Berlin Wall and Freedom

I served the majority of my active Army tour in Europe protecting nuclear weapons, which required a Top Secret clearance.  The Berlin Wall was still up, but there was an agreement between East and West Germany that American service members could take a bus trip into East Germany if they wore their uniform.  We arrived at Checkpoint Charlie; the MPs took our papers and immediately pulled me off the bus.  Their commander told me the risk of going in with a Top Secret clearance, but if I did go in, I was not allowed off the bus.  I took the trip, and when everyone else was visiting the parks, monuments and museums, I sat on the bus and occasionally waved to the East German soldiers that stood guard over the bus and me.  It wasn’t the trip I expected, but being confined to the bus in a city surrounded by a wall and barbwire, as I left the bus, I realized the true preciousness of freedom.  Don’t ever take our freedom for granted.