It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. I think someone already used that as an opening, but it really does apply to my time in Germany from April 1967 to July 1968. I was a young Second Lieutenant in the Army assigned to the 97thEngineer Battalion in Pirmasens, Germany. Before the entire unit was reassigned to Ft. Riley, Kansas, I had been promoted to First Lieutenant in ’67 and then Captain in ‘68. During my sadly short time in Europe, I was able to attend a number of races and experienced both highs and lows.
As you will see from the accompanying photos, I was an amateur motorsports photographer. This was long before I learned the art of photography, but I did get lucky with some of my shots. The first couple of events I attended were before I bought a decent camera – a Pentax Spotmatic. It was an excellent camera and had a through-the-lens light meter. Even better, the Takumar lenses that were available were among the best. In a way, it was good that this was back in the day of film. I shot a lot of prints, and it is from those that I selected and scanned the ones for this article.
Become a Member & Get Ad-Free Access To This Article (& About 6,000+ More)
Access to the full article is limited to paid subscribers only. Our membership removes most ads, lets you enjoy unlimited access to all our premium content, and offers you awesome discounts on partner products. Enjoy our premium content.
Become a member today!
Already a Member?
