During the Cold War I was one of a handful of people who had the view in the photo above. That is the East German/Soviet tower directly across from the U.S. Outpost known as Observation Post Alpha, located in the middle of the Fulda Gap, or the gateway to Western Europe, where the Soviets would have come through had the Cold War turned hot.
In 1986, and 1987 I did two tours of duty at OP Alpha. As a young soldier I would patrol the Iron Curtain on a daily basis. Either as part of a walking patrol, or part of a motorized patrol. If we saw our counterparts on the other side of the border we were not allowed to talk to them, or even make a gesture toward them—I am sure had we talked to them we would have found they were the same age as we were, and likely had the same interests.
Little did I, or any of us know, that in just a few short years East Germany would collapse under its own weight. At the time I looked upon my duties on the Iron Curtain as a job. At 19 or 20 years old I did not really grasp the enormity of the task, or my small part in history.
This past week, April 28, marked the 28th anniversary of the last patrol at OP Alpha along the East/German border. In the time since the Iron Curtain has fallen, OP Alpha has become a museum, and on the anniversary of the last patrol a ceremony was held to commemorate this event.
The guests of honor included American Vice Consul General David Elmo. "It is important to tell the younger generations about the events of that time, because from history we can not learn to repeat mistakes", Elmo emphasized in his speech.
In the 28 years since the last patrol my time on the East/West Germany border I have often thought of my time there. Most of it is a blur, and there seems to be no rhyme or reason to what I remember. The German women who cooked for us, the rabbits in the compound, the fact that the orderly room always smelled like fresh brewed coffee, even in the middle of the night.
One memory that stands out is hearing the song “Nikita” by Elton John in the barracks on a daily basis.
I can honestly say that at no time did we see anyone who looked like Nikita on the other side of the border. One thing that I do have to chuckle about in the video is the photos of the “East German” soldiers—I took hundreds of photos like that everyday on the border. Anytime we saw East German or Soviet soldiers we took photos of them, and they took photos of us. The vast majority of those photos are of both sides taking pictures of each other.
It is hard to believe it has been 28 years since the last patrol.