Mykytyn's work and life celebrated in Germany

Mykytyn was recently featured in an article on the Hanau, Germany Military Community website – which we include below…

Photos and article by Ute Wolf

A visit to the chapel on Pioneer Kaserne on July 25 was a walk down memory lane for Peter and Kathleen Mykytyn.

Peter P. Mykytyn, Jr., professor of management, is a visiting professor at Germany’s RWTH Aachen University this year. He is conducting research on Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in the context of e-commerce and offers two courses to advanced students, to be held in English, namely "Information Systems Management" and "Intellectual Property Issues and E-Business." Mykytyn was recently featured in an article on the Hanau, Germany Military Community website.

After 42 years the former officer and his wife returned to the place, where they had fallen in love and married. This time they brought their three children, daughter in law and three grandchildren.

"Back then, when we got married, my girlfriends said that the marriage wouldn't last because we were so different. I guess they were wrong," said Kathleen.

The two met in March 1965. At the time, Peter was the assistant adjutant for the 8th Transportation Battalion, a helicopter unit. Kathleen was a Department of Defense Dependents School teacher in Hanau.

They got to know each other at the officer's club at Old Argonner Kaserne, where Kathleen said she noticed a young handsome officer looking at her. "He followed me around, but he was really shy and wouldn't say anything. I had to start the conversation and asked him all kinds of questions in order to get him to talk."

After dating for seven months, the couple decided to marry, a decision based partly on the fact that the conflict in Vietnam had begun to boil up and Peter expected to deploy anytime.

The wedding took place at the chapel on Pioneer Kaserne. "We had a celebration at the officer's club on Argonner afterward, where they served us "Bowle" a German alcoholic punch with strawberries. It tasted fantastic," remembered Kathleen.

Peter deployed to Vietnam in 1967. Upon his return in 1968, he left the Army and moved with Kathleen to Baltimore, MD for about 6 months. They then settled in Arizona for about 16 years, where they raised their three children, Peter, Lee Ann and Gregory.

Eventually Peter went back to school in order to get his masters degree and a doctorate. In 1985 he began working as a professor at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Currently both Mykytyns teach in the College of Business at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Peter is a Professor in the Department of Management, and Kathy is a lecturer in that Department.

"We always dreamt of coming back to Germany one day though," said Kathleen. That dream will soon become reality. After going back to the States to pack up, the couple will return to Germany in mid-August in order to live in the city of Aachen for six months.

Peter, who took a sabbatical, plans on working as a visiting professor at RWTH Aachen University. "My grandchildren live nearby in Mons, Belgium, were my son Peter is stationed with the Air Force and we wanted to spend some time with them," he explained.

"We love Germany and the people here. I am very excited about the prospect of living here for a while," his wife Kathleen added.