May 16, 1971

Hello everyone.  I hope everything is going well back home.  Everything is going OK for me here.

The weather is getting quite summer-like now.  The last week or so it's been in the 70's and 80's with a thunderstorm every now and then.

It looks like for sure, now that Lt. Garrnet (the club custodian) will be leaving for Vietnam sometime around the first of July.  He tried very hard to get out of it, but he just got his orders a few weeks ago.  So I kind of suspect that I will be taking over when he leaves, although no one has said anything about it, one way or the other to me.  As I said before, the club here is in much better condition than my old one.  You don't have to worry about every nickel and dime and hope and pray that you make a profit at the end of the month.

I'm still planning on making 1st Lt. sometime around the first of June, but haven't heard anything about it for sure yet.

You've probably heard about the proposed 50% reduction in troops over here.  Personally I hope it gets passed because it might mean that I could leave here earlier.  Politically I can see how it would be a bad idea to withdraw 50% of our forces but practically I think that it's a good idea.  The US army over here is doing absolutely no observable good by being here.  In the event of a Russian attack into Western Europe the NATO forces would act merely as a warning force and possibly a delaying force until more and better equipped forces could be mobilized.  I feel that if the Russians really tried they could sweep through West Germany in a week's time if all they had to cope with was the NATO forces presently stationed here.  Because of the Vietnam War the American troops over here are poorly equipped, and the equipment we have is in bad condition.

So I feel that half of our troops could be as good a warning force as the whole lot of them, and maybe they could use the money saved to better supply and equip the ones that are left.

Now I want to tell you about my upcoming leave plans.  I'm really getting excited about it.  On this Friday afternoon (May 21) I am going to leave here and head south.  My main goal is Monaco, which is on the French Riviera.  The reason I have decided to go there, of all the places in Europe I had to choose from is because on May 23 (Sunday) in Monte Carlo is the famous Monte Carlo Grand Prix.  This race is the climax of the European racing season, and is probably the most spectacular because it is run right through the city streets of Monte Carlol.  After I've seen the race, which is my main goal I will still have about 5 days left.  During this time I will kind of see where my car leads me.  I have a lot of secondary goals I want to see if something else doesn't come up.  During this week, the world famous Cannes film festival will be going on in Cannes, which is also on the French Riviera.  I might drop in on that too.  Then I more or less plan to head slowly back up north going through Switzerland.  While in Switzerland two things I want to see are Interlaken and the Matterhorn, which I've always dreamed of seeing.  Possibly before I head up north I might go to Venice Italy, which would be a little out of the way, but I will see when I get down there.  I'll probably also stop in Innsbruck Austria for a while since it's right on the way back.  Another thing that is right in the same area is the country of Liechtenstein, which is on the border of Austria and Switzerland.  It would be interesting to see it because it's one of the smallest countries in the world.  As I come back up through southern Germany I want to stop and see Hitler's Eagles' Nest, which is in Berchtesgaden.  Also there is a lake near there called Chiem Lake, which has a castle on an Island, which is supposed to be well worth seeing.  Lastly I might stop by Dachau, which is near Munich.

I probably won't see all these things, but it gives me a lot of choices and I can hardly wait to get started; who knows I might like the Riviera so much that I might stay there for the whole week.  I'll be bringing with me an army sleeping bag, so I won't have to depend on hotels if everything is filled up.

I'll write you about all the details of the trip as quickly as possible when I get back and of course I will be taking plenty of pictures.

May 17

Today I got Dad's letter in the mail.  Thanks a lot and also thanks for sending me my tax refund, that will help cover the extra costs of my trip quite well.

Gas is very cheap over here if you are in the Army.  It costs me only $12.70 for a coupon book worth 200 liters of Esso Extra.  That's a little over 50 gallons and I can buy as much as 400 liters per month,  So far I've gotten by on 200 liters a month, mostly because of the good gas milage I get, around 25-30 miles per gal.

So far no more problems with flights in the club, but I can't say I've really made any friends of this group of officers either.  They are kind of a surly bunch.

Well I think this is the last sheet of paper I can squeeze in one envelope, so I guess I will call it quits for now  By the time you get this letter I should be on my way to Monte Carlo for a well deserved vacation from the Army, and anything that resembles and Officers club.