Harald Wickart

 

If you were in Stuttgart at the 594th, 5th RTMO you knew Harry!

  Harry was one of the German civilian employees working at the 5th RTMO. I am guessing that Harry was born around 1922 in Holland. His father was German and his mother was Dutch and he grew up in Germany. He learned English from his mother who spoke Dutch, German and English. He also had an opportunity to polish his English skills as a POW!

  During WWII he was in the German Army.  He was about 18 years old and literally walked into a U.S. Army camp and surrendered.  By late 1944 he was a POW in Georgia chopping firewood. After the war he was returned to Germany and eventually got a job with the U.S. Army in Stuttgart.

  Harry is the basic reason for my success at the 5th RTMO.  I was the first American soldier to take him out and buy him a beer! Think of all the years and no one offered. Eventually I met his wife Mariann and his daughter Connie.  Prior to me they hadn’t met anyone in our unit. Life was GOOD.  The exchange rate was 4.25 DM to the U.S. Dollar. I was rich!

  Harry introduced me to all the German players in the Movement Control business.  Where he had always been the go between he was making me learn the business by working directly with the German civilians working for the 594th as well as the Rail Yard Masters in the major cities in Southern German.  Hans Braunlein in Regensburg, Fritz in Munich, Bernie in Nuremburg and so many others. They started out by making me give them the railcar or clearance numbers in German. Then made me give them the routing in German. I really got frustrated at times but even when I made a mistake they corrected me and never left me hanging out to dry.

  I’ll talk more about Harry later as we proceed through my two years in Stuttgart. He was a blessing and we kept in touch until his death almost 30 years later.  I visited him a couple of times and I am still saddened that I didn’t get back that last time before he passed away. I had planned on visiting him in the later 1980’s but became ill and couldn’t get there.  By the time I had gotten better and ready to travel again Harry had passed away.  My last letter was returned so I am assuming that Mariann is also gone.