My Last Day in Schweinfurt

Today was my last day in Schweinfurt. I went downtown and took some pictures. Actually, there aren't really old things in Schweinfurt even though it's been a community since 700 or so. Since it was THE ball bearing place in Germany where all the ball bearings were manufactured it was a major bombing site in WWII. Actually, lots of things in Germany that are old are rebuilt or partially reconstructed. The palace in Wertzburg was largely destroyed. Some of the things from the interior were removed but much of the building was destroyed.

I had lunch yesterday with a very nice chaplain who is a reservist who has been called to duty. He has spent much of the last year doing funerals. He is conducting about one a week. We had 2 this week. It is very sad. And he says we kind of lose sight of all those who are wounded. It is just funeral after funeral. He was at the base in Italy and presided over a funeral every Friday for weeks. One week here in Schweinfurt we had 6 soldiers killed in a single incident in Iraq. Also, several wives were telling me that all the focus is on Iraq, but that soldiers are in danger and getting hurt and killed in Afghanistan.

At least with cell phones and computers the spouses are able to talk with their soldier daily. Sometimes the soldier may be in a more remote place and they only talk once a week. Tonight I went to a dinner for spouses of deployed soldiers. It was the 100 day mark and there were activities all day and t-shirts saying "We Have Survived the First 100 Days." A nuimber of spouses were men. There was a panel and they answered questions. One guy talked about taking care of his 16 month old baby. Another guy talked about how much work it is taking care of his 3 kids. One question was about how to handle the kids as a single parent. One woman on the panel had many deployments under her belt. She said her 13 and 15 year olds really don't know what it is like having dad home. He has been gone most of their lives. Her 4 year old is having a hard time. He hasn't gotten used to dad being gone. One cute little mom talked about her 3 boys know she can "handle this boat" and that she "runs a really tight ship." Some of these women are really amazing. I really feel for them. Especially for those new to the military. Imagine a 21 yr. old., married 1 year with a 2 year old and pregnant. She has always lived in small town Alabama. She married her boyfriend after they had a baby. He joined the army and now she is in Germany and he is in Iraq. She has little understanding of the military way of life. She has never been out of Alabama, let alone a foreign country. She is a very typical example of the spouses I have seen. The others are young German girls. These people have a very difficult life. I am coming away with a great appreciation of all they go through. I am so glad that Michelle Obama is focusing on Military Families. We all need to be more educated about the military and how difficult life is for those families.

Tomorrow I go to Frankfurt.