7ATC Recognizes Ten Bavarians as ‘Good Neighbors’ in New Ceremony

GERMANY

05.24.2021

Story by Maj. Michael Weisman 

7th Army Training Command

GRAFENWOEHR, Germany – The 7th Army Training Command and units throughout Bavaria recognized ten Bavarians for their support to the U.S. military community in Bavaria during a ceremony May 21 for the inaugural ‘Good Neighbor Award.’

“The idea of this Good Neighbor Award is a small but hopefully meaningful way to say thank you,” said Brig. Gen. Christopher Norrie, commanding general of 7th ATC.

The inaugural class of Good Neighbors was a mix of current and former mayors as well as private citizens.

Anton Duerr of Grafenwoehr was honored posthumously after passing 2020. He was one of the founders of the Grafenwoehr German-American Volkfest, which has brought hundreds of thousands of Germans and Americans together since 1957.

“While he is not with us anymore, his legacy lives on,” said U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria Commander Col. Christopher Danbeck during a ceremony earlier in the day naming a traffic circle at Tower Barracks in Grafenwoehr after Duerr.

U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria also dedicated a traffic circle on the installation in his honor in an earlier ceremony here.

Walter and Anni Brunner of Grafenwoehr were also awarded for their decades of volunteer work and leading the area’s German-American Kontakt Club.

Ansbach Lord Mayor Thomas Deffner, Grafenwoehr Mayor Edgar Knobloch, Vilseck Mayor Hans-Martin Schertl, and Lupburg Mayor Manfred Hauser were honored for their partnership and efforts to welcome Americans into their communities, as was former Illesheim Mayor Heinrich Foerster.

“Mayor Hauser and the people of Lupburg do amazing things to welcome Americans and so graciously share their culture and traditions with us,” said Lt. Col. Jay Bessey, senior brigade trainer for the Joint Multinational Readiness Center’s Mustang Observer-Controller Team. “This award is a great way for us to show them that their efforts are noticed beyond just our smaller community.”

The Mustangs have been partnered with the town of Lupburg since 2013, a town near JMRC in the Oberpfalz region founded in the 12th century, with approximately 2,400 residents.

Karl Balk of Herrieden in the Franconian area was also honored for five decades of sponsoring partnerships between Germans and Americans, and Gerald Morgenstern from Grafenwoehr was honored in part for the hundreds of tours he voluntarily provides of the training area for Germans and Americans which discuss the importance of both the American mission and the

Morgenstern also authored the book ‘Grafenwoehr Training Area: Yesterday and Today.’

Good Neighbor honorees were inducted into 7th ATC’s ‘Order of the Towers,’ and are invited back annually for future ceremonies.

“It’s a great honor for me, especially receiving the Order of the Towers,” said Morgenstern. “The water tower is my favorite building. I have always strived to keep up the relationship between the US Army and the German population in Grafenwoehr to promote mutual understanding and that’s why I am really happy about this award.”

According to Norrie, the nominees from the initial class of Good Neighbors “invested great amounts of their time, both personal and professional, into strengthening our relationships, and welcoming our Soldiers, units and Families into their communities.”

All U.S. Army units stationed in Bavaria were asked to provide nominations for Bavarians, who through their efforts, increased the quality of life for U.S. Army Soldiers, Civilians and their Families. There are over 40 official partnerships between units stationed in Bavaria and the towns and cities in the areas surrounding the installations.

“The hardest part about putting this ceremony together was capping the number of worthy honorees,” said Norrie.

• Date Taken: 05.24.2021
• Date Posted: 05.24.2021 08:52
• Story ID: 397178
• Location: DE