ABOUT ME:
My name is Karl-Wilhelm Welteke, I am a German-American, served in the U.S. Navy 30 years plus and live now in the Philippines with my family. Because of my background and service in the U.S. Navy I saw much of the world and was witness to some world events. This web page is about what I saw and what I have experienced.
1942 was my birth year, my home was in the village of Tempel, Kreis (county) Oststernberg East Brandenburg. This area is east of the post WWII Oder-Neisse borderline and with all the other Germans, we fled west before the Red Army or were driven out in the summer of 1945.
My father, drafted into the Volkssturm went missing in the Battle of Berlin and is declared dead. My mother and 3 children ended up near the River Elbe in Lower Saxony, I was the oldest with almost 3 years. I had 8 years of basic education and took up farming for 3 1/2 years as an apprentice and journeyman
My mother arranged our immigration into the U.S.1959, I joined the U.S. Navy 1960 and then retired in the Philippines in 1991. My stories in this webpage are about the Philippines, my military life, the U.S., Germany and other places in this world. History brought me to the U.S. and the Philippines and it formed my life, so all my stories have a history angle to them. Enjoy!