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(Bill Neal/Stars and Stripes)

Bosenheim, West Germany, October 1969: Three members of the 8th Infantry Division’s 8th Military Police Company admire the freshly picked grapes on a winery-bound wagon. Several Bad Kreuznach-based MPs decided to help out when a spell of damp weather resulted in a need for the year’s grape crop in the Nahe River area to be harvested quickly, before the fruit spoiled on the vines. The soldiers were paid 2.50 marks per hour, plus two hot meals a day, to pick the grapes and carry them to the wagons; as a bonus, they got a rare inside look at an ancient European industry.

Read Bill Neal’s story on the grape harvest here.

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