(Photo by Roland Schedel, USAG Wiesbaden) VIEW ORIGINAL
WIESBADEN, Germany - U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden has a diamond in the rough in Dominic Nava, who serves as a realty specialist in the Directorate of Public Works Master Planning Division and also happens to be, somewhat of a local history buff.
Working for DPW, Nava has found a job that is never boring and gives him a sense of accomplishment that capitalizes on his abilities and interests that benefit the garrison and local military community.
“Working for the U.S. Army and at DPW Master Planning is amazing and fulfilling as a realty specialist.”
History, a life’s study
Nava was raised in Mainz, the son of a German father and an Italian mother and graduated from the local university with a degree in Business Administration.
Nava’s interest in history started early – beginning long before he was hired as the garrison’s Contracted Housing Services chief in 2006.
As a Mainz native, his interest in the military and history grew from the relationships he built with local U.S. Soldiers and Airman who were assigned to bases located in the surrounding area. These local area relationships, built over time, fostered his interest in the U.S. military presence in Wiesbaden, specifically Clay Kaserne – once known as Wiesbaden Airfield.
“I was in constant contact with members of the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force due to the various U.S. garrisons stationed around the city at that time,” said Nava.
His history interest was encouraged during his time as a German exchange student attending high school in Wisconsin where he not only furthered his love of history but also discovered a love for America’s greatest pastime – baseball. His love of baseball would continue to grow and be a factor in becoming a founding member of the local German baseball team, the Mainz Athletics.
“I’ve always been interested in historical topics, after all, we can’t understand who we are today, if we don't know, and more importantly understand, where we came from,” said Nava explaining his philosophical approach to his study of history.
A grandson’s search for information
Recently, Nava’s knowledge of local history was put to the test when the grandson of a former World War II-era U.S. Soldier, reached out to the USAG Wiesbaden Public Affairs Office, looking for assistance.
After several emails, the request for information made it to the DPW’s contract housing expert’s desk seeking his help and, if possible – answers.
The WWII veteran’s grandson had found pictures of his grandfather in his late relative’s estate. The grandson knew that his grandfather had been in Wiesbaden during the war, but determining the exact location where the images were taken, based on the surroundings and the background, would be virtually impossible.
(Bottom right) This resourced pictures shows the tribune, were in the top left picture, the U.S. Army unit lined up. (Courtesy photo from MSG Charles J Silko., HQ/HQ Co, 71st Headquarters Command, USAFE)
(Top and bottom left) These Google Earth photo shows today’s perspective and helped Nava confirm where the inquirer's father stayed during his time of service in Wiesbaden. (Courtesy photos from Google Earth) VIEW ORIGINAL
This is where Dominic Nava’s experience and expertise of the local area became essential to the grandson’s hunt for answers.
Awarded by “Monty”
What the grandson found when going through his late grandfather’s estate was an image of his grandfather being decorated by a renowned and, arguably considered controversial, former senior WWII British Army leader.
The specific place and background were unknown to the grandson. The only information he had, was that his grandfather while in Wiesbaden, was decorated for his actions during the war, by British Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery – more commonly known by his nom de guerre “Monty.”
Chasing the breadcrumbs
Nava, while looking at the submitted photos, was able to recognize specific features and facilities in the background and determine the image depicted events taking place on a Wiesbaden sports field.
“You must be passionate about looking for the [bread] crumbs,” says Nava, concerning his love for history sleuthing.
His background as a reality specialist and contracting specialist for the garrison master planning division, meant Nava routinely would spend many hours combing documents and files that often covered over seventy years of U.S. Army history in Wiesbaden.
To determine the exact location where the WWII veteran was honored for his wartime actions, Nava utilized various web-based searches on sites such as Google Earth, looking for clues, like buildings and other landmarks, helping pinpoint the location where the late grandfather was honored by “Monty.”
In addition, sifting through historical photographs, maps, and other documents from the DPW archives, as well as local public information sources – he put the puzzle together.
Nava successfully recognized the specific feature of a facility in the background of one of the photos and immediately knew that it was taken on a local Wiesbaden area sports field.
Answering the questions that connect the dots and sharing the history of Wiesbaden is important and fulfilling to Nava, especially when it links together the local military history with the present.
Connecting the dots on customer service
This isn’t the first historical inquiry Nava has chased down. Nava assisted with another historical photo inquiry in early 2023, involving a small Air Force detachment stationed at Wiesbaden back in the early 1950s and identifying possible locations of a family member in the submitted photos. For this inquiry, Nava once again cross-referenced a combination of archived photos with modern mapping and satellite imagery.
Nava’s historical sleuthing interests earned him widespread recognition among his peers and leadership at an all-hands workforce engagement in April 2023. Nava received a Special Customer Service Act Award from USAG Wiesbaden commander, Colonel David Mayfield, for his impressive dedication to finding the hard answers.
For Nava, his lifelong experience and hobby interests have complemented his higher education qualifications with the U.S. Army quite nicely.
“I laid the foundation for a successful career with the U.S. Army by studying business administration at the University of Mainz. To have a lot of fun here with colleagues from all over the world – it is more important to have a pronounced interest in other cultures and languages.”
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There are many opportunities for local nationals to work for the U.S. military in Germany, and around the world. For those interested in becoming members of the local national workforce visit https://portal.chra.army.mil/mnrs
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