Checkpoint Charlie Closure

I was stationed there in 1981 as a young officer. I had a short lived career as Berlin had a tendency to eat up the young and naïve. I spent one Christmas a Spandau prison and was asked by the Governor of the prison to share our dinner with Prisoner number 7 or Rudolf Hess as the world knew him. That was scary as I knew if anything happened to him, even if he just slipped and fell after dinner, myself and the Officer taking my place would be blamed. So we went down the chow line together as the plate was filled, then in front of witnesses, tasted each portion, then sealed and delivered the plate to the Soviet Warder at the front gate, wild times.

I went through it many times to go to the " East ". I was the NCOIC of SATCOM Ter. Berlin from 1984 - 1987. I would love to go back and see all the changes since the wall fell.

I lived in Berlin from January 90 to January 93. What an amazing time to be in Berlin. For the first few months the Soviets were in place and to get in and out of West Berlin we had to pass through the check points. Then one day...they were gone. After unification on October 3rd 1990 everything changed.