The Abbeville Boys
Chapter 5: The Engagement
By 1938 Germany was expanding on several different fronts. Hitler had taken over Austria and Czechoslovakia without firing a shot. German military forces were in Spain helping Franco fight the communists. The Spanish war was a perfect testing ground for the Luftwaffe. Pilots honed their skills and gained valuable combat experience. The Luftwaffe needed pilots. Officers were sent out to recruit young men with any propensity for flying. That meant glider races.
By this time Kurt was a local hero. His flying had become legendary. People came from surrounding towns to watch him soar his glider high in the sky and descend gracefully to a gentle landing.
Kurt was flying large, sophisticated gliders with enclosed cockpits. He wouldn’t fly anything he didn’t deem airworthy. There were some crackpots with unorthodox gliders. Those types of planes would never get off the ground. Kurt became known as an aeronautical specialist. He could fly and tell what was good and bad about a plane. Some of the builders would consult him on their designs.
On one particular Saturday morning two men in brown shirts, black pants, wearing red arm bands with a swastika, and brown caps entered the festival. People at the festival became quiet as the two men started mingling with the crowd. There was talking and pointing. The men walked towards Kurt. As they approached one of them said, “Are you Kurt Reichard?”
Kurt studied them for a second, “Yes sir. I’m Reichard.”
The man continued, “We understand you’re a pilot.”
“I’m a glider pilot. I would love to fly a powered plane but haven’t had the chance.”
“Well, we want to give you the chance. We want you to join the illustrious Luftwaffe. We need pilots and it appears you have the qualifications. The fatherland needs you.”
Kurt stood there not knowing what to say. This was his dream. Kurt finally blurted out, “Yes sir. I’m ready.”
The man in charge asked, “You’ve graduated your classes, haven’t you?”
“Yes sir. I’m done and ready to go.”
“Good, here are your papers. You’ll report to the airfield south of Dresden, Luftgau lV in three days to begin basic flight training. Any questions?”
“No sir. Thank you. I welcome the opportunity.”
The men gave a Nazi salute and walked off as Kurt stared at the papers they gave him. He was going to fly a real airplane. He could hardly contain himself. He wanted to jump up and down screaming.
Kurt spent the next day thinking about heading the twenty kilometers east to Dresden to start flying instructions. He also started thinking seriously about Gretchen. Luftwaffe pilots made good money, and he considered asking her to marry him. Kurt told his parents of the opportunity, and they were excited. They knew Kurt wanted to fly and being a Luftwaffe pilot was prestigious. It was now time to tell Gretchen.
He drove over to her house. He went through the pleasantries with her father. Finally, Kurt stood there drawing a deep breath, “Mr. Bauer, I’ve been accepted into the Luftwaffe fighter pilot training program. I leave the day after tomorrow.”
Bauer stood there contemplating what he had said, “That’s great Kurt. You must be very proud.”
“Yes sir. I wanted to ask you a question sir.”
Bauer got a quizzical look on his face, “Yes son. Go ahead.”
“I want to marry your daughter. I want your blessing.”
Bauer realized Kurt was now a grown man. It took him a few seconds to process the question, “Kurt, I know Gretchen has strong feelings for you. If you two want to get married, you have my blessing.”
“I’ve got two days left. I’m not going to say anything tonight. I’ll go into town tomorrow and get a ring. I’ll ask her tomorrow night.”
Bauer stood there with a rare soft smile, “Sounds like a good plan son. I won’t say a word to anyone.”
Everything in Kurt’s life has turned upside down in the last twenty four hours, in a great way. He was ecstatic.
He went into town the next morning to a local jeweler and picked out a modest engagement ring. He went home to prepare for the big evening. Kurt was in emotional overload. He was excited about Gretchen and tomorrow he would be getting ready to fly an actual airplane.
Kurt arrived at Grechen’s house. She had no idea what was about to happen. Her father answered the door with an easy smile, “Good evening Kurt. I take it this is going to be an interesting night.”
Kurt could barely contain himself, “Yes sir. Is Gretchen here?”
“Yes, she’ll be right down.” He summoned the servant to inform Gretchen.
The father walked off as Gretchen came down the stairs. Gretchen had blossomed into an amazing looking young woman in all her femininity. She had fantastic curves in all the right places. She descended the stairs with her big smile and a gorgeous low cut blue dress with silver sequences. Many men wanted her attention, but she only wanted Kurt.
They went into the parlor and sat down. Kurt leaned forward to kiss her. They embraced passionately. The pair were comfortable together. After snuggling for several minutes Kurt leaned back on the love seat looking at her.
He decided it was time. He reached into his pocket as she watched him with a smile of contentment. He pulled out the small box and leaned forward. She was now wondering what was going on. He cracked open the box exposing the engagement ring and said, “Gretchen, will you marry me?”
Her eyes got big as she put her hands over her mouth in excitement. She couldn’t contain herself. She screamed, “Yes! I will marry you. I love you Kurt Reichard.”
Kurt grabbed her and whispered in her ear, “I love you Gretchen Bauer. I talked to your dad last night and he gave us his approval. You make me very happy.”
Gretchen suddenly jumped and ran out of the room. She was yelling, “Mom, Dad, Kurt asked me to marry him.”
The entire family gathered around, and wine was poured. There was a celebratory mood into the evening. Plans were discussed about the wedding, and it was a good feeling of warmth and coziness (In German it’s called gemütlichkeit).
The evening was cut short because Kurt had to get up early for the drive to Dresden. He drove home and told his parents about the engagement to Gretchen. There was more hugging and celebrating before he had to turn in.