Southern Patrol 2012

SHARKHUNTERS International
Southern Patrol 2012

We begin far up in Germany as we visit our good friend Oberst RIGOLF HENNIG (6919-2004)

This little village (dorf), like most German villages,	has a quaint little town center
But this little dorf has a special BMW – it is filled with ice cream!	And of course, they have their problems with AntiFa idiots
Inside this magnificent church,	the choir is practicing. They were great!
We met some very nice people on this boat, tied	up by the outdoor cafe where we enjoyed supper

……..a rock in the middle of the North Sea

SHARKHUNTERS International
Southern Patrol 2012

…..we travel to a “Rock in the middle of the North Sea” – Heligoland!

Once this was a busy center for the Kriegsmarine, today a tourist attraction – but there are reminders of the war years all around.

We arrive windswept Cuxhaven in the grey dawn	and go straight to the ferry harbor (Fährhafen)
Our ferry is a really pretty big ship	We board – hundreds of passengers on this ship
Some have said that the North Sea can be rather blustery…….	…..they weren’t kidding!
Our ship comes inside the sandy spit that marks the harbor	the lighters come alongside to take us ashore
They really pack these lighters tight with passengers	A last look at our ship and we begin to enjoy Heligoland
	Once a busy Kriegsmarine facility, now a thriving tourist attraction. For some reason, the wives all love these ‘street signs‘
We make our way to the very top of the island – it’s time to eat and	we find a nice restaurant – the lobster was great!
Remnants of the war years?	Looks pretty solid
The ‘locals‘ don’t seem to care as some Sharkhunters walk	past – in fact, they don’t mind us at all.
STOP! Look what we spotted a long way down	We look with the long lens at this entrance
Once an anti-aircraft gun position	now a scenic overlook

This island appears to be honeycombed with bunkers and tunnels – we spotted these from high on the upper rim of the island.

All too soon our day on the island comes to a close

Our ship is waiting and soon we see	the last	of Heligoland as the sun is setting behind the island

We stopped at a very unusual memorial. During the time of Charlemagne, he had thousands of ethnic Germans put to death. Under orders of Adolf Hitler, this Memorial to the slain men was erected and it had benefits to all. Hitler’s plan of the memorial park was to have a winding path, rimmed with large stones. There was to be one large stone for each man executed and the orders went to farmers to dig large stones out of their fields for this project. The memories of the slain men benefited with the Memorial; the Third Reich benefited as they built another Memorial and the farmers benefited because the RAD (Reich Arbeitsdienst) took away the stones leaving them more land to farm. It was a win-win situation.

	As we see here on the overlay, this was a very large park/Memorial, covering many acres of land. There were several viewing places along the route for high ranking men of the Reich, naturally including one for Adolf Hitler.

SHARKHUNTERS International
Southern Patrol 2012

We head south through the Bavarian Alps into the Austrian Alps, all the while seeing new and more magnificent scenery. These are the same Alps that Hannibal saw as he marched toward Rome, that the Romans saw as they marched into unconquered territories – this is pure history!

Can you believe this is only middle September?	Photos shot out our window – yes, it was a blizzard
They were expecting us in the breakfast room	of our Hotel Gret’l – beautiful hotel

In the evening, we join many, many veterans for singing and fellowship

We have known Herta for years
The “Flame of Flanders” fighters were well represented	We see more young people this year
Evening entertainment by singing groups and	by our good friend ENRICO COSTA (7117-LIFE-2006)
As we noted – more and more young people	At the dinner from left: xxxxx, HARRY COOPER (1-LIFE-1983), Lady Michele, RALPH FRÖHNER (7392-2008), Tony Bowley

The Ulrichsberg Memorial

ABOVE – our good friend PAUL RÖSCH (7019-LIFE-2005) with his new Italian friend. During the war, Oberleutnant PAUL was a tank commander with the 5thh SS, the Viking Division. ABOVE RIGHT and RIGHT – we gather to board the bus for the ride to the mountain. Many have wreaths for the Memorial.
There is a strong police presence all along the route as well as at the top of the mountain to make sure the nitwits from AntiFa do not cause trouble. This is one of the signs along the route that say your property, your health and maybe even your life are in jeopardy and it says that these areas are being watched by video cameras to prevent problems.We have been coming here since 1990 and have never seen problems.

We arrive with our big bus at the place where we change into smaller busses that can make the sharp turns on the mountain road

There are a great many veterans of many groups here and especially our dear friend WOLF-DIETER RESSING (7220-LIFE-2007). There are even film makers – Nathalie is the producer, director and main camerman while Patricia is the assistant.

We are on the mountain, on Ulrichsberg, for the Memorial

The Flagbearers, veterans all, begin to	assemble near the main area
Above and below – the parade and	posting of the Flags
	For the years we have been coming to the Ulrichsberg Memorial, the great concern that this tradition would not be carried on by younger people. As we see here, more and more young people, from little kids to the youth are participating more and more in this important event.

The Memorial services on the mountain – on Ulrichsberg

The ruined church………….	……..final preparations being made
Above and below – the participants	Above and below – the Honor Guard
No more schnapps on the mountain – instead there are cakes and coffee and the money from this goes to benefit the veterans.Right – the Mayor of the Italian town of Redipuglia is always here. His town has been associated with the Ulrichsberg Memorial for years. It was in Redipuglia that young Oberleutnant Erwin Rommel earned his Pour le Merit (Blue Max) during bitter fighting. The trenches are still there as are bunkers and many weapons – all preserved for history.

The Memorial is finished but some linger on the mountain

	Inside the old church there are memorial plaques, flowers, tablets and a large wooden cross to remember all who fell in battle. Every once in a while, the gutless cowardly swine of the AntiFa slither their way up the mountain in the night and vandalize everything they can here. Worse yet, they take great pride in their cowardly deeds – sneaking in where there is no one to oppose them, destroying memories of fallen soldiers that old veterans and widows of veterans must come to clean up and repair.
Where is this photo? The beautiful lady in the photo asked that we remove it.
Saying goodbye to friends	We all head back down the mountain to the waiting busses

The Ulrichsberg Memorial is finished for 2012, but we will return in 2013
There is a place for you on this ‘Patrol‘, will you be with us?

On our way back to München airport, we stop at our Sharkhunters home in the Bavarian Alps – the Hotel zum Türken for a rest.

	Left – Owner and our best lady friend in all Europe, INGRID SCHARFENBERG (3308-A/LIFE-1993), a wonderful hostess The leaders of the Third Reich sat on this patio for their coffee
Breakfast here is outstanding	One last look at the Alps