You can’t go home again . . . to Husterhöh Kaserne
The old headquarters building for my unit, 2/56 HHB. Note the twin Nike missiles.. Attrib: Richard Tracy, Saved from usarmygermany.com.
Recently I became curious about my old neighborhood in Pirmasens, Germany, where I was stationed as a soldier in the U.S. Army during the mid-70’s. Through the magic of Google Earth and the Internet, I explored the place I once lived, now thirty five years hence.
Thomas Wolfe’s famous suggestion, “You can’t go home again” covers a large amount of territory; your home is not the only thing to which you cannot return to with any but perfect verisimilitude. Much is lost on the return journey to visit places of your early past: Those monuments to a youthful sense of permanence, buildings, are decrepit or re-purposed, or just plain gone; the places are sometimes smaller or more ordinary than expected; rarely is something completely unchanged from your old memories of it. Even so, the journey often reveals unexpected perspectives, if not just about the places, but about yourself.
Pirmasens. The city still looked, from the satellite photos, much the same. As would be expected, the typical city institutions like the Rathaus on the the main town square, hadn’t moved, the brewery, the Parkbrauerei, was still pumping out Bier, and the Hauptbahnhof, the main train station, that magical place from whence I traveled to and from many places, looked no different from above. On the other hand, the U.S. Army base, the Husterhöh Kaserne, situated on the northern edge of this small town where I had lived and worked for two years, looked abandoned.
Map of Husterhöh Kaserne ~1980. Click for large detailed map.. Attrib: US Military Installation Atlas, 37th Trans Gp, 1980, Saved from usarmygermany.com.
Husterhöh Kaserne. What had happened to the Husterhöh Kaserne in the intervening years? The Kaserne (German for army barracks) had been appropriated by the U.S. Army from the German army at the end of World War II, the Nazi war eagles carved on the top reaches of some of the buildings being immediately destroyed, and then used for varying purposes, much of it storage, as underlying the Kaserne is a network of underground storage facilities and tunnels that made up part of the German Siegfried line. In 1994, some 40 years later, the U.S. Army de-activated the Kaserne and turned it over to the German Army. A few of the buildings are still in use by the German Army, and the U.S. Army still stores medical equipment there. The large administration buildings and troop barracks are mostly abandoned, but many of the working and storage buildings have been accommodated by local businesses, including the old headquarters building of my unit. Many of the barracks buildings, where we lived and slept, appear to be currently abandoned (see notes at bottom).
Development plan for Husterhöhe May 2000. Click for larger image.. Attrib: Stadt Pirmasens, Saved from usarmygermany.com.
The old soccer stadium: FK Pirmasens v. Bayern München. Ted Withycombe and I attended a DFB-Pokal match early in 1976 at the old Horeb; it was a small stadium with no seating, and had only one area to shelter fans from the weather. The game was a big event, as FK Pirmasens competes in the lower professional divisions, and in this Pokal match, the DFB-Pokal being a knockout tournament which includes both the top Bundesliga teams and many lower division teams for an all-German contest, they were pitted against the mighty Bayern-München! And not just any old Bayern team; this team had the nucleus of the 1974 World Cup championship team: Franz Beckenbauer, Sepp Maier, Gerd Mueller, who were the center half, goalie, and striker, respectively for that team, and Beckenbauer alone is still regarded as one of the finest center halfs to ever play the game. There were three others from the 1974 World Cup team playing for Bayern: Uli Hoeness, Jupp Kappelmann, and Georg Scharzenbeck, and the future great Karl-Heinz Rummenigge played, also. Ted and I arrived about 90 minutes early, as there were no reserved places, and all was standing room; we managed to get places on the midline!, standing under the only available shelter. With about 15 minutes until the match start, and the stadium now pretty well filled, about one hundred Bayern fans came in with flags and flagons, many of them quite drunk, and proceeded to push everyone out of the midline spots we had patiently occupied. I said a few choice words in German to some of the Bayern fans, and one of them responded, quite amicably, that I would do well to just settle on being 5 meters off of the midline, where we had been pushed, and shut up, or I could easily get hurt. I smiled back and accepted his advice. The game was played with an inch of snow on the field! but there were almost no slips; despite the conditions, the quality of the game was high. I remembered the score being 2-1 in favor of Bayern at match end, but it turns out it was 2-0 in their favor; my memory was more favorable towards the home team than history records.
New soccer stadium. Pirmasens built their new soccer stadium in 2003, the Städtisches Stadion Husterhöhe, or the Huster Heights City Stadium, situating it atop the old theater and bowling alley, across Virginia Avenue from the athletic field behind the troop barracks where I had spent many an afternoon playing softball, football and soccer. As for the soccer team, FK Pirmasens, it now costs between 3 and 11 Euros to see a game, which is pretty affordable. The old Horeb stadium appears to have been demolished – there are businesses operating on the site today.
