Obernheim-Kirchenarnbach, Germany (dpa) – Hans Joachim Lenhard finds it hard to talk about the Ramstein air show catastrophe in Germany even though it happened 13 years ago.
The 47-year-old was working as a fireman at the U.S Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate state at the time and while dozens died around him and 450 people were injured, he remained physically unscathed.
Lenhard’s suffered injuries too but they were not immediately visible. He started to contrade a variety of ailments and finally lost his job.
“I’m not the man I used to be,” said Lenhard, who is suing the United States government for compensation for the mental repercussions of the disaster, along with more than 80 other people who survived.
On the day it happened, August 28, 1988, Lenhard had started his shift as usual at 8.30 in the morning. He had been working for the Americans for 14 years.
It was a brilliantly sunny day and 300,000 people flocked to see the air show. Disaster struck at 15.45 precisely when three jets of an Italian stunt flying team collided in mid-air, sending one of the planes cartwheeling into the crowd in a ball of flame.
Thirty one people were killed instantly and 36 died later of their injuries in one of the worst ever air show disasters on record.
Lenhard was standing only about 60 metres from the spot where the stricken jet hit the ground. He raced to the scene in his fire engine and battled the flames. With the blaze under control he was detailed to recover the remains of some of those who perished.
“The worse thing was that we had to carry away the charred bodies,” said Lenhard. “I still haven’t got over that to this day.”
For a while afterwards Lenhard carried on as normal but after several weeks he began suffering bouts of sleeplessness which became progressively worse. Lenhard simply could not forget the horrors he had seen and was prescribed tranquilizers by a doctor.
Two years later a U.S. aircraft crashed in the area where the fireman was still a member of the brigade. Lenhard attended but he was overcome at the scene, he couldn’t catch his breath and eventually fell unconscious.
He woke up in hospital and was later sent on a health cure. During the period of recuperation, doctors advised the fireman to find a new career. Lenhard tried other jobs but quickly lost them again, either because the companies closed down or as a result of health problems.
It took a while before Lenhard sought professional advice and in 1997 he went to see the Jatzkos, a husband and wife therapist team which has been counselling 250 Ramstein victims.
“I ought to have done something about it a lot sooner but I didn’t want to rake the whole thing over again,” said Lenhard. At the Central Institute for Mental Health in the southern city of Mannheim, Lenhard was diagnosed as suffering from the traumatic effects of the Ramstein accident.
Sybille Jatzko found Lenhard to be suffering from mental problems ranging from concentration lapses, to panic attacks, depression and general burnout. “The joy just went out of my life,” said Lenhard.
The ex-fireman is not so much interested in payment as gaining some kind of compensation for all he has been through. “It’s not about money.” Lenhard believes it is important “that people know what happened” and that authorities address the aftermath of the disaster.
He thinks spectators at the Ramstein air show were too close to the runway, closer than is allowed at similar events in America. “If the distance had been maintained, it wouldn’t have happened.”
A total of 84 victims are represented by Cologne lawyer Gerhart Baum who says he plans to file the compensation suit. It accuses the U.S. administration of neglecting to ensure that proper safety precautions were in force at the air show. The German government has already paid compensation for physical injury, a total of 32 million marks (15.2 million dollars), to 1,500 plaintiffs.
Not that Lenhard would turn down financial recompense of some kind. “In carrying out my duty I lost my health,” said the 47-year- old with a trace of bitterness in his voice.
Although he suffered about considerable losses in money terms no one ever enquired officially what became of him. Since 1998 he has received a pension as someone no longer able to work but it is not enough to live on.
The meetings with other victims of the catastrophe are a comfort to Lenhard. “There’s nothing better than talking about things,” said the former fireman.
Three times a year between 60 and 100 people gather to recall the day that changed their lives and its aftermath. Most of them are also among those suing the United States.
Realising that one is not alone, is a great help, said Lenhard who admits that his suffering is of a different magnitude to that of people who lost loved ones or ended up divorcing their partners.
“A lot of marriages broke down,” said Lenhard whose relationship was able to take the strain. Many too tried to drown their sorrows in alcohol.
