits I will add small snippets of my book and stories here on the forum.. Leigh.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack's Son Posted August 13, 2011 Share #5 Posted August 13, 2011 Ken, A very nice photo log of the wall, thank you for adding this. Seems SO LONG ago, now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted August 13, 2011 Share #6 Posted August 13, 2011 Being stationed in Berlin during the 80's and to witness that fall come down was a highlight of my military career. There are many forum members on here who served in Berlin or in West Germany during this period and each one has a personal story or stories about the events that transpired. I am currently writing a book about my experiences in the Cold War Army and during the Global War on Terror. These are all personal accounts and stories of deployments, training exercises and other events that shaped my military career. The chapter on Berlin will probably be the largest since so many events took place that I was part of or witnessed. Guarding Rudolf Hess, meeting President Reagan and Chancellor Kohl, Meeting Queen Elizabeth, watching the wall come down in November 1989, and other events are just part of what this book will include. The decision as a 20 year old infantryman to reenlist for the Berlin Brigade rather than change my MOS to an AH-64 Apache mechanic in the mid 80's was the best choice I had made up to that point regarding my military service. As more time permits I will add small snippets of my book and stories here on the forum.. Leigh.. Hi Leigh. I ,for one, look forward to reading them. Keep us up to speed re the progress of your magnum opus Ian :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehrentitle Posted August 13, 2011 Share #7 Posted August 13, 2011 Like Leigh I will never forget my three years in Berlin. I had actually extended my tour in Berlin for another year in late 1988, but the opportunity for company command came up in West Germany so I departed just months before the Wall fell. Here are me and my children in front of the wall at Brandenburg Gate around 1987 or 88: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehrentitle Posted August 13, 2011 Share #8 Posted August 13, 2011 Here is a photo I took of Checkpoint Charlie in 1987: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thengr Posted August 13, 2011 Share #9 Posted August 13, 2011 My wife's oldest brother at the Brandenburg Gate/Berlin Wall, early 1960's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thengr Posted August 13, 2011 Share #10 Posted August 13, 2011 Propaganda piece published by the Federal Ministry for All-German Affairs, second edition April 1965 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutiger83 Posted August 13, 2011 Share #11 Posted August 13, 2011 Ken, Very interesting! Thanks so much for posting this! ....Kat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LtRGFRANK Posted August 14, 2011 Share #12 Posted August 14, 2011 remember well when it went up. Brother was called to active duty. Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thengr Posted August 14, 2011 Share #13 Posted August 14, 2011 On the back is written; Check Point Charlie. You can cross over to the rusky side here and stay, if you so desire! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thengr Posted August 14, 2011 Share #14 Posted August 14, 2011 Berlin wall, early 1960's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thengr Posted August 14, 2011 Share #15 Posted August 14, 2011 Check Point Charlie again, with a couple U.S. MP vehicles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Apathy Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share #16 Posted August 14, 2011 Hi Thanks to everyone for taking a look at this topic and for all the additional photos and personal photos that have been added :thumbsup: ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMI88 Posted August 18, 2011 Share #17 Posted August 18, 2011 This picture was taken in September 1989, just a couple of months before the Wall fell. I was stationed in Munich but managed to visit Berlin several times during my tour. Notice that I'm not wearing a nametag. I was preparing to visit the East, and this was part of the protocol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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