The Tingle family’s long military pedigree inspired Kermit and his brother, who would serve in the Korean War. Kermit would enter the military in 1952 and enlisted in the army. In his early army career, he was stationed in Mainz, West Germany as a member of the 101st airborne; it is here that he would meet his wife Minna Mararethe Niemann.
Margarete, as she would later come to be called, was born in Wittenberg in 1930 and was raised in East Germany. At the end of World War II Russian soldiers ransacked the Niemann home leaving her family financially crippled. This left a lasting impact on Margarete and she escaped from the East to the West in the 1950’s; she came to work for a US army colonel and his family in the Mainz area. In the next few years her sister and father would follow her to Mainz. It was here that Margarete met Kermit Tingle.
Margarete and Tingle had two children while in Germany: Wilhelm and Robert
Margarete, as she would later come to be called, was born in Wittenberg in 1930 and was raised in East Germany. At the end of World War II Russian soldiers ransacked the Niemann home leaving her family financially crippled. This left a lasting impact on Margarete and she escaped from the East to the West in the 1950’s; she came to work for a US army colonel and his family in the Mainz area. In the next few years her sister and father would follow her to Mainz. It was here that Margarete met Kermit Tingle.
Margarete and Tingle had two children while in Germany: Wilhelm and Robert