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)

FMI: www.af.mil