German salute to U.S. warriors

By UWE SIEMON-NETTO, UPI

GURAT, France, April 28 (UPI) - The German government may be at odds with the United States over the Iraq War but German soldiers and civilians welcome wounded U.S. warriors with an outpouring of solidarity, warmth and respect. In a moving e-mail message sent around the globe, U.S. Army Col. David McLean, chief of pastoral services at the U.S. Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, described an amazing event involving German troops guarding Ramstein Air Base.

McLean, a United Methodist clergyman, was in a traffic jam at the base. "The German soldiers ... manning the entrances of American military installations, were just milling around, chatting as if those of us in line had all the time in the world," he said. Then the guards walked from car to car, asking drivers to turn of engines and headlights. "My feelings of frustration began to turn to one of concern," wrote McLean.

But suddenly, two U.S. military medical buses approached, taking wounded GIs from the air base to the hospital. The lights inside the vehicles were on and McLean could see "I.V. bags hanging."
"I certainly wasn't prepared for what happened next," the chaplain went on. "All of the German soldiers ... began walking toward the concrete barriers that divide the inbound and outbound lanes of traffic. As the blue lights neared, more German soldiers appeared from nowhere, lining the road shoulder to shoulder.
"Right on cue, without a word spoken, these soldiers snapped a sharp salute as the buses droved past." McLean continued, "I was speechless and deeply moved. What a show of respect for fellow soldiers! Our allies, our comrades, those who know the price that some have to pay for freedom did not have to be asked or prompted, it came from their character and soldiering heart. May God bless and watch over all soldiers and their loved ones as they stand in harm's war for us."

In an interview Monday, McLean told United Press International that at least 50 German soldiers were involved in this show of comradeship, which has since become the standard welcome to wounded U.S. military personnel, as they are being brought in from the war.
But this is not all. McLean spoke of an "incredible warmth" in the encounters between U.S. and German soldiers as they meet in the American mess halls. "The injured men and women I see are deeply moved by the show of affection from the Germans," McLean said.

Germans -- both military and civilians -- deposit flowers and toiletries, chocolates and other gifts for the patients at the gate of the U.S. installation. They have strung up banners welcoming the wounded men and women.

One such banner reads, "Thank you for 50 years of German-American friendship. God bless America and the Iraqi people." It was a message from the local branch of the Christian Democratic Union, currently Germany's opposition party, which is currently leading in the opinion polls.

Marie Shaw, spokeswoman for the medical center, told UPI that a German civilian drove from Frankfurt to Landstuhl - about 100 miles - to take a jewelry box to Pfc. Jessica Lynch as she was being treated at Landstuhl.

Not only Germans but also French and Belgian civilians have sent flowers and chocolates, according to Shaw. German generals have visited the wounded at their bedside, politicians, too.

"As far as I could make out they were all Christian Democrats," said Shaw. And the local farm women's association is organizing a June picnic for U.S. reservists serving at the medical center. "Our soldiers are elated by this," said McLean,

"They have read in the press about political animosities between Germany and the U.S. And now this! It makes them fell good. They realize, hey, these are our allies, as they have always been our allies."