2/56 ADA, my old unit. And what had happened to my old unit, the 2nd battalion of the 56th Air Defense Artillery regiment? At the time I served, this battalion fielded four active missile batteries deployed on lonely hilltops in the Rheinland Pfalz surrounding Pirmasens; it was part of the 32nd AADCOM, which was the umbrella organization for air defense in Europe. It was moved to Fort Bliss, TX, in in the 1980’s, and formed a training regiment for Air Defense Artillery, as the air defense missile system we supported, the Nike Hercules ground to air missile system, was being gradually phased out and replaced with more modern equipment. The Nike Hercules system was designed for high altitude air defense following World War II, and by the mid-70’s, was showing its age. The entire deployment of Nike missile sites around the world were phased out over perhaps twenty years, starting in 1973; that is, unbeknownst to me at the time, the retirement of the Nike systems started around the time I was trained to support them!
New life. Perhaps even more interesting, the old headquarters building for my unit, building 4619 on Delaware Avenue, was converted into a city office for economic development. Established in 2001, among other things it provides subsidized office space and business services for start up companies, much like you might find in the Silicon Valley, or even in Portland, Oregon, where the Portland Development Commission operates such a facility. The exterior of the building no longer sports missiles, rather a new 21st century glass-encased extension on one end of the building.
All in all, it was sad to see some of what was once familiar decayed or gone, but on balance, it was much more heartening to see the new uses that these buildings and spaces have taken on, particularly sports parks and stadiums and young businesses replacing the artifacts of war.
Returning home doesn’t seem entirely possible, but renewing and even rearranging memories is a bracing mental exercise.
US Army Germany website. This website has a nice collection of historical pictures of the Husterhöh Kaserne and surrounding US military installations.
Other Notes. Building 4176, Massachusetts Avenue, 20, where I worked as part of the the Direct Support Platoon of the Headquarters Battery, 2/56 ADA, was right across the road from the old heliport, itself which was . . . demolished! The two barracks buildings where I slept were buildings 4408, on North Carolina Ave, and 4609 at the intersection of Delaware and New Hampshire Avenues. Both barracks buildings are still standing as of this writing, and appear to be abandoned.
Google Earth provides multiple historical satellite maps of Pirmasens. Using the (free download) Google Earth Pro app, one can switch between the historical maps and see before and after depictions of the area. The most recent map of Pirmasens as of this writing is October of 2010.
Fresh views. Here is a You Tube video shot in Pirmasens in 2010, a tour of the Husterhöhe.
235 Comments
Joel R Davidson
I was stationed there from 1979-1981. Assigned to maintain the laboratory sections for two inactive combat support hospitals. It was a small unit with very little to do so I was able to take a duece and a half with my camera under the seat and tour the country including halfway trip to Paris before I had to turn around since there was no source for refueling. There was a little restaurant on the kaserne that served lunch and some take home meals for evenings. I could buy a meal ticket for the whole week for about $10 US equivalent. The meals were always real traditional german food. I never would have tried half of the great food they made. It was a married couple that ran it with a couple employees. The place was alway mobbed and was a sit down meal with beverage included. I wish I knew if they ever opened another restaurant after the kaserne closed.
Jill
I’m Jill Adams Turnbill and I was stationed with the 267th from September 77 to October 79. I met a lot of great people. while there. It’s a shame every place we called home has gone to the wayside.
Dennis Neal
I transferred to Germany in August of 1979 to the Finance unit there in Pirmasens. I was only there until December of 79, just a few months. My MOS had changed from Finance Specialist 73C to Broadcast Journalist 71R. I transferred to AFN-Europe in Dec 79 thru 1982.
Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name of the Finance unit. I thought it was 63rd Finance Section but can’t seem to find any info on that. Does anyone know? CPT Daniel R. Gemmel was the OIC.
DANIEL A MEIJOME
I was assigned to the finance unit in Pirmasens from 1968 to 1970. The unit was a satellite office of the 45th Finance Group which was headquartered in Kaiserslautern. Fond memories of my time in Pirmasens.
Bernardo Herrera
My headquaters was in Pirmasens but I was stationed at C Battery, 32 Adcomm 2/56 from 72-73
John Caudle
Assigned to 2/56ADA, S-4, from approximately February 1973 – August 1974. Visited Pirmasens in 2007 on a work (Army civilian) assignment and was amazed at the condition of the old Kaserne and how little the old city itself had changed. Still love the place and still feel a connection to it.
