My name is Larry Fitzpatrick and I live in Birmingham, Alabama. I am 55 years of age and I have a child born in Germany. I don't know if it is a girl or boy. I arrived in Germany in May 1968 at the age of 18. I was stationed with the 26 th Sig Bn in the city of Heilbronn from May 1968 to April 1970. While stationed at Wharton Barracks in Heilbronn I met a young german girl who was eighteen or nineteen in August 1968. Her name was Christel. I don't recall her surname or where she was living at the time. We were together until I went home to attend to my mother who had a stroke in early 1970, around January. Before I went home I assured Christel that I would be back in thirty days. I went back home and stayed with my mom for a month.

When I came back Christel had started a relationship with another man. Ruth, one of Christel's friends, had a boy friend who convinced Christel that I had told a lie and had gone home for good. Christel did not know that he knew nothing about any of my business, he was not even in my unit but with the 237th Eng Bn. When I got back I was hurt because she had allowed him to convince her that I would not be back. The new guy she was dating was a friend of Ruth's boy friend. I was angry about all this and needed some space to think about it. But each time I went to the E.M. club I saw her and him together and my anger would come back. She tried to talk to me but I would not let her and for I while I stopped going to the club to think things out.

Christel was already pregnant before I went home to take care of my mom. She told me in either late November or early December so there is no doubt that the child she was carrying was mine.

I began to think that maybe she really did not know if I was coming back or not and that she was probably worried about the fact that she was carrying a child and would need somebody to support her and out of fear she allowed this to happen. After thinking about these things I went back to find her to try to make some sence out of our madness but she and her two friends Karen (Karin?) and Ruth had stopped coming to the club. While all of this was going on I learned that I was going to have to go to Vietnam so I had a lot on my mind. I was going to have to break the news to my mother who was still sick at the time.

In April of 1970 I had to leave for Vietnam without being able to see Christel before I left. I had her address and pictures and other personal items concerning us in one of my suitcases. Unfortunately that suitcase was lost and never found. Christel had my parents address and I was hoping she would write to me at that address after she had the baby but, she did not. The year before I left I had encouraged her to write my mother. Christel wrote my mother twice while I was still in Germany. My mom still had the letters when I went to take care of her after she had a stroke. My parents lived in a flood prone area. Unfortunately there was a flood and a lot of papers and personal items such as those letters were destroyed.

Me in Vietnam

Here are the names of a few of our friends that knew us. My best friends name was Joseph Alexander Green, his nick name was 'mean Joe Green'. Margie worked in the EM club on base, Karen (or Karin) who grew up with Christel. Karen drove an old red and white car. Then there was Ruth who had two biracial children. And Charlotte who was biracial, her mother was german and her father was african American and they lived in Heilbronn until 1970 when they moved to Stuttgart. Charlotte's father was retired from the military. I think he was working as a cook for someone in Stuttgart. If Charlotte is still in Germany she would know all of us.

In Vietnam I often thought about Christel and the fact that she was back in Germany alone without any help. I don't know if her parents gave her any support. I often thought about the fact that I would have a child that I would not even know the gender of and if there would have been any way I could have been there for her and my child. I even had some strong thoughts about reenlisting to go back to Germany so I could find them but because of my injuries that was not possible. In Vietnam because of wounds I lost my right leg above the knee and had a partial left foot amputation. I am considered a 100% disabled veteran.

After returning from Vietnam and being discharged from the service I stayed single for eight years, always hoping I would be able to get back to Germany to search for Christel but early in my life that was not possible and I was hoping that Christel would try to get in touch but she did not. I finally got married but the marriage didn't last. I have three other children by my ex-wife, two girls and a boy.

I came from a family of fourteen sisters and brothers. We were seven boys and seven girls. There really were ninteen of us but five babies died when they were very young. I would have been number seventeen but counting just the fourteen I am number twelve with two sisters younger than me. My father died in 1978 and my mother in 1980, then in 1981 my brother Clarence. After he died it seemed that almost every other year or so a brother or sister would die. The last to die was my brother Samule in 2003. Now there are only six of us left. They are in order of age Bessie Mae, Evie Jean, Franklyn Delton, myself, Mary Alice and Bernice. My children's names are La Kesha age 25, Eric age 22, and Tameka age 20.

I attend church three days a week. I am an officer and a spiritual leader in my church, the Forge Tempel Church Of God In Christ (COGIC ) which is a pentecostal church.

There is a possiblity that Christel got married and she may even be here in the United States. Where ever she is it has always been my prayer that she married a good man and whoever he is that he was a good father and a good role model for my child and that my child grew up knowing about me. I would want him or her to know that as soon as I was able to get my thoughts in order I loved my child even while it was still in her mothers womb. My child was probably born abt. May - July of 1970. Since then there has not been very many days and nights that I have not thought about my child or its mother.

If there is anybody who can give me any information I would appricate any help you can give. Thank you!

To my child I never knew and never met I have loved you from the momet that I knew that you would be my child. I would really need to see you to explain everything to you but I want you to know if I could have gone back I would have been there. Our familytree will give you all the details about your family here.

If you, my child are reading this please get in touch with me or Mary-Ann who also has my snail mail address and phone number. I have searched for you so many years and I hope this will help us find each other. I always have and always will miss you!

There is a song 'Always on my mind' that I listen to by the Country and Western singer Wille Nelson These are the words. Every time I hear it I think of you.