 The latest weapons coupled with the fighting skill of the American soldier stand ready on the alert all over the world to defend this country. View the American people against aggression. This is the Big Picture, an official television report to the nation from the United States Army. Now to show you part of the Big Picture here is Sergeant Stuart Queen. The subject of today's Big Picture is an unusual one. You could say it's the story of two families and of their effects on one another or it might be called the story of a soldier and a girl which is certainly not unusual. What gives today's Big Picture its distinction is the portrayal of our army as it fulfills its functions in the cold war helping to maintain the fragile peace through might and strengthening the bonds of friendship among the free nations of the world through kindness. Our story is called The Friendly Hand. This is Gudrun Pascarvis a resident of the western sector of Berlin Germany. Gudrun is 11 years old. On the very day she was born Berlin was a city condemned. Destruction which had rained from the skies on Warsaw and Amsterdam on London and Coventry now fell with terrible retribution on the capital of the Third Right. From the east and west Russian American French and British troops were closing in on the flaming shell of a once proud city. The ruin and desolation conceived in Berlin and spread throughout Europe to Asia and Africa returned to their source. To this waste and rubble Gudrun Pascarvis had fallen air. In all of her 11 years she was to know no other home in Berlin was to see nothing of the country or of the people beyond the limits of the shattered city. Since war's end Berlin has progressed far toward recovery but what has been achieved was done despite many obstacles. Berlin today is a city divided occupied by Russians American British and French just as Germany itself is divided east opposing west. Lying in the Soviet zone Berlin is an island in unfriendly waters. The Berliner is surrounded by a man-made barrier. Entering Berlin from the eastern zone are travelers with and without papers. Prisoners of war even now being turned loose from Soviet prison camps. Here too are refugees seeking sanctuary in the west. Because the communists control the commercial traffic into the city they are able to ease or exert pressure on Berlin's lifelines in the form of political blackmail. As a result the economic health of the city has been periodically endangered. Those who suffer most are the children of Gudrun Pascarvis generation. They were born in a wreckage not of their own making and are still too young to take a hand in shaping their own futures. Karl's mother is dead. His father is a prisoner in Russia. Sophie is one of eight children. She and her widely scattered family are refugees from the east. Manfred's parents are dead. He and his younger sister live with their grandmother. They sleep on gunny sacks. Peter's father was killed in 1944. His mother is too sick to work. Gudrun's father was killed when she was still an infant. Her only knowledge of him is from a shrine her mother has placed in their living room. Gudrun is one of five children. She lives at home with her mother and a younger brother. Her eldest sister is married. Her 16 year old brother is learning a trade in west Germany. A sister three years older has been placed with another family by a welfare agency. Frau Pascarvis is trying to hold the remaining fragments of her family together with a small income she earns as a clerk in a market. At best Gudrun's life is a bleak one with few entertainments and no luxuries. But her existence and that of thousands of Berlin kinder leiker has been brightened in some measure in recent years by an organization which provides a months vacation each year for as many boys and girls like Gudrun as possible. It's called the friendly hand. The sponsors are the American servicemen in Germany like Sergeant Arthur Dames in his family. This past summer was the first time my wife and I felt we could invite some Berlin child into our home through the friendly hand. From Francis Eckert the committee chairman for Vogelwey we learned that a girl named Gudrun Pascarvis would come to spend a month with us. Later we shortened her name to Goody. The night before she was to leave Berlin was a strange one for Goody. She had never been away from home before and the thought of going away into a home with a different language different customs made her very excited. Her mother knew the trip the vacation would be good for her but she still felt a little uneasy too. What made her feel worst of all though was that she wouldn't be able to see Goody off herself. On account of her job Frau Pascarvis had to ask her sister to see Goody off. The most she could do was make sure Goody had everything she needed neatly packed and tell her to be a good girl. They said their goodbyes the night before Goody left. The friendly hand started giving the kids of Berlin vacations in 1953. That year 150 children went. Last year the number was up to 600 but for every child we could take there were five kids who wanted to go and