Grand Tour to north Germany with Berlin and Poland
Our deluxe cruise bus took us to Laboe, a town outside Kiel, where we were met by three friends. They were
Waldemar Triebel, First Officer on U-978
Ernst Göthling, crewman on U-26 and
Volkmar König, midshipman on U-99 all are long-time Members of Sharkhunters
John Holt photo photo by Barry Monroe
Col. Wilhelm Höhn US Army (Ret) and Ernst Rolf Rosellen was in U-Boat training school
Göthling at the Navy Memorial - that is U-995 when the war ended. Here he is in the
in the background. Zentralle (central control room) of U-995.
We immediately boarded U-995, the only Type VII-C left in the world, for a tour that lasted as long as we wanted to remain aboard and it was a trip into history. This boat is maintained beautifully by the Deutsche Marinebund (DMB) which is the German equivalent to the Navy League.
U-Boat veteran Rolf Rosellen, now an American citizen, wrote:
"I had a fantastic time! I liked everything
about the trip, the way it was organized.
Everything went smoothly. My best memories
of the tour was the Naval Memorial, the U-Boat
Memorial and the visit to the grave of Großadmiral
Dönitz. You outdid yourself - a great trip."
We were joined again by Professor Brünig and we all went to the Marine Ehrenmal (Navy Memorial), a beautiful structure with an attached museum, memorial chamber and of course, a gift shop.
Lunch is at our favorite place - Seeterrassen on the shores of the Baltic. The U-Boat veterans were busy signing autographs but still had time for the great food.
Sharkhunters photo
1. Harry Cooper
2. Gary van Loon
3. Colonel Bob Wicke
4. Davis Ryle
5. Matt Hall
6. Professor Brünig
7. Woldemar (Bobby) Triebel
8. Ernst Göthling
Then our bus took us to the U-Boot-Ehrenmal, right on the shore of the Baltic. This beautiful but sad place is the memorial to the German U-Bootfahrer who did not return.....about 32,000 out of 39,000 were lost in the battle at sea and their names are emblazoned on bronze plaques lining the walls of the Honors Chamber. We had a short ceremony, placed a wreath & spent some time in the chamber itself.
photo by Barry Monroe
The wreath placed by Sharkhunters at the U-Boat Memorial.
Three men of the U-Bootskameradschaft/Kiel (Submarine Veteran's Association of Kiel) joined us and then we went to the HQ building where our Members bought a great many souvenirs and made donations to the U-K. It was a wonderful time.
the Flag of the U-K/Kiel Sharkhunters photo
In the HQ of the U-Bootkameradschaft/Kiel
More photos to be added soon, so please check back - and save your vacation days for next year.
CLICK HERE for the next page
BACK to HOME PAGE