Vann Baker remembers Benjamin Franklin Village and reflects on how living there from 1962 through 1966 shaped his life.

In the summer of 1960 my Father received orders for a tour of duty in Germany. Our home for the past three years had been the town of Stillwater Oklahoma. Dad was an Army captain in the Engineer Corps who had been one of just a few active-duty personnel assigned to an Army Reserve unit. I had no idea how living in Karlsruhe Germany would be so different from living in the United States of America.

"In the City of Rochefort, France there stands what is known as the Arsenal Arch. It almost looks like a miniature version of Paris' Arc d'Triumphe"

Remembering Frankfurt American High School at a reunion before the school was closed in the 1990s.

"Our trips to and from India were marathons . . . with many stops along the way, but the experiences were well worth it."

While it was hard to find a 4th of July fireworks celebration in the heart of Germany in the early 1960s, there was always the Heidelberg Castle illumination, which promised to be every bit as exciting.

What was "West" Germany like in the 1960s? How did many U.S. military families spend their time?
Visiting small Germany towns and castle climbing, of course!