I was thinking about my great love of Military History and realize that events in my childhood set me up. In 1960 my dad was first stationed in Ft Ord. the USS Wisconsin sailed into Monterrey Bay for a visit, so off we went. Of course there were tanks and all that to see as well. In 61 off to Ft Sam HOuston in San Antonio my dad bought me one of those MarxAlamo play sets and of course living there I visited the Alamo and learned the history of it. John Wayne's Alamo came out while we were enroute to Germany, so that was a must see. Now I'm in Germany in 1961---15 years after the war We learned bits and pieces about "the Nazis". In thrid grade I had a teacher who loved to teach us ancient History...Marco Polo, the Romans, Greeks and Alexander the Great were her favorites. MOvies like the LOngest Day, 300 SPartans, Sink the Bismarck,and the Great Escape were must sees. So you see, I was programmed before i was 10 . JUst to show you where my brain was, in 64 we came back to the States and driving through New York City my dad says "There's Yankee Stadium"; my response "Where is Rebel Stadium?"

i'm the same way, my dad is a former Marine, and i always remembered the helicopters and stuff when we were stationed in hawaii (he was an engine mechanic for ch-53E) and i remember going to the engine shop, and sometimes going in the test cell and watch them test the jet engines, that was fun! when i was in elementary school, i was really into the civil war, but then i found out about ww2 more and my interests pretty much shifted (although i do still read about the civil war). I've even decided to pursue a job in the military...so i too was programmed into the same stuff you were! i guess i was bound for these armor kits :-)

Ain't life grand !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In this regard, I wouldn't have it any other way. In other things, I would have liked to see things / life having occured much differently

I too have been interested in military history since my early childhood. My father and uncle served in the German Army during Would War II, and I heard some stories from them as a child. I got to see my father's war relics as a child, and my brothers and I would play war in the field near my house. I became extremely intersted in the Second World War as a teenager, and Ancient history became a passion of mine as well. I love hearing stories about ancient battles and their tactics. My family has been loyal to Germany for generations, through good times and bad. I was born with military history in ym blood, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Gunther, I sure hope you aren't around 50 and lived in Stuttgart in the early 60's. We used to "play" war with the local German kids back then and it wasn't very pretty. I chose to take 3 years of German while at University whcih served me in great stead during the late 70's while I served in US Army. I got to sit at a few Stamtisches and got to hear some of the most marvelous stories from Wehrmacht and Kreigsmarine veterans.