[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 116 (Tuesday, July 15, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S6715]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BERLIN AIRLIFT

  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I would like to take a moment to praise the 
efforts of the innumerable men and women who contributed to the success 
of the Berlin Airlift as we observe its 60th anniversary this year. The 
Berlin Airlift began in an effort between British and American forces 
to supply a post-WWII West Berlin population with the daily food 
rations necessary to sustain the entire city. In 1948 the Soviets began 
gradually closing down routes to West Berlin; routes by road, rail, and 
water were all eventually closed. Ingeniously, American and British 
commanders discovered the existence of air corridors over West Berlin 
due to a loophole in a 1945 agreement allowing 20-mile air corridors 
therefore providing free access to the city.
  It was concluded that roughly 3,475 tons of daily supplies would be 
needed to sustain the city; the supplies included flour, meat, cereal, 
wheat, fish, milk, potatoes, sugar, coffee, salt, vegetables and 
cheese. The first supplies were dropped to West Berlin on June 26, 
1948, by American C-47 aircraft under the orders of GEN Lucius Clay.
  By April 1949 airlift operations had been running with almost 
flawless efficiency thanks to the perfection of airlift methods by LTG 
William Tunner after the Black Friday incident. Lt. Gen. Tunner decided 
to show the capabilities of his airlift operation to boost morale and 
break the spirits of the opposition at the same time; he decided to 
break any existing tonnage records. On Easter Sunday 1949, 12,941 tons 
of coal had been delivered to West Berlin from 1,138 flights without a 
single accident. This event raised daily airlift tonnage and 
contributed to the downfall of the Blockade. The Blockade officially 
ended May 12, 1949 yet airlift operations continued until September 30 
of that year. In the struggle to supply the citizens of West Berlin 
with daily rations of food, 31 Americans lost their lives thus paying 
the ultimate price for the freedom of others. Mr. President, I would 
like to honor those men who lost their lives as well as all the men and 
women who contributed to the Berlin Airlift. They saved two millions 
lives through their heroic actions and shall never be forgotten.

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