All Those Memories

He sat in an old blue wingback chair, which had been positioned in front of the fireplace. The fire's light and warmth was slowly being extinguished due to his failure to tend it properly. His heavily worn shoes sat next to him on the floor. Hans looked sleepily down at his feet propped on the hassock, and absently noted he had a hole in his sock. He did not have the motivation, or the ability to fix it. That was something his wife used to do for him. It was during quiet times like now, when he missed her the most. Gretchen had died eight years ago due to a cold which turned into pneumonia. Hans had always loved her, no matter what he had said to the boys. But he didn't realize how much until he lost her. Sometimes that was how life was, a series of missed opportunities. Glancing out the window, he noted that it had started to snow. She loved the snow.

After her death, the love of making toys seem to go out of him, So at the age of 75 he retired. His oldest son, Georg, took over the company. He now spent his days thinking about the past, and those friends who he had loved and lost along the way.

Hans thoughts drifted back to his time at Stalag XIII. Towards the end things had gotten really bad. Between the food shortages, and the constant bombings, he had begun to believe none of them were going to pull through. But somehow Colonel Hogan and Oberst Klink had managed it. Hans didn't think they could have done it if each had tried it their own. It was only by working together they all had pulled through. When those tanks from the US 14 Armour Division rolled up to the gates, he didn't know if he should be afraid, or relieved. Turned out, it was a little of both. All of the camp personnel were sent to an American run POW camp near the Rhine. Things were difficult there with the food shortages and the over crowding, but Colonel Hogan made sure that none of them were turned over to the Russians. For that Hans was eternally grateful. It made his short stay there bearable.

His thoughts, as they often do, turned to the American Colonel. After the war, and to no one's surprise, Hogan made general. He did a lot of work in Washington D.C. assisting with the formation of the United States Air Force. After his second star, he was placed in charge of all Air Force personnel in the Pacific. His Headquarters was at Yokota Air Base, in Japan. That is where he met his wife, Asami, and her son, Naoki. Her husband had been killed in the war, and she was running a respectable little tea shop outside the base. Hogan once told him, the best day of his life was when General Perkins talked him into stopping there. From the pictures Hogan had sent him, Hans could tell she was a nice girl. A couple years later, they had Emily. When Hogan finally retired, he bought a house in Bridgeport Connecticut, and settled down to a quiet life. He now has four grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. Where does the time go?

Thinking about grandchildren turned his mind to Karl and Versie. After the war, Verise resigned her commission. No one was surprised when she elected to stay in Germany and marry Karl. He is now Herr Professor of Literature at the University in Heidelberg, where he is the Department Chair. Verise continued to work as a nurse at the army hospital, until the twins, Willi and Anton, were born. A year later, Elisabeth was was added to the family. Karl's sister, Ilsa, rejoined them right after the war. She now works in a store, stocking shelves. Karl is a grandfather, though Hans would never call Verise a grandmother. At least not to her face. Years might have slipped away, and her red hair might have turned grey, but Versie's temper had not changed. The thought made him smile. He had not seen them since last spring, but Verise makes sure to call often just to check on him. Maybe he will call her tomorrow and ask them to come down for a visit. Yes, a visit would be nice.

After the war, things were tough for Carter. He had lost part of his leg in an explosion. A result of one of the many naughty things the boys were up to near the end of the war. He spent a long time in a VA hospital somewhere in California. He had to go through extensive rehabilitation. Also he had something Hogan called Battle Fatigue. Carter had terrible night terrors where he would scream until he had no voice. But over time he started to make a full recovery. That was due in no small part to one of the nurses who worked there. Karen was a soothing balm for Carter's troubled soul. Hans was so happy when he heard they had eloped. Soon after that, Carter learned about the government's plan for the construction of a system of interstate roads. He obtained a GI loan, and started his own business. He then started bidding on government contracts. Carter's company ended up doing almost all the demolition work for the western part of the county. Now he is a very wealthy man.

Newkirk was recruited by M16 right after the war. Whenever he was in Germany, and not on assignment, he would stop by and visit. He was still the same crazy Englander he was during the war. He had just learned a new set of tricks. Newkirk would spend hours talking all about his girlfriends. Hans never knew if any of it was true, but it was entertaining to say the least. He disappeared during an assignment in Poland in 1953. No one knows if he was killed, or sent to a Gulag somewhere. Hogan tried to find out, but both the Polish government, and the Russians, refused to give any information.

