Bob Szarvas, an Air Force  retiree, now lives in Nurnberg, Germany.
He arrived at Rothwesten around Jan. 1952.
Bob gives the details below.

I began work with the 601st as a DF radio operator in the DF van parked just outside and to the right of the gate going into Gunpost. It was in a potato field all alone except for the generator trailer. I used to ride up and back with the radar crews.

                Outside the DF van                                                           Inside the van
     Hickman, Hooten, Radford, Badger

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

I also spent some time at the St. Andreasberg site.

This was our living quarters. There was only the one house, on the main street. I believe there were 5 of us at the St. Andreasberg Detatchment. We had a German housekeeper, a cook and a handyman. It was really nice living in those days. The actual DF site was about 1 or 2 kms. Farther up the road, out of town, on a hilltop which overlooked East Germany. These were taken in May, 1952.

     6x6 parked outside the St. Andreasberg house                        Me with my dog Maer, March 1953
    where we were billeted. We used it to go to and
    from work and to make a rations run to Rothwesten.

   Later I became editor of The Transmitter. But my memory is no longer so perfect as to dates. I do remember that I worked closely with the Hessische Nachrichten, the local German newspaper, giving them all the news stories and features from Rothwesten and the Air Force.

   That close relationship enabled me to get back to Rothwesten about 10 months after I was transferred back to the USA. They sent me to Manhattan Beach AFS in Brooklyn, where I processed troops headed for all parts of Europe. The Kassel newspaper editors wrote President Kennedy who ok'd my transfer back to Rothwesten.

   Last year, I was up in the Kassel area and I drove up to Rothwesten and the German Army guard at the gate let us drive in. He kept my retired ID card as a hostage. So we drove all around the post for about a half hour. The post is much run down compared to the old days when there were lots of us to keep it looking good.