11Jun09

Rhein Main was my first base. I arrived in December of 1979 and was there for two years. Those of us who were there at that time will never forget all of the false alarms for the Iranian hostage release. When it finally happened it almost did not seem real. We spent a lot of time at the Irish Pub and eating sheep meat sandwiches. The cantina after mids was pretty popular too. I still cannot eat black licorice or drink cough medicine. Yager is truly "the green monster". As an E-1 and E-2 I spent a lot of time working security. There were not enough security troops so LE had to fill those openings. My first night on patrol by myself I got the car stuck in the sand at the archery range. We had a very good fast pitch softball team. During swings we would take our gloves out to the archery range and play catch until it got dark. I try to explain to people what the "real" Oktoberfest is like but until you experience it for yourself it is hard to describe. I still do not know how we got back to the base from Munich but we did it twice.

After I left the Rhein I went to Scott in Illinois which is where I grew up. I stayed there until 1983 and then separated as an E-4 and went back to school while I worked for a company in St. Louis. I received degrees in Industrial Electronics, Information Technology, and Communication Electronics. I currently live in Ozark, Missouri and I am the IT Manager for a division of John Deere. I have been married for 18 years and have an 18 year old daughter and a 12 year old son. My daughter will be a freshman next year at Drury University in Springfield and is attending on a basketball scholarship. My wife was diagnosed with cancer in September of 2008 so her fight has been our focus over the past 9 months. Never forget that life is short and live everyday being the best you can be.

-Jim Anton, Manager Information Technology
JOHN DEERE REMAN

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