Hans started to think about his old commander, Kommandant Klink. Somehow Hogan had obtained a visa for Wilhelm, and he moved to Palm Springs. He rented a little one bedroom bungalow, and went to work as an accountant for one of the movie studios. After a couple of years, he even became an American citizen. Wilhelm would often send him pictures of the all pretty girls and celebrities he would meet at work. Gretchen would pretend to get mad, and put them in the trash. She would say she was more than enough woman for him. Back then Hans had often thought about visiting Wilhelm, but there was always some crisis at the toy factory that had kept him too busy to go.

Everybody was sure LeBeau would open his own restaurant after the war, but it didn't happen. There was so much starvation across all of Europe. Not enough food to feed single families, let alone enough to run a restaurant. Families had been torn apart and reconstruction was slow. The cockroach became angry and sullen about the condition of his country. Finally he decided to do something about it. He entered politics, and played a significant role in drafting The Treaty of Paris, which established the European Coal and Steel Community. Through that treaty, and other programs, both France and Germany prospered. LeBeau never married. As he would often say to Hans, "France is my first and only true love."

After the war Kinch left the military, went back to Detroit, and got a job at a radio station. He married a girl named Sarah Owens. On their first wedding anniversary, they had gone out for dinner together to celebrate. A dunk driver ran the light, and killed them both. When Hogan called to let him know what had happened. Hans could hear the grief in his voice. The police said it was an accident, and let the guy go without even a fine. Not a scratch on him, but two good people were gone in an instant. Sometimes life is far from fair.

Baker moved to New York, and started a bar named, The Krazy Kraut. He doesn't make a lot of money, but it's enough to get by on. Last Christmas, Hans had sent him some Mühlen Kölsch. He enclosed a note telling Baker if he really wanted to be a successful barkeep, he would start selling some good German beer, and not that swill the Americans were so fond of. Baker wrote back that he would love to sell German beer, but he feared would end up drinking up all the profits.

Frau Linkmeyer, stayed in Germany. Her brother had become a POW while attempting to defend Berlin against the approaching Soviets. He had hoped to forestall their advance to give the Americans, or the British, time to take the city. He failed and disappeared somewhere behind the Iron Curtain. Frau Linkmeyer never gave up her search, and continuously petitioned anyone and everyone she could for help in his return. Finally in 1956, General Burkhalter was repatriated back to Germany. Hans didn't recognize him when he first saw him after his return home. He was so pale and thin. The General's mind and body had been broken by his long internment in the Soviet Gulag. His sister cared for him until his death in 1958. At least he was able to die at home, where he was safe and loved. Shortly thereafter, Wilhelm invited her to Palm Springs. They married shortly afterward, and seem very happy together.

That nasty little man, Major Hochstetter, was arrested attempting to flee the county. He was tried at the Pohl Trials for war crimes and, for his actions against the civilian population. He was found guilty and sentenced to death on May 3, 1946. Hans didn't feel sorry at all when the Major was hung on June 7, 1951, at Lansberg Prison. The newspapers said he wept, and had to be restrained so they could put the noose around his neck. A coward in life, and a coward in death. Maybe some of the families he terrorized could find some peace with him gone.

Hans blinked, and realized the fire had gone out. How long had he been sitting there, he wondered. He supposed that is what happens when you get old. Hans has nothing else to do with his time, but remember. He looked out the window, and watched the snow fall. He was momentarily startled when he felt someone touch his hand. Thinking it was Lise, Georg's wife, Hans opened his mouth to tell her he was not ready to go to bed yet. His voice stilled as he looked up into the face of his dear Gretchen. Except it was not the Gretchen he remembered. She wasn't old, sick and dying. It was her as the young sixteen year old girl he had fallen in love with. When her hair was still golden and her cheeks flushed with the excitement of youth.

"Time to go home, Hans."

"Yes my dear. I'm sorry you had to wait such a long time for me."

"I didn't mind," she said smiling at him. "I knew you'd be along in your own sweet time."

"It was a good life, wasn't it?"

"Yes, and now something even better awaits."

Hans smiled and closed his eyes one last time.

A/N:

Verise and Ilsa are my own creations. If you want to know more about them, you can read Southern Nights, Southern Lies, where they was first introduced.

Mühlen Kölsch is an excellent German beer.

The Pohl Trials, named after one of the defendants, Oswald Pohl. They were a series of twelve trials for Pohl and 17 SS officers, who were charged with various war crimes. A part of the Lesser Nuremberg Trials, the Pohl Trials were conducted from April 8, 1947 – November 3, 1947.