THE KIDNAPPING OF LADY CHAR
CurryforAmerica.com
Nineteen-eighty was a tense time to be living in
In December in
So it was no surprise when in November, 1984, my
aide burst through my office doorway at V Corps
Headquarters in
“This is the Provost Marshal,” the voice said. “I’m
at your quarters and Mrs. Curry may have been
kidnapped by terrorists.”
“Any signs of a struggle?” I asked.
“None. Somehow the hidden duress alarm system was
activated in your house and the German Police
responded in less than five minutes. But by the time
they got there Mrs. Curry was gone.”
“I’m on my way,” I said, slamming down the phone.
My aide handed me my general officer’s leather
pistol belt from the closet. I checked to be sure my
chrome plated general officer Colt .45 was loaded
and buckled it on. Out front my driver had the heavy
armored sedan running and waiting.
Swiftly and expertly he steered it through
At my house the grounds were awash with German
police carrying submachine guns and accompanied by
huge guard dogs. German and
Suddenly the door of a house four doors down the
street from mine burst open and Charlene popped out
calling, “What’s all the commotion about? Why are
those men trampling my flower gardens? Jerry, why
aren’t you at work?”
Charlene had been watching TV when impulsively she
decided to go visit a neighbor by way of the garage
rather than the front door. She intended to be gone
for only a minute so she left the open garage door
up. The conversation with the neighbor became
interesting and she lost track of time.
Meanwhile, the hidden duress alarm system short
circuited itself and sent out the emergency
abduction signal. Within minutes the German civilian
police and the
Emotionally drained, I went back to work and
somehow managed to drag myself through an
unproductive afternoon. When I returned home that
evening there was the usual fire burning in the
library fireplace. Hors d’oeuvres were tastefully
arranged on a
“You know, Jerry,” Charlene said smiling up at me
while helping me off with my combat boots -- which
was quite out of character for her -- “Isn’t there
some other line of work that would interest you?”
The next morning I informed a stunned corps
commander and staff that I was taking early
retirement effective the following month. For the
last time as members of the
Then we attended a splendid round of German and
American farewell parties and left
Although we were soon out of uniform, we never
stopped serving and loving our country. And Lady
Char was never again threatened with kidnapping.