Posted on 06/25/2023 4:46:03 AM PDT by MtnClimber
The battle between communism and freedom has many chapters, from people jumping The Berlin Wall to Mariel, Cuba in 1980. I saw the ugly face of communism as a boy, when my father's cousin was thrown in jail for publicly denouncing Castro. He was arrested in 1961 and released in 1975. Never had a trial, and forget about anybody reading him his Miranda rights. They don't do that in communist countries.
We remember a great moment from the 20th century, or the day that U.S. and U.K. planes began dropping supplies to the people of West Berlin isolated by the USSR blockade. The Soviets were trying to break the back of the residents of West Berlin. Instead, they met a resolute President Truman, who would not allow the Soviets to get away with it.
Eventually, the planes started to drop more than food and heating oil. At some point, the pilots saw kids and returned with something for them. Those men came to be known as "the candy bombers." They dropped candy for the children in their supply bags
One of the pilots was Colonel Gail S. Halvorsen (1920–2021). This is his story:
After the United States entered World War II following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Halvorsen trained as a fighter pilot and served as a transport pilot in the south Atlantic during World War II before flying food and other supplies to West Berlin as part of the airlift. According to his account on the foundation's website, Halvorsen had mixed feelings about the mission to help the United States' former enemy after losing friends during the war. But his attitude changed, and his new mission was launched, after meeting a group of children behind a fence at Templehof airport.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Governor DeSantis implemented an education mandate requiring that the history of communism be taught in all public schools in Florida.
In Germany, have gone down in history as the "Rosinen-Bomber" (the "raisin bombers").
Regards,
Remember when Bill Clinton Mentioned Gail Halvorson in a speech and told what a great hero SHE was?
These days they’d be dropping lithium batteries and solar panels.
The guy who initially organized the Berlin Airlift was none other than Old Iron Pants, Curtis Lemay. Took him two days.
45 minutes of instruction every November.
Color me underwhelmed.
My Dad was a Flight Engineer on a C-54 during the Berlin Airlift, including the the Candy Bombing runs. Other than that He wouldn’t talk much about WWII.
Thank you for mentioning that. I've been searching the internet for audio or video of that event. Not a trace.
Salute to: "Uncle Wiggly Wings".
Let me add my recommendation; I've read Candy Bombers several times. If you're ever driving or flying in the Florida Keys, stop at the EAA Air Museum at Marathon airport. We have a comprehensive display of photos and printed material about the Berlin Airlift.
We have had visitors from Germany who remember the Airlift, and have seen it in school history classes.
I was stationed at Tempelhof 3/73 to 3/75. Lt. Col. Halvorsen was the base commander when I got there and I marched in his change of command ceremony when he left in 74 (February as I recall). Great memories.
Finally, on May 12, 1949, the Soviets realized the blockade was futile and lifted their barricades. The airlift continued for several more months, however, as a precaution in case the Soviets changed their minds.
the restored Doglass C-54, is parked near my hangar in Elizabeth City, N.C.. It was Coal, not Oil. This particular C-54 was used in the Berlin Airlift. As the modern group of caretakers were going through the aircraft, coal dust was found was found inside the belly areas underneath the floor boards. The aircraft logs & maintenance records also indicate it was used in those vital life saving missions.
A wet dream for our 'intelligence' thugs and goons... and Merrick Garland's filth.
All the photos of my dad in Korea were of him surrounded by smiling chocolate-covered faces kids.
That’s pretty much what he answered when I asked what he did in the war and my grandma sent him boxes of candy constantly., thinking he was eating it all.
Come to find out years later, what he really did was drive ordnance trucks to the front lines.
He saw things and did things but all he talked about was how much the little kids loved to get candy every time his delivery from grandma arrived.
I miss him so much, especially now.
history
Weren’t they also called “Der Schokolade flieger(sp?).
Look at the writing on the hull of the airplane in post #9. It's partially obscured, but obviously reads, "Rosinen-Bomber."
In more than four decades in German, always talking with older folks about their war experiences, I've never encountered any expression other than "Rosinen-Bomber." (However, I'll confess that, lately, there's almost no one left with clear memories of that era.)
My son's schoolbook likewise mentions "Rosinen-Bomber."
Me-thinks moderns can't imagine how vital simple foodstuffs like multi-purpose raisins would have been back then, and in contrast how impractical chocolate would have been (like airlifting caviar into a famine area), so in their minds they substitute something fancier.
The expression "Rosinen-Bomber" - while not exactly a play on words - is also reminiscent of the familiar expression "Korinthen-Kacker" (which has an entirely different meaning).
Regards,
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