1. Went to West Berlin in the mid-70's (LONG before The Wall came down)...
. . . ...and was told by my company clerks that a dress uniform was no longer required if I wanted to cross over into East Berlin -- just as long as I had "East Berlin" specified on my leave paperwork. . . . Got to Checkpoint Charlie (a little tollbooth-like shack) and the PFC at the window is filling out my paperwork when this old grizzled sergeant steps up and looks over his shoulder. . . . "WTF are you doin'?" . . . Turns out you DID still need to wear a uniform and that the East Germans would have recognized me for a soldier right away and arrested me as a spy. . . . Damn. Never did get to cross -- just observe from viewpoints. Was awfully glad at the time, but later kinda pissed. They would have detained me for 24-48 hours as an embarrassment for the U.S. and let me go. . . . How cool a story would THAT have been to tell? . . . "Yep... arrested as an international spy in the 70's." . . . . . . . . . Mom. . . . . . . . . . MiddleFingerMom. . . .
3. Nah... happened on a pretty regular basis -- on BOTH sides.
. . . Best example when I was there were the two drunken old sergeants who took their Jeep JUST over the border line and were arrested by the East German Border Guards (La Migra... La Migra!!!!). . . . THAT made bigtime news and you can bet their careers were over. . . . Nurnberg makes the best brats!!! . . . Li'l bitty ones -- three to a Kaiser roll. . . .
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