Sunday, December 6, 2020
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I first met Al HE Brown while serving at the 205th Military Intelligence detachment in Frankfurt, Germany 1970-72. We were a small group supporting Army V Corps - Remember this was during the cold war and Vietnam was still going on... winding down, but this eclectic group included an Astronomer from Sana Cruz, California (That's Alan T Koski on the far left with his wife Linda), Al "Heavy Duty" as was his nickname at that time,"Schleif" (aka Richard Schleifer on the right...another Philly native). I was the youngest amongst our group of four and obviously behind the camera in this photo. The photo BTW, was probably taken on a Rhine River cruise, a getaway for the entire unit and our jobs of analyzing Soviet and East German military installations on the other side of the border (Obvious and I'm sure declassified by now...:-)
Our military experience was more like a college dorm, hindered by the occasional military drill (which as I recall Al hated more than anything), but it was after our daily work, when this German literature major from Haverford College, would hang in my room from time to time. And we would share a bottle of German white wine, some brotchen and some fabulous cheese - we would savor this as our dinner while reading the "heavy stuff"...some new releases from Marvel Comics....the Amazing Spiderman or Fantastic Four. We were all young, but I will always look back upon this camaraderie with the deepest of respect for the comfort it provided to us all while being away from home.
It was Al who encouraged me to take two semesters of German while we were in Germany - how clever and advantages it was to do so while we were there! How did he know that I would end of making dozens of trips back to Germany over years and end up selling so many beautiful German Christmas goods in our retail business? He didn't....but he did know about passion and how to take advantage of your situation no matter where you were.
Since our time when these pictures were taken, I have visited Al a couple of times when in Philadelphia....not often enough however. I know this because I miss him deeply. Life is short and Al was a gentle and intelligent being whom I miss already. May his family recall his spirit and enjoy in the memories that we all have of this wonderful person. Rest in Peace Al. Your lifelong friend, John
John Ranes II, Appleton, Wisconsin
