Welcome to my next historical obsession – the 1948-1949 Berlin Airlift.
I was reminiscing about USAF Officer Training School and the introduction to the Air Force’s storied legacy since its birth on 18 September 1947. Since OTS is only a few months, the time spent on any one topic is extremely limited… except for push-ups. They always found a way to have us do more push-ups.
Within the instructional block, one particular operation presented a lot of pride from the early U.S. Air Force to this gaggle of newly minted Officer Trainees – The Berlin Airlift. As described to us, the airlift was *the* litmus test to not-yet-one-year-old military service, and introduced the United States to its World War II Ally turned Cold War adversary, the Soviet Union.
Our instructors hit the high points, using a few of these key words: “Berlin” (Germany, not the small towns in the U.S.), “airlift,” “coal,” “candy,” “candy bomber.” We were told of Major General William Tunner’s planning genius in getting flights in by the minute, delivering supplies to keep the city of Berlin alive.
Additionally, we were introduced to the first modern legend of the Air Force, the exploits of then-Lieutenant Gail Halvorsen, the famed “Candy Bomber,” who dropped candy to the German children living in the ruins and rubble.
And… nothing really.
That brief description above was about the most I could tell you before, during, and after my Air Force career.
As with everything in life, Air Force history keeps going, and the high points are celebrated, the low points ignored (usually), and token efforts to remember the military’s past are brought out at the five-year anniversary points (e.g. 60th, 65th, 70th, 75th).
This 80th Anniversary of the Airlift will be no different.
As mentioned in previous blog posts, I’ve had a interest in history since I can remember. After leaving the Air Force, I kept up with pulling historical tidbits, usually in the form of photographs, to the fore. Writing a book or short articles were enough to keep my interest fed… but I always want to know more.
Cursory research into the airlift proved… and forgive the term… an inch deep and a mile wide. I found so many obituaries, interviews, sound clips, AI-generated videos (grrr…) that each told a small piece of the tale, but not enough to pull a satisfying conclusion from.
So, I did what I do best – ask questions and compile references and information.
I’ll be updating these pages with information curated and cultivated from the references I’ve found. I’ll try not to pull too much from the “historical pond of mediocrity,” that seems to fill social media posts these days. If I do pull from this, I will give you… as Paul Harvey would say… “the rest of the story.”
Each piece of the airlift (and there are MANY) has significance to why this event worked, and became THE turning point of the Twentieth Century.
Yeah, I know… I’m slapping a superlative onto that sentence. But I think I can back it up with facts.
