Hello: Mark Flowers here in Eugene, Oregon about 110 miles south of Portland in the Willamette Valley. I've been poking around this web forum, as well as the Axis History Forum, for a couple of months and registered a couple of days ago. I served 21 years and a couple of months in the US Army, and am retired. I lived in Germany for about 15 years, eleven as a kid growing up and then four as a soldier. I still have good friends in Germany and go back every couple of years. My wife and I were there in June. We visited Bad Kissingen, Würzburg, and the Rhön.
I am deeply interested in German history, as well as its language and culture. I got bitten many years ago by the World War II bug and was fortunate to buy a copy of "Die Ritterkreuzträger der Waffen-SS" by Ernst-Günther Krätschmer in 1983. Many books have come and gone out of my library over the years, but this one holds mz enduring interest.