"Lieutenant, Your Cap's on Backward!"

(The persons involved have consented to the disclosure of their identities.)

In November, 2004, I received the following e-mail:

Hallo Mr. Thomason!

First I should say some words to my person: I am living in Coelbe, a small town near Marburg, Germany, with my wife and three sons. I was born in July 1954. Sorrowfully my father died by car accident in the end of 1953. As my mother told me, he was a GI from Avon, Illinois. My mother (she died in 1991) had never contact to my father’s family. His name was John Henry Smith. Years ago I started searching of my and my fathers "Roots" in Frankfurt, Rey-barracks and Heidelberg. But I got no information.

Today I was travelling through the Internet and found the very interesting hint on your Book about your time here in Germany 1953-55. It is therefore a little hope into my mind, that you could give me an advice where and in which administration I could find possibly exact Information about the circumstances of the death of my father. All I know is, that he had a car accident on the way from Frankfurt to Baumholder in Rheinland-Pfalz.

I know, Mr. Thomason, it is a little bit strange to send you this email, but - as a famous man said - "hope will die at last".

I send you my warmest greetings from Germany and I hope you are in good condition!

Volker Hahn

My first thought was to see what I could find out about an automobile accident in Germany in 1953. So, I inquired of a German friend what information might be available from the German police. He thought an auto accident involving an American soldier in Germany at that time would have been investigated by the Military Police and suggested I go to the U.S. military authorities. In the meantime, I located Avon, Illinois, and posted some e-mail inquiries asking if anyone knew anything about John Henry Smith, an American soldier killed in an automobile accident in Germany in 1953.

In a few days I received this e-mail:

Mr. Thomason,

My name is Jolene Harrison and I am the daughter of John Henry Smith. You sent this information to the school web page and my daughter got it and brought it home to me.

My father was in Germany in the 1950's and did keep company with a woman named Eva, but he wasn't killed in a car accident in 1953. He returned home and had a wonderful life until his passing in 1995.

I would like more information on Volker Hahn if this is possible. I would like to have contact with him either by email or sending letters back and forth. I do remember my father saying something about a child that could have been his when I was younger and I am very interested in seeing pictures of Volker Hahn and chatting with him.

Please feel free to email me any time. l be waiting for your reply.

Sincerly

Jolene Harrison

Mr. Thomason,

Any information you have about Volker Hahn would be appreciated. I am very
curious if this man is my father's son.

I am a graduate of the local high school here in Illinois and my daughter is also
graduating from that school. A teacher was reading the high school Web page and your
letter was on it. She printed it off and asked another teacher if she knew
John Henry Smith and my daughter was in that class and both the teacher and my
daughter looked at each other. She then brought it home to me and I started
going through my dad's army records and found out he was in service in
Germany from '52-'54. For the last few days I have been so excited to find
out more about him.

If Volker Hahn has known about the man he has thought to be his father, why has
it taken so long for him to get in contact with us? I know this question is
one you aren't able to answer but my dad has been gone for 10 years and I
know would have loved to have known about him.

Any information you have on Volker Hahn would be appreciated and I look forward
to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Jolene Harrison

Dear Jolene Harrison:

Your e-mail was retrieved by me from a remote location - a vacation home in
Arkansas. Consequently, on this computer I do not have the previous
correspondence I need to furnish you with Volker Hahn's address. I will be back in Memphis on Thursday, Dec. 2, and will send you what information I have at that time. In the meantime I will tell you how I got involved.

I wrote a book about my experience as an Army lawyer in Germany, 1953-1955.
The book is described at www.armyjag.com. Volker Hahn found the web site and wrote me asking me to help him find out about his father. All he knew was his father's name and that he was from a town in Illinois. His inquiries in Germany had led to nothing. In an effort to assist him I posted various messages. I posted several.  Which one did your daughter see? Do you live in the town in Illinois? Do you know what you father's military organization was
and where he was stationed in Germany?

I will get back to you soon.

John Thomason

               Then a letter to Germany.

Dear Volker Hahn:

After I received your e-mail I posted inquiries at various sites in Illinois asking anyone who had information about John Henry Smith to contact me. I advised that John Henry Smith was an American soldier stationed in Germany who was killed in an automobile accident
there in 1953.

I have received a response from Jolene Harrison who advises that she is the daughter of John Henry Smith; that John Henry Smith was not killed in Germany but returned to America and to Illinois where he lived until 1995.

She may be your half sister.

As soon as I complete this e-mail I shall forward to you the two e-mails I have received from her. I have not yet given her your e-mail address. I thought I should first have your permission before I did that. If you would like for me to do so I shall send her your
address. Or, you could contact her directly. If you do that please keep me advised for I should to know how all this turns out.

I should like to know about you. Are you associated with a University ?  Have you ever been to America? If Jolene Harrison is your half-sister maybe you should come to visit her. I would like to know the life story of each of you.