couldn't. The bus stop where the children boarded was only a few yards from the east zone checkpoint where they had to enter and travel for 110 miles before coming out in the British zone and then head south to the American zone. The barrier between the Berlin sector and the zone is only that wide but sometimes more difficult to navigate than the Atlantic Ocean. Two buses one with Goody on it will head for us in Vogelwe. Two matrons are on each bus and to play safe the buses will travel straight through with the kids eating and sleeping on board. It was raining when the first bus arrived at Vogelwe but it didn't dampen anyone's spirits because this was a big occasion. General Rieber and the band were on hand to greet the kids. Earlier the friendly hand committee made every effort to give the American families the type of child they requested. Some families even listed color of hair and eyes so they'd be like their own children. When Goody finally arrived with her tag and her suitcase she was pretty tired from the trip but she was cheerful all the same. We thought maybe she'd be nervous meeting us all for the first time but we hit it off fine right from the start. We'd always wanted to give a vacation to a friendly hand child but my own family was growing under its own power and we had our hands pretty full until now. When we met at the bus Goody was introduced to my wife Palmer and our son Richard who's eight years old. When we got to the apartment she met Inge our German babysitter and it helped make Goody feel more at home. She also met the youngest member of the Dames family 15 month old Elizabeth Ann. I don't know whether we were just lucky in getting Goody or whether all the other kids from Berlin were the same but I knew no Goody made the transition from Berlin to Vogelwe from mother to Dames family without any trouble. Playing before bed was new to Goody because neither she nor her brother in Berlin had any toys to play with in the house. The first night bedtime was pushed up because of Goody's long bus ride the night before. The snack before bed was also something new. Goody ate well enough at home but that's about all you can say that she ate enough. There never were any extras no rating the ice box between meals. Strictly three meals a day and small ones at that. Cornflake she'd never even heard of before. Ricky has lived long enough in Germany so that he speaks a little and Goody learned a little English in school so between them they were able to hold what you'd call a basic conversation. When we first decided our own family had settled down enough so we could invite a child on vacation we had to take Ricky's feelings into consideration. He said he liked the idea but we knew we'd have to see how he liked having a stranger in the house after she really did arrive. It meant giving up a certain amount of privacy for him but he seemed to feel it was worth it to have someone just about his own age to play with. His own sister was much too small to be a playmate so Goody filled the bill on that score. What amazed me most maybe was the way the two kids who don't even speak the same language have so much in common simply because they're kids. The first night of course no matter how much we tried to make her feel at home had to be a strange one for Goody. At that age it's pretty hard to feel entirely secure when you're so far away from your own mother. When we heard her footsteps from the other room we knew she'd be having trouble getting to sleep but still we didn't want to disturb her. On that first night Goody showed what a thoughtful little girl she was because she knew her mother would be wondering about her tired though she was she decided she'd have to get a letter off to home right away. Dear mother I could not stop thinking about you tonight so I decided to get up from bed and write this letter. The travel from Berlin was long but comfortable sleeping made the time pass. I thought I would be afraid when I would meet the diamonds family but I was not. I like them very much they have two children a boy Richard they call Ricky and a baby girl. Today soon after I came to the apartment house in Vogelve where the diamonds family lives I went out with Ricky and met an American girl who is a friend of Ricky's. She lives in the next building her name is Terry Lee. The first game I learned here is called Hubscotch. It is a nice game you play by throwing a stone in a block and then skipping on one foot after it. I was enjoying playing this game very much when Mrs. Dames called us to come and eat. I didn't mind stop playing because you know how I like to eat. Miss Dames has the kind of a stove you would like very much. It is good she has this stove now because now that I am here she cooks for six people mostly. For the first course we had a good thick soup. Little Elizabeth Ann is a very nice baby everyone calls her baby sis. Engel loves her like her own the way I showed I liked my soup very much made everyone know I like to eat but I will not be a lady mother I promise. Always Ricky likes to eat as much as I do. Baby sis is big enough to sit at a table with us