June 25, 1963 - President Kennedy visited American troops today and then went on to a triumphal reception in Hanau, Frankfurt, and Wiesbaden, West Germany. The crush was so great in Frankfurt that 240 persons fainted. The turnout in the three cities was estimated at one million. Workers, given time off by their factories, displayed signs along the route from a U.S. Army post near Hanau to Frankfurt reading, “Welcome Johnnie.” Others toasted the President’s motorcade with mugs of beer. Before coming to Frankfurt, the President reviewed 15,000 troops picked from U.S. Army and Air Force units in West Germany who were assembled at Fliegerhorst barracks near Hanau. He viewed a weapons show, received a briefing, and had lunch with 15 sergeants. Chief Master Sergeant Ross McEulien of the Air Force said later that Mr. Kennedy had jokingly told the group, “We don’t eat like this at the White House.” The luncheon, prepared in a noncommissioned officer’s mess hall, included grilled steak, baked potatoes, sauteed squash, carrots, cucumbers, and vanilla ice cream.
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