Maybe I shall write another book!

All the best to you and your family.

John Thomason

               Almost immediately a reply came from Germany!

Dear Mr. Thomason!

I just wanted to go to bed but I looked once more into my email-Box. With
great surprise I read your Message and the two of Mrs. Jolene Harrison. I understand that you have many questions on me and I will answer as good as I can after clearing the new situation with Mrs Jolene Harrison. If everything will develop in a good way, it would be very hounorable for me, if you would write another book!

Of course I give you my permission to send my E-mail address to Mrs.
Harrison. I, myself will write her a first E-mail in the next minutes.

Dear Mr. Thomason I am very exited now; please forgive me, when I now
finish this Letter. I promise you remaining in contact with you and I hope
we can meet soon!

Volker Hahn

Dear Jolene Harrison:

I assume by now you have heard from Volker Hahn and have his address which he has given me permission to send you. I know the two of you have much to talk about and I hope you will meet some day. Please keep me advised of what you find out about each other.

Your story is a fascinating one.

All the best to both of you. It has given me a great deal of pleasure to bring you together.

With sincere best wishes,

John Thomason

Mr. Thomason,

You were so right about this being a fascinating one. I have been emailing
with Volker Hahn  and have been sending pictures to each other. Today Volker Hahn, and his son and I were talking to each other via MSN.

I didn't know he had been searching for years for some information on our
father. His mother told him his father died in Germany and I think he was
shocked to know our father was alive all of these years.

He may be coming to Illinois soon. He said he has time off at the end of
December. I would love to see him to see him in person instead of a picture
to know if he does look like our father. I think he favors his mother.

I am so thankful to you for posting your notice on our local school's
website. I don't know if I can ever thank you enough for giving me and
Volker this opportunity. All of these lost years we can't ever get back but
we do have the future!!! And what a future it will be.

Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are in my prayers and
thoughts daily, without you none of this could have been possible.

Sincerely,

Jolene Harrison

                          And from Germany:

Dear Mr. Thomason!

After having changed some e-mails and being online today with Jolene Harrison, the situation has cleared. There are so many facts in the biography of John Henry Smith and my mother in additon to that similar pictures in Jolene Harrison’s album and in that of mine, which show the same woman, Eva, my mother.

There is no doubt I have found with YOUR help JH, my half-sister!!! She sent me two pictures of OUR father JHS and itwas for the first time for me in my life: looking to a man, who was myfather. This was deep impressive feeling!!!

I just wanted to know you that development!

Now I should give you some information of mine:
I am 50 years old, married with 3 sons (twins 22 and a third with 14
years); I have studied mathematics and history in a German University. I am
working as a teacher in a Gymnasium (last school before going to
University), as we say in Germany. Sometimes I hold seminars in University
for special methodoly of didactics (sorry for my bad English).
For the moment, I hope you are a little bit more informed about me!

I am very thankful on you and you will hear again from me!
Best wishes from my heart to you!!!

Volker Hahn

                            And from Illinois:

Mr. Thomason,

I have so much to tell you but don't want to bore you at the same time.
Everything that has been going on for the last two weeks is just
overwhelming, but I am loving every minute of it!!! Volker and I are
emailing and talking on MSN. I have been sending him pictures of our father.
My daughters have been chatting with him and his youngest son. Volker was
quick to point out he had all boys and I had all girls!!

The saddest thing about this situation is the fact I believe my father knew
about him. He used to make light of a child he called "Little Frank". He
said he called him Little Frank because he couldn't say his name, but now I
wonder if it was because he regretted his decision to leave Volker and Eva
behind. I don't think we will ever know why all this was kept a secret. I
can't believe he has been searching for information for 13 years and in a
matter of days after my daughter was told about your letter on the high
school home page we are talking to each other. It is a little different
knowing I have a brother when I was raised as an only child.

I can't thank you enough for what you have done for us. I will keep you
informed of our progress and also if Volker is able to come to the States. I
would love to have you be a part of this first meeting of ours!! After all if
it wasn't for you this wouldn't have been possible!!

Sincerly,

Jolene Harrison

Volker had always thought he was an only child. Jolene also thought she was an only child.

Volker Hahn, his wife Gaby and one of his sons, fourteen year old Dominic arrived in Peoria, Illinois on Friday evening, February 4, 2005, where he was met by his newly discovered half sister, Jolene Harrison.  From Peoria they drove to Avon, Illinois, where their father John Henry Smith lived until he died in 1995.  The Hahns and the Harrisons were together for a week visiting John Henry Smith's grave, seeing his old friends and visiting the places he knew.  Dominic went to the Avon school where he played basketball with the physical education class.  They learned about each other and made plans to see each other again.  Maybe Dominic will find a way to go to school in America.  Then Volker and his family returned to Marburg, Germany, where Volker teaches at a Gymnasium and the University.  They took with them memories of America and their newly found relations and family.