Eric the Red: USO guide legendary among U.S. community tourgoers

By Jennifer Clampet (USAG Wiesbaden)May 25, 2010

Eric the Red: USO guide legendary among U.S. community tourgoers
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Eric the Red: USO guide legendary among U.S. community tourgoers
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WIESBADEN, Germany - His name is legendary - passed down from a chance meeting with a charismatic American president.

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His biting humor gives a refreshing take on old traditions.

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And his sparkling blue eyes invite even the most hesitant of newcomers to step outside the gates of U.S. military bases in Germany to explore unfamiliar ground.

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Erich Posdzich - Eric the Red to those who have ever scanned the list of Rhein Main USO tours - has spent the last 55 years countering the American experience in Deutschland with some sips of flavor, gulps of "GemAfA1/4tlichkeit" and bites of old-fashioned German grub.

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Legend behind the name

Eric the Red is not an allusion to Posdzich's demeanor as a conquering Viking of the Rheingau region.

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His story is more of the stuff of which Hollywood movies are made.

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In 1963 the 29-year-old Posdzich waited in a room at the General Von Steuben Hotel in Wiesbaden standing in line with a handful of other hotel employees.

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They waited to shake hands with their VIP guest.

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When Posdzich made his own introduction, the visitor stumbled with the last name - a Polish surname that demands emphasis of every consonant.

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But without hesitation President John F. Kennedy smiled, and, according to Posdzich, said, "I will never remember that name. Let me call that man Eric the Red."

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And so, the stand-in barber for JFK during the presidential stay in 1963 Wiesbaden carried the new title like a badge of honor. And into the decades that followed, even as Posdzich's trademark red hair turned gray and his 33-year career as a barber with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service ended, Eric the Red blazed a trail among American service members.

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Today, emails trickle in from retirees and veterans wondering, "Is this really the Eric the Red' Are you still alive' And are you up for showing me your Germany when I come to visit'"

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"I get tears in my eyes when my wife says there is another email," said Posdzich. A,A

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Wine tasting anything but dry

For more than 20 years, Posdzich has worked as a wine tour guide for Rhein Main USO tours. And for almost five decades, Posdzich has dedicated his time to showing Americans the real Germany - from Fasching-themed celebrations to an organized Stammtisch.

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"In your special and unique way you have touched the lives of more souls than you yourself are probably aware of," wrote Frank Cuomo, then tours manager for the Rhein Main Area USO, in an April 2001 letter of appreciation. "I am convinced that the name and memory of Eric the Red will live in the hearts and minds of many long after you and I are both gone."

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Posdzich, now a 76-year-old great-grandfather, says traditions in Germany are dying out. And while the younger generations flock to the trendy sidewalk cafes in the big cities, Posdzich hangs back.

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He likes to tell the story of his first taste of wine - an introduction waged by his grandfather at a wine bar when Posdzich was still a fussy, suckling child.

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In 1973, Posdzich made his love of wine official with a diploma from the German Wine Institute in Mainz. And still today, Posdzich prefers the small wine bars and pubs that offer history and a regular's table or Stammtisch.

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"It was a place to go ... it was where all the news came together at this table," said Posdzich explaining the history of the German Stammtisch. "It kept the neighborhood together. It was a place to make peace."

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In 1977 Congressman Eklwood H. "Bud" Hillis of Indiana wrote to thank Posdzich for his introduction to the German "GemA^aEURctlichkeit" - the atmosphere in a cozy place where one feels most comfortable.

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It's a word that Posdzich claims as the most interesting in the German language but one that in meaning is slowly dying out in Germany. Posdzich fights to keep it alive.

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You're in Germany; have a Schnitzel

How hard it is, Posdzich pondered aloud about Americans who stop at every fast food place in the Rheingau region and think that's a cultural experience.

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Why not a small restaurant' A little pub or even a wine bar'

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The self-professed Rheingauer can't understand the hesitancy to embrace the German culture.

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"America has the best beef, but we have the best pork," said Posdzich as he sat in his Eltville home - a display of beer steins and wine glasses lining one wall. "We always know where they make the best Schnitzel and the best Bratwurst."

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Why not embrace it'

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Since Posdzich first opened his barber shop through AAFES in 1955 with one chair in Wiesbaden Schierstein, he has embraced Americans - their culture, their language and their people. Why not, then, expect the same from them'

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A dash of America in a mix of German

One need only look as far as Posdzich's patio that overlooks an "American type" backyard complete with a barbecue area and neatly trimmed turf to see how America has influenced his life.

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His career as a barber is sprinkled with historical American moments. In 1978 Posdzich helped with the organization of a military celebration inclusive of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and a visit by U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

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His barber shop was responsible for cleaning up the American hostages freed from Tehran, Iran, in 1981.

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And every decade brought him another batch of American service members to invite to the Stammtisch and enjoy the good times.

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"I started making my friendships at the barber chair," he said. "They always knew I was the right man to know where the good places for food were or where the good festivals are."

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But despite his amazing grasp of the American culture and the English language, Posdzich still struggled with understanding one word "inimitable."

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Cuomo, the USO tours manager, had used it to describe Posdzich.

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"It means unmatched, impossible to imitate or copy," Cuomo wrote in his letter of appreciation to Posdzich. "It is my best way of describing you."

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Stop by a USO Office in Wiesbaden to find out about upcoming Eric the Red tours.

Related Links:

Rhein Main Area USOs

Herald Union Online