6 October (Saturday) We had a pleasant ride through the magnificent Austrian Alps. Anywhere you pointed your camera, you had a post card shot. There were tunnels, mountains, castles and quaint little villages in every direction. Naturally, there were stops along the way for photos and videotapes.

Top left: Kärntner Abend
Top right: Cooper and Tilly
Bottom left: ruined cathedral
Bottom right: Inside the cathedral from the left: GERD DIETRICH 5923-LIFE-1999), Dr. RENEE von WÖRDE (887-1988) and HARRY COOPER (1-LIFE-1983)

We checked in to our hotel, then went for refreshments with the Marine Kameradschaft (Navy League) of the town of Villach where we met with many vets, one of whom served aboard U-172 from her commissioning through her loss. (photo) SHARKHUNTERS President HARRY COOPER (1-LIFE-1983) met with M-K President JOSEPF TILLY (1609-LIFE-1990).

Then we went to the Kärntner Abend (photo), an evening of performances by various local singing and dancing groups and of course, we met many veterans. Our friend KARL WALDECK (6167-2000) and his wife Anne were there, and everyone in our group loved them.

JOHN BUCK (3884-LIFE-1994) talked with one veteran, one of the lucky ones to survive Stalingrad. This man was missing one eye and part of his face from that battle, the result of shrapnel. He told JOHN that he and his sweetheart decided not to get married until the war ended, in case he was killed. They lost contact and for many years, neither married and one day, this veteran was literally walking down the street and by chance, there was his sweetheart. They married shortly thereafter and are still happily married today.

In the words of JOHN BUCK “This is the real deal. These are the men who made history.”

7 October (Sunday) Our bus took us to the meadow on Ulrichsberg (Ulrich’s mountain) and we walked the next kilometer or so up the steep grade to the summit.

Here was the ruined cathedral, which has been turned into a memorial for the fallen soldiers and next to it stands a huge stone cross. As the visitors and dignitaries assembled for the ceremony, ladies in local costumes were selling schnapps in small glasses to add to the veteran’s fund. We had our share of that. In the front row with the dignitaries, we were introduced to the Mayor of Klagenfurt, the priests of the Evangelical and Catholic churches, the band leader who is an Austrian Army Oberstleutnant (Lt. Colonel) then to an Austrian Army Oberst (Colonel) but there was no Dr. JÖRG HAIDER (1616-LIFE-1990). He was in New York City that week & it was reported he was not feeling well after the long trip.

On the Ulrichsberg the ceremony was, as usual, outstanding! Flags of many groups and veteran’s organizations were everywhere as were hundreds of veterans. The sky was blue, the sun shining and the weather warm with the day and the spirit of the occasion. The main speaker spent quite a bit of time on the events of September 11 and pledged support for America. During his speech, he recognized SHARKHUNTERS to the crowd of several thousand.

After the ceremony, we spent an hour or so meeting many veterans and getting autographs. The veterans were all just super and actually were pleased that so many Americans were there to meet them. We had time for some refreshments in the meadow, then onto our bus for another special time. We were Guests of Honor on a farm where more than 100 veterans gathered for fellowship. Most were Germans and Austrians, but there were veterans from Italy, France and Holland as well. They asked for some words from our group, so HARRY spoke for about two minutes.

Two Knights Cross holders were evident. One flew Me 109 and Me 110 fighters while the other flew the Me 262 jet fighter. As with the other veterans, these two were happy to sign autographs and have their photos taken with us. We met a Gebirgsjäger (mountain trooper) who fought at Monte Casino. He said it was crazy - he would fire one shot and a hundred bullets came back at him. There was a Falschirmjäger (paratrooper) who fought in Crete and an Oberleutnant from the 2nd SS Division Das Reich. This was a fantastic time, but too soon we had to depart for our hotel.

We were told by the organizers of this historic annual event that our SHARKHUNTERS are now part of the Ulrichsberg family and they said they expect us to be there every year. This is a great honor, and we certainly will be back!

Patrol 2001 in Southern Germany and Austria

September 29 and 30
October 1, 2, and 3
October 4 and 5
October 6 and 7
October 8, 9, and 10