The AlabamaGermany Partnership (AGP) is searching the state of Alabama for Berlin Airlift Veterans to be honored on Friday, February 27, 2009 at the Southern Museum of Flight in Birmingham at the 60th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift exhibition. The 60th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift which began June 24, 1948 and ended on May 12, 1949, is being celebrated in Birmingham at the Southern Museum of Flight from February 27 – March 14, 2009.
Veterans from the Berlin Airlift Association have been located in Mobile, Daphne, Fairhope, Montgomery, Auburn, Pike Road, and Birmingham. Many Alabama veterans departed from Brookley Field in Mobile for the Berlin Airlift, but have spread out across the state. In order to invite these veterans, the AGP needs to contact them by January 22, 2009. If you or someone you know is a veteran of the Berlin Airlift, please contact the AGP office at 205-943-4772 or via email at: director@alabamagermany.org.
The AlabamaGermany Partnership was founded in 1998 to foster ties and serve as a resource for members and others interested in a strong business and cultural relationship between Alabama and Germany. For additional information please visit www.alabamagermany.org.
Quick Facts: Called one of the greatest feats of aviation history, over 2.3 million tons of supplies were flown into Berlin over a period of 10 months. After World War II, Germany was divided into four sectors controlled by England, France, the United States and Russia. The capitol city of Berlin, located in the Russian sector, was divided in half with Russia in control of the east, and the others, of the west. In June 1948, Russian military closed off all roads to Berlin, thereby cutting off all ground supplies to the city.
Rather than fight a ground war to open the roads, the United States Air Force began flying in supplies. “Airplanes took off every three minutes, around the clock. They maintained that interval throughout the 170-mile (274-kilometers) flight, not veering an inch from the prescribed route, speed, or altitude. When they arrived in Berlin, they were allowed only one landing attempt. If they missed it, they had to transport the load back to base. When each plane landed in Berlin, the crew stayed in the plane: a snack bar on a wagon gave them food, and weathermen arrived in jeeps with weather updates. As soon as Germans unloaded the last bit of cargo, the plane would take off. “
Russia opened up the roads a year later and the last supply plane landed on September 30, 1949. (Source: The Daily Document)
From the Archives — originally published on the Opelika Daily News on January 16, 2009. View the original page.
