Read: Our Friend Across the Pond (click on the picture)

 Our Friend Across the Pond  

                               by Larry Wiseman 

                                         click on the picture

    Around the year 2007, Susan and I were National Coordinators for Bugles Across America, and sometime during that year, we had some of our first communication with Hartmut. Over the next few years, we talked on the phone at least once, and sometimes three times a week. He kept us informed about almost every memorial service that he sounded Taps for like Normandy, Ardennes, and the Wereth Memorial https://wereth.org/en/home-2/. After he became actively involved in BAA, we thought it fitting to ask Tom Day to make Hartmut our German Representative; and at that news, Hartmut was so humbled to hear. Once the official BAA uniform was developed, he jumped at the opportunity to wear one. Because he was a former German Army paratrooper, he was the only BAA member to have permission to wear a maroon beret, to match the colors of his unit. 

 Hartmut seemed to have a tremendous hunger to sound Taps anywhere he could in Europe, and later in the USA to honor the fallen. After some discussion, the leadership of BAA made the decision to award our German brother with a coveted Getzen American Heritage Field Trumpet, Elite Model. It was a surprise, and we didn't tell him it was coming. On the day that UPS delivered the horn and plaque to his house, Hartmut called me in utter tears. He absolutely could not believe we would do that, but we knew it was well deserved. He loved that horn like it was his new-born baby, and would not allow anyone to touch it.

To say the least Hartmut became a dear friend of ours, as we shared many things over the years about many things; some of which were personal matters. Suffice to say that we all three became close friends, although we had never met in person. I learned so many things about this man, along with learning that we had so many things in common, including the fact that Hartmut loved America; loved our culture, and even had a love of country music. I think of him as a type of Renaissance man. He had many skills, i.e. he was an Army paratrooper; he was a versatile musician; playing many types of horns, including the German Alpine horn; loved to cook most anything, and was a professional pastry chef. He love to ride horses; hike and hunt, and became skilled in the art of making long bows.; he was also a very skilled leather-worker. His profession in life for the last many years was some serious security work as a professional K9 handler. He loved dogs, and they gravitated to his training. 

   All the while, as we associated with Hartmut, we all three made plans to meet when he came to America, and of all of our seven trips to Washington DC, and many other memorial events, we never seemed to cross paths on his trip to the U.S. I was able to meet him passing through the Atlanta Air Port only once, and we talked about how we would get together on his next rip to America. We were excited that one day he would come hang out on the river with us, and enjoy God's beauty. As they say, "Best made plans of mice and men", those things never happened before our brother became ill and passed away. Our greatest consolation is that Hartmut is no longer suffering, and that he is in the hands of Jesus, as we often spoke of Christ as his savior. My last offer of encouragement to him was a picture of Jesus that he really appreciated. He knew that we were praying for him, and God answers prayers, sometimes in ways that we, as humans cannot understand.

Auf Wiedersehen mein Bruder, bis wir Auns wiedersehen! 

Goodbye my brother, Until we meet again!