100th Birthday of Gail S. Halvorsen

Berlin ist meine zweite Heimat!

April 30, 2020

To Governing Mayor Müller and my dear friends in Berlin,

Although our movements are restricted this year and the annual Luftbrücke commemoration will not take place at Tempelhof, our thoughts and the gratitude in our hearts know no boundaries. 

At this anniversary of the Berlin Airlift on May 12, I wish to send my deep gratitude to the German people and to the Berliners especially. The overriding heroes and heroines of the Airlift had to be the Berliners—men, women and children. Without their knowledge of what freedom meant and their indomitable spirit and principled response, the Airlift would have surely failed. They were the ones that went home at night to bomb-damaged rooms without lights, heat, or enough to eat. 

At the beginning of the blockade the