mostly her food goes on the floor though. Ricky told me that the Americans eat heavy at night light at noon but at home we will not call the lunch Mrs. Dames made for us a small meal and the meal you will not believe it that there is all the mirth to drink anytime you want it. After the soup we ate sandwiches a kind I never saw before slices of salami and cheese are in between the bread. Then the bread is toasted on both sides in a butter and a pan I like them very much. Anyone was happy to see me eat so much and Mrs. Dames said I was to eat as much as I wanted maybe I will come home so fast you will not know me. After lunch I went out with Ricky again and we met our friend Terry they taught me to blow bubble gum you know what that is that's chewing gum you can blow air into and big bubble blows upside your mouth. I can blow bigger one than Ricky can now I think by next week I will blow bigger one than Terry can it takes a lot of practice. Fell mother now I should be sleeping in bed I send you all my love and I miss you but I am not homesick not yet. As the days passed we came to know Goody's likes pretty well reading was something she really enjoyed most of the friendly hand kids were shored on the same two things we discovered a knowledge of their own country and clothing. We tried to help her with both during the first couple of weeks we could almost see her growing before our eyes. When my wife made her first new skirt she made it big enough so Goody would get more than a few months wear out of it. So the vacationers from Berlin would keep in touch with their families the friendly hand committee made sure we supplied the kids with stamped envelopes as the week slipped by Goody kept her mother up to date. Mother I told you about the new skirt before but this is something else Mr. and Mrs. Dame said I also need a new pair of shoes so one day we went into Kaiserslautern and then shopping. Remember the shoes I was wearing when I left home they were very very old and getting much too small for me right there in the window I saw a pair of shoes that I wanted most all over the best. Mrs. Dame said I've asked to make my own pick of shoes and so I have them and they are beautiful but the old shoes I have saved and will bring them home with me so we can burn them in the stove to make hot bath water and Sunday morning we all go to the shush except the baby Elizabeth Anne. The Americans all go to the same shush at different times they call the shush the chapel. I like to go to shush not just to pray for you and my father but also because I wear my new dress. Maybe this is not right that I should feel this very shush but it is true. Last Sunday after shush we went on a picnic. We were to go to the Sunday before but it rained so we couldn't. This Sunday the baby was good we went to a beautiful pond which is not far away from Beverly. There was no big crowd of people like in the parks in Berlin so we had all the pond to our cell. I am happy I learned to swim in the pool last year because the water in the pond was deeper than me. I almost forgot to tell you about the boobal bed. I stayed in the tub a long time after his swimming. The damesses came in to make sure I had not gone to sleep. I sink to myself like I do home. The only difference is here I take a bath every night not just Saturday like home. I'm learning many new games but the one I like best is called baseball. It is not like anything we play in Germany. For my team I played a position called shortstop. It is very hard to explain shortstop. I would like to play baseball when I come home but baseball needs space and you cannot play it in a narrow street. When it was my turn to be the better the person who tries to hit the ball I was not sure how to do it but one of the American boys showed me how to swing the stick. The bat. I made one run. Oh I forgot you do not know what one run means. Well anyway it was good for my team. Another time Rikki and I took a walk in the country near a little village called Hohenecken. It was cool and restful in the green woods. Rikki found some kind of a bug in the path. I never saw a bug like that before in all my life. It rained the next day so we could not go out to play so Rikki and I played in his parents room. Rikki found a whole drawer full of silk scarves and jewelry and so we decided to dress up and pretend. I am glad because Rikki and I always like the same kind of games. I put makeup on myself but had to help Rikki's with his. Rikki even had a mustache and beard which I painted on him. Do you know that picture in my book about the Arabian Knights? The one in the front? Well that is what he looked like. He looked like Arabians. When we were all dressed up and with our faces all changed it was very funny. Rikki said I looked like a magic princess and I said I was the queen of Shiba and he was my slave and we both danced. Every Saturday afternoon we go to the movies in Fogelwey. That is the custom. Movies for Rikki and his friends are not a special treat like for me at home. Now I coincide in Dame's daddy. It seems strange to call someone daddy because I cannot even remember saying