Secret Soldier

Originally published on April 18, 2010

“I had just arrived in Germany for my tour of duty with the Army and I was interested in immersing myself in the local culture. I didn’t want to stick out as the typical American GI, so I set out to try to blend in with the locals as much as I could. My first weekend there I bought European label clothes. I went to a European barber to get a European haircut that would still comply with the military standards and I bought European style shoes. And I, in every way possible, toned down my behavior so as to appear non-American.

“Now I already knew French and within a few weeks I had learned about as much German as I could. I even shopped at the German marketplace and ate German food. And to make matters even more in my favor, I had blonde hair and blue eyes from my Irish/Scottish heritage and I figured that would really help me blend in.

“But it was at the marketplace that my failure to blend in became apparent. I stood at a crosswalk waiting for the light to change. I had a pair of grocery sacks in hand when a German gentleman walked up and stood beside me, also to wait for the light. I glanced over and gave him a friendly nod. No more. No words were exchanged. His reply was, ‘Hi, soldier.’”

The question is, how did he know?

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