Wilo Castillo
My Dad and our family was stationed there from 1978-1981 I have fond memories of Germany in particular Primases. I played sports through the DYA (Dependent Youth Activity) and we got to travel EUSER (I think that’s the acronym). I’m 54 yrs old and I have the opporuntity to return to Germany next year and I’ve always wanted to go back to Pirmasens. Does anyone know how much of the family housing is still up and standing? We used to live across the street from Chappel Hill where there was a church and yes a hill 🙂 and at the bottom of the his was a baseball field. I cannot recognize any of this for i was only 12yrs old when we left. Anyway I’m going to go back and would love to be able to drive around what may be left over of the basse does anyone know if any of it is still standing?
Jerry Lucas
Very little remains, maybe six of the 3 story stairwells and a few of the old unit HQ buildings, as of 18 months ago. Go to google earth and search for Hochshule Kaiserslautern, Standort Pirmasens and explore from there.
Emily
Hi guys! Thank you for this article. I am actually from Pirmasens and it’s pretty cool reading all the nice comments about it. However, I am looking for my mom’s biological dad. She was born in March 1970, so he had to be stationed in Pirmasens (Husterhöh) around June/July 1969. He was an African-American soldier who may have worked as an mechanic? His name may have been “Leo Maddison”, although I am not certain about the information. Does anyone know him? The name of my mom’s mother was Maria, if that helps. Grateful for any information you might be able to give!
mark Brown
Mark Brown – Was stationed here in 1970 with the Army living in the Husterhoeh Kaserne. Lots of fond memories of walking up and down the streets of Pirmasens. There was close to the barracks there was an German-American club run by two Italian brothers. They made the best lasagne I’ve ever tasted. Used to eat there 2-3 times a week, always getting the lasagne. Only remember our Staff Sargent Harker and a 2nd lieutenant who was lucky if he was 5 feet tall. Everyone else are only vague faces and smiles with an occassional odd ball character that stood out. That comes with being in the Army though. Ran into a woman waitress here in our town (Huntsville) who worked at our local German restaurant who was raised in Pirmasens. Told her I was stationed there and she didn’t believe me until I used my cell phone to pull up the Husterhoeh Kaserne on google earth. She remembered the banana building and finally accepted I had been stationed there. Really enjoyed my tour in Pirmases Germany will good memories.
mark.randall.brown@gmail.com
Lori
Isn’t that something i attended pirmasens ’90-’93 . I remember Mrs. Clark she was one of my favorite teachers and Mr. Wright always on my case about wearing my glasses oh and Principal Mr. Zuckerman and his dog bruno great memories.
dennis bridgers
I was SP/4 Dennis Bridgers stationed at 59th Ordinance in 1967-68 before going to vietnam with the 1st Air Cavalry in 69. Many fond memories of Germany
Robert Rigdon
Hello Patricia. I was glad to see your post today. So many years later. I was stationed in Pirm from 1973-1976. Had my family there. My twins went to kindergarden there. I formed the “Soul Soldiers Disco” with my partner J.D. Miller who worked at PAD. I worked in Data Terminal (Stratcom Facility) building 4646. We played in the Frontier Club, Muenchweiler Club, Officer’s Club & German Discos and clubs all over the place . I have shared 19 uploads of pictures, etc. with members on the “Husterhoeh Kaserne” face book page since August 2021.
Debra Butcher Strickland
I was at Pirmasens 1977-1979. I was assigned to 59th Ord. Bde. Major F. smith was , CO, SFC Haney was NCOIC /Supply. I was married to SP4 James “Steve’ Strickland 2/556ADA.
Melissa Derby
I was there in 77-80. I was a child. My father was Stuart Carey. Does anyone rennet a brother and sister named Iris and Andy
tim guest
1966 to 68
Sgt in the mp unit/
Had the best time ever
John Treadaway
Hi. John Treadaway and I was with AWSCOM headquarters with Personnel from July 1969 to Apr 1972. Don’t seem to recognize any of the names on here. After I left Redstone for Pershing training I was pulled aside because I could type. I met a lot of goot guys and gals during my time there.
john Griffin
Just wanted to say to Pat Hampton, I REMEMBER YOU. We played DYA Football together at Pirmasens back in 77-80. Anyway, anyone out there looking to catch, give me a shout and take care. john
Robert Rigdon
Hello Monte. I was stationed in Pirmasens from 1973-1976. I was a sergeant in the Stracom Facility, Data Terminal. I along with SFC James D. Miller DJ’ed in our off duty time at the Frontier Club and German Discos. I am trying to connect with others that served there
tim guest
66-68 in the MP station down town… Great memories
SGT Tim Guest 533rd Mp company