Nikolaus Albrecht was a young boy living in Schwaebisch-Hall, a small
town in the middle of Occupied Germany. One day on the way home from
school he witnessed the aftermath of an accident involving a German
motorcyclist who ignored a stop to be killed by a U.S. Army truck.
In the midst of the shouting match between the locals (who resented
the Army of Occupation) and the group of army men, the GI. driver of
the truck noticed the young boy standing there; he threw him a pack
of gum as a gesture of goodwill.
A few years later Nikolaus moves to Portland, Oregon. He eventually
graduates from Willamette Law School. One of his first clients is a
woman whose son is having difficulties finding a job because of a
dishonorable discharge from the U.S. Army for vehicular manslaughter.
It seems he was driving a truck in a small town in the middle of
Occupied Germany, when a motorcyclist fatally ignored a stop sign ...
I would like to quote (from the article in the "Oregon State Bar
Bulletin") their exchange when they met: Nikolaus: "Thanks for the
gum." Ex-GI: "What gum?" Nikolaus: "The gum you tossed when you
stood at this corner, and I caught." After staring at Nikolaus
thinking about the age and the accent, the Ex-GI says, "Only that
little boy would remember that!" and wraps his arms around Nikolaus.
Nikolaus succeeded in upgrading the Discharge. When the Ex-GI wanted
to pay him, Nikolaus replied, "You prepaid with the pack of gum." If
truth is stranger than fiction, it is because it has a better author.
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