that name before. I like it though. Goodbye for now. When Goody arrived wearing her leader Hosen with suspenders and t-shirt and close cut hair she looked as much like a boy as a girl. My wife and I decided something would have to be done about that. We wrote to Goody's mother to ask her permission for Goody to have her hair changed and her mother said okay. Of course I wasn't supposed to know anything about it. It was her first trip to a beauty parlor and the change was wonderful to see. There wasn't any question about whether the permanent appealed to Goody but it wasn't just the new hairdo that pleased her. She was happy because I was happy and proud of her. Looking back now I can see why Goody and I felt such a strong attachment for each other. I knew her father died when she was just a baby but I didn't really give much thought to just how much she must have missed him in her young life. The sense of security only a father can give to a little girl. There wasn't a happier soldier in the whole United States Army when I had Ricky perched on one arm and Goody on the other. With the end of her vacation drawing near we kept trying to think of more ways we could please Goody so she'd have nothing but happy memories of her stay with us. Suddenly one day I remembered how delighted Goody had been when she borrowed a pair of blue jeans from Terry Lee. No sooner were her new blue jeans out of the box than I knew this was one of the best surprises she'd had all during her stay with us. There wasn't even time to go into the house to change. She had to get into them then and there which sure tickled Ricky just as her clothes were getting more American every day so was her speech. At first she couldn't understand why American English didn't sound like the English she'd learned in school but gradually she began to get the hang of the language she'd heard around her just as she adapted herself to American clothes and games. On the day before all the kids from Berlin were due to leave for home Goody had a chance to put all the Americans she'd learned into practice. All the friendly hand families in Vogelwe got together and organized a last super picnic. One of the amazing things was the way the Berlin Kinder had changed. You couldn't tell them from our own kids when they were all mixed in together what were their new clothes and the latest American slang. You didn't have to compare notes with the other families to see that the vacation program was a complete success for everyone. The proof was in the faces of the children and the parents both. For the record at the picnic Goody put away seven hot dogs. She counted every one trying to set some kind of record I guess. I don't know how many marshmallows and bottles of soda she put away. At home they talk about how popular American jazz is in Europe. Well someone ought to do a report on hillbilly music too. The Germans love it. Kids and adults. Because this was the last day there was a certain undercurrent of sadness among the parents. But not for the kids. They lived it up to the very end. Even though Goody had a wonderful exciting time with us she never really forgot her own family at home. When it was time to start back for Berlin she was sorry to leave but she was looking forward to seeing her mother and brother again. Because Goody was so sweet and lovable in her own special way it would have been difficult for any family man not to regard her as his own daughter. So it happened that for a month Goody had a real daddy for a while and I had two daughters instead of one. Right at the end we could look back and count the things we've been able to do for Goody. She'd gained nine pounds. She had two pairs of new shoes, five dresses, a lace petticoat, new underwear and blue jeans, a pair of shorts, a ring, bracelet and necklace, a wrist watch and a permanent wave. They weren't much. They weren't anything compared to what we received in return. As a family we grew to love Goody like our own and it wasn't easy to say goodbye. Goody was going back to Berlin. In two weeks my family would be rotating back to the States. Goody had made a big impression on us all even on little Elizabeth Ann. It's hard to realize we may never see her again but we can be thankful for having known her through the friendly hand even for this short period of time. I hope Goody will remember us fondly too. Fortunately a story like the one we've just seen has no real ending at least not for Goody and the Dames. And next year I'm sure there will be more Goodies and more families like Sergeant Dames reliving the same experiences. Now this is Sergeant Stuart Queen inviting you to be with us again next week for another look at your army in action on The Big Picture. The Big Picture is a weekly television report to the nation on the activities of the army at home and overseas. Produced by the Army Pictorial Center presented by the United States Army in cooperation with this station. You too can be an important part of The Big Picture. You can proudly serve for the best equipped, the best trained, the best fighting team in the world today, the United States Army.