Thursday, December 5, 2013

Chapter 10
            Again it was 9 PM by the time they were climbing down the ladder. The unusual situation was becoming routine to them after their several descents, and in a few minutes they were on the floor of the round room. Jarom had packed his lock pick set in his backpack, but they headed for the northwest exit to see where the last of the tunnels went. According to the map Jared had made, Coleman Barracks was in that general direction, but it was a long ways off.  He measured it at about 4 miles. Coleman Barracks had the airfield for the US Army installations around Mannheim, as well as the “Military Detention Facility”, or otherwise known as the US military prison for all of Europe. The eastern edge of Coleman Barracks bordered the Kafertal Wald.
            Walking briskly down this broad passageway, John estimated it would take about 1½ hours to walk that far, if that is where the tunnel led.  They had only covered about a mile and a half when they saw that a metal staircase had been fit into a cavity in the rock at the side of the tunnel that extended up as far as their lights could see. There was a locked steel grating pulled down over the stairway entrance, and there were recent signs of use. 
John said, ”I bet that the footprints we‘ve seen belong to the person at the top of those stairs. He even stole our ladder! Who could he be?”
“I don’t know,” remarked Jarom, “but I don’t want to be found. He may be some kind of guard that could capture us.” 
“I don’t know either, and I don’t want to find out either,” said Jason. “Let’s go!”
They continued their hike through the darkness broken only by the glow of their headlamps. They talked softly as they walked along the slightly-snaking corridor. 
“I don’t know what we’re going to find down here, but it can’t be anything like the doors in the IG Farben tunnel,” groused Jarom.
An hour went by and they had heard nothing from their younger siblings in some time.  Jason and Allie were trailing behind, unused to hiking night after night. 
“Hey, you two!  Are you still with us?” queried Jarom.
“Yes,” they chorused. They were tired, but they weren’t about to be left out of exploration of another unknown tunnel. They just knew that there would be something to find at the end of this one.  
Sure enough, at the end of the passage, they came to a now familiar ladder. John pulled the rope out of his backpack and Jarom picked up the rock with the kite string attached and threw it over his target on a first attempt. He pulled the rope through the bottom rung and down again. Rather than trying to climb up a doubled rope, this time John, Jason and Allie held it fast while Jarom climbed up to the ladder. Once he was on the ladder, he pulled up the loose end and wrapped it around the steel support, and then John, Allie and Jason climbed up in turn. 
The bottom of this shaft didn’t appear any different than the two they had already become familiar with, but the top of the shaft was much different. Rather than ending in a wooden door, it seemed that the hinges were fastened to a concrete slab. The seat for the slab was a welded steel frame, and there were springs attached to the hinge to help lift the door.  With all four of them stationed one after the other at the top of the ladder, Jarom unlatched the lock on the hinges and applied upward pressure to the cement door.  Even with the springs returning to their unstretched shape that they had not assumed in many years, it was all Jarom could do to get the door to begin moving. As the door opened, cool air rushed in and the further it opened, the easier it was to open. The vertical position was even maintained by the now nearly passive springs. Jarom poked his head above the level of the opening to find that he was not in a building, but that he was on the very edge of an airport runway; between some buildings and the runway. It was dark and appeared safe, so he and the other children climbed out into the night air and pushed the door shut enjoying a few moments of fresh breeze blowing across their faces. They looked around from where they sat and noticed a familiar American flag in front of the terminal building. While he had seen an airfield on the map of Coleman Barracks, he was still more-than-surprised to be there. 
It was just after 11PM and he had begun to think that they had better return to the hatch when the runway lights flashed on and in the distance they could see the landing lights of an aircraft turning in toward the airfield on its final approach. By that time they heard the thump, thump, thump of a helicopter’s rotor blades pounding against the air. The lights grew brighter and brighter as the aircraft approached, blinding them. The helicopter slowly progressed down the runway before turning in to its parking area. It was so close, they felt as if they could have reached out and touched it as it passed slowly by. They had even backed a few steps away from the runway as it closed in on them. Then the helicopter seemed to stop and turn directly toward them. It hovered for a minute and then turned back parallel with the runway and continued its approach. They stood to watch as it passed by, and then stepped back toward the runway when they began to hear sirens and see flashing lights coming from the terminal.
 It was obvious that they had been spotted and there was nothing else they could do.  Emergency vehicles were screaming out to meet them. MPs piled out of the police vehicle carrying M-16s and ran straight for them. Not knowing what else to do and without consulting each other, they simultaneously raised their hands in the air. The MP who seemed to be in charge, a Staff Sergeant, ordered them to lie on the ground face down with their arms and legs extended outward. The Military Police officers searched their backpacks and made sure that they were not carrying any weapons, and then allowed them to get up. The sergeant requested their identification and each produced their military ID card. He compared the picture on the card with each face, shining the light glaringly into their eyes, and then told them to get into the vehicle. They did as they were told.  Allie was crying and Jason was also beginning to break down. The driver delivered them to the MP station in the Air Terminal in only a few minutes, and they were ordered to follow one MP while another marched behind them with his M-16 at port arms. They were put in a small room with a table and chairs and asked to sit down and told to wait.  In a little while, a Lieutenant Colonel opened the door and walked into the room.  He was clearly unhappy to be there and unhappy with the circumstances that brought him there.  The children had been around the Army their whole lives, and the older two at least recognized the insignia on his collar that identified him as an MP Officer, and the name plate on his uniform read Jebson.
“Well,” he said. “Let’s hear the story.  Why would 4 American kids be standing on the edge of my runway at 11 o’clock PM.
The moment of truth had come. They had wrestled with it privately, but had not been able to talk about it since they had been discovered. The question was whether to tell the truth or to try and fabricate a story. There was no chance that they would be able to walk out of there without their father being called, and yet they felt as if the secret of the tunnels was still their secret. They were ready to share it with their Dad if they were pressed, but with the Army? With the Germans? They just didn’t know. As the oldest, John felt a sense of responsibility and the others, glad to give it to him, waited for him to answer.
The MP Colonel should have known better, of course. The proper course of action would have been to separate them and interview them individually. He would have surely gotten at the truth in short order, even if he wouldn’t have believed it. He could see he had four scared kids who knew they were where they shouldn’t have been, and one of them was a sobbing 10 year old girl! He was going for the semi-soft approach.
John answered for them all, “Well you see, sir, we live in Ben Franklin Village and we were walking in the Wald this afternoon and got lost. We were lost and scared and finally wound up coming out of the forest into some farm fields and we saw the airfield through the fence. We knew the Army had an airfield here and we felt like we had found home. We followed the fence around but couldn’t get to a gate, so we finally found a place we could hop the fence and started walking along the airfield to find someone to help us get home, when the helicopter saw us. And then we were arrested and here we are.”
Except for some fairly large holes in his story, it almost sounded believable. Security since 9/11 was very tight the thought of the kids approaching a fenced, monitored and patrolled airfield was barely plausible. 
Still, giving them the benefit of the doubt, he asked, “And just where did you climb the fence?” 
Guessing, John pointed to the end of the airfield and said, “Down there where the fence runs into the woods.” He had seen on the map the orientation of the kaserne and guessed generally where they must be. 
The colonel had to admit that if there was one place that they could possibly have climbed the fence, it would have been in that sector.  He made a mental note to send some of his men to check the sector out in the morning and to cut back the trees if they were too close to the fence. It was clear these children were not trying to blow up his aircraft and his motivation was to get them back to their parents, who he thought were probably frantic by now. 
“Who is your father and where does he work?” he asked, assuming that their father and not their mother was the military member. 
He had guessed right. “Major Frank James, ”offered John while the others looked glumly on, knowing that this was only the beginning of a bad night. “547th Engineer Battalion”. 
“You mean he is assigned right here on Coleman Barracks?” he asked rhetorically.  “Is he new? I must not have met him yet.”
Jarom chimed in, “Yeah.  We’ve only been here a few weeks and we don’t know our way around very well yet.” 
“Okay” said the colonel. “Let’s call him and get him over here. What’s your number?”
“Um, well, sir,” hesitated John. “Our parents are out of town at a conference.”
“What!  Well they certainly didn’t leave you alone.  Who’s responsible for you?”
“They left us in the care of our neighbors, Col. And Mrs. Friedrickson,” admitted John. 
“And you’re out exploring! They must be panicked by now. I don’t suppose you have their number….?”
“No sir” answered John.
The colonel pulled out the post directory and in short order found the phone number of the Friedricksons. He dialed the number and was greeted by the sleepy voice of the Colonel.
“Good evening, Sir. This is LTC Jebson on Coleman Barracks. I believe we’ve found something you’ve lost.”
“Is that so?” replied Col. Friedrickson. “And just what have I lost that requires you to call and wake me at midnight?”
“The James children have turned up here on Coleman Barracks,” he said.
“That’s very nice, Colonel, but shouldn’t you be calling their parents?”
“Well, sir. They told me that you and Mrs. Friedrickson were responsible for them while their parents are out of town,” he said with a questioning tone.
“We have been looking after them,” said Col. Friedrickson, “but we were under the impression that their parents had returned home already.” He paused and then continued, “Apparently that isn’t so. Okay, Colonel.  I’ll be out to get them shortly, but I recommend you call their parents and let them know the circumstances. I believe they have a cell phone with them and I assume that the children should have the number.”
“Yes, sir.  I will call them as soon as we hang up. We are at the MP station in the Air Terminal. I’ll look forward to seeing you soon, sir.”
“Yes, I’ll bet you will.  Thank you Colonel and goodbye.”
Turning back to John, LTC Jebson had lost his gentle touch. “It appears that you are unsupervised?”
“Well, sir, our parents were supposed to be back yesterday, but they called and decided to sight-see on the way home, and we just forgot to tell the Friedricksons.“
“So you are staying in your own quarters alone?”  He demanded.
“Yes sir,” answered John miserably.
“You have their cell phone number?”
“Yes sir, it’s 638-48018”
LTC Jebson dialed the call and in a few moments it was answered by Major James himself. 
“Major, This is LTC Jebson, Military Police on Coleman Barracks. I have your children here who were apprehended on the edge of an active runway.”
“What?” cried Frank in shock. “What on earth are they doing there?”
“They claim to have become lost in the forest and wound up outside our fence which they climbed and were apprehended.  I called Col. Friedrickson, but he had assumed that you had returned home. He is on his way to pick them up, but I suggest you travel back here so that you can properly supervise your children.”
“Yes, sir.   We’ll leave immediately.”  He broke the connection and turned to his wife.
“Well, sweetheart, we’ve now heard from the police.  And I’m sure that won’t be the last I hear from the police. The children were apprehended after climbing the fence onto the airfield at Coleman Barracks. The story they gave was that they were lost in the woods. I knew there was something going on!”
“Now dear, we don’t know what happened. We need to hear what the children have to say.  We should get started for home, but first we had better call Mrs. Friedrickson and apologize.  We never should have relied on the children to tell them we would be another two days. I won’t be able to look her in the eye.”
She picked up the phone and dialed the number that she had earlier programmed into her phone. When the call was answered, she apologized profusely for the trouble that the children had caused and for not calling to let her know they had extended their trip. Mrs. Friedrickson accepted the call, but was coldly formal. She told Lacy that they would put the children back in their quarters, and that they expected that she and Frank would be home directly.
Frank and Lacy hurriedly packed their suitcases, checked out of the hotel, and stowed them in the car. Baden-Baden had been a wonderful break for them both. For the first time in a long time, they had gotten to spend time with each other and be pampered with hot-water pools and spas and massages and time alone. That was over. They got into the car and started for home.
Baden-Baden was actually fairly close; only a little more than an hour away. Frank drove fast and the traffic in the early morning hours was light. They arrived home only a short while after Col. Friedrickson returned with the children. The Colonel had deposited the children and the lights were out, so Frank and Lacy figured they would have to try and make amends the following day. For their own children, they would find out what was going on tonight. 
They entered the house and it was as quiet as a tomb. The lights were off here too, but that was soon remedied. Frank flipped on the lights in both bedrooms and told everyone that they would fall out in the living room pronto. In a moment, the family was assembled downstairs and Frank looked his over his offspring carefully. Other than being scared to death, they were well enough. Lacy took Frank’s hand and squeezed it meaningfully.
He looked at her and, biting his tongue, said, “We would like a brief explanation of what has been going on around here.” 
The older boys were hesitant, but Jason bubbled over saying, “Jarom and John found a tunnel and we walked miles and miles in it and someone took our ladder and we climbed out of the tunnel and we were right by where the helicopter landed and we got arrested.“ 
Allie was burying her head into her mother’s lap and Lacy gave another meaningful look at her husband. It was almost two in the morning and they had gotten what Frank had asked for; a brief explanation of what had been going on. It had nothing to do with getting lost in the woods.  He took a deep breath and calmed himself. He said, “Tomorrow is Friday. You will get up on time and go to school. I will spend my day answering for your actions. If the post commander hasn’t decided that you are to be returned to CONUS (Continental United States) posthaste, then we will spend tomorrow evening and perhaps Saturday, if necessary, receiving an explanation of your behavior. Now, without another word, go and get into your beds.”

And without another word, each of the children did exactly that.

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