Forty-nine Berlin Airlift veterans visited Rhein-Main Air Base,
Germany Oct. 13 to recognize the 55th anniversary of one of the end
of the largest humanitarian airlift missions in the history of the
US Air Force.
The visit culminated in a dinner where Lt. Gen. Arthur Lichte,
US Air Forces in Europe vice commander, addressed the more than 170
attendees.
Highlighting the friendship between the United States and
Germany, General Lichte thanked the veterans for their contribution
and effort to help a former enemy become a new friend.
"Tonight we celebrate 55 years of an enduring friendship between
Germany and the United States that has only grown stronger over the
years," General Lichte said. "It is only appropriate that we
commemorate this event here at Rhein-Main, a location that played a
significant role in the legacy of airlift, and where the friendship
that began during the Berlin Airlift continues to this day as we
work together in the (war on terrorism) and transition to what our
forces will look like for the next 50 years."
General Lichte also highlighted the accomplishments of the
veterans.
"When you talk to those who served during the Berlin Airlift
about their accomplishments, you hear phrases like 'I was just
doing my job;' 'We did what we had to do to make it happen;' 'We
worked, worked some more, and we slept when we could,'" he
said.
"People like James Spatafora left his job in a Brooklyn necktie
factory when he was 17 and joined the Air Force as a hydraulics
mechanic," General Lichte said. "He says when he got to Rhein-Main,
there was no such thing as staying in your specialty -- he helped
change props, electricians helped tow planes, and they loved every
minute of it. In his mind, there was nothing heroic about it; they
were just ordinary people living in extraordinary times."
During an afternoon ceremony at the Berlin Airlift Memorial near
here, Col. Bradley Denison, 469th Air Base Group commander, joined
others in laying wreaths to honor the 85 American, German, French
and British servicemembers and citizens who lost their lives in
support of the airlift.
"At the end of the airlift, General (Lucius) Clay said,
'Berliners and their leaders never wavered in the determination of
freedom,'" Colonel Denison said. "Not only did the Berliners not
waver, you did not waver in your mission to support them and built
the foundation for a victory in the cold war. For that we salute
you."
(ANN salutes 1st Lt. Uriah Orland, 469th Air Base Group
Public Affairs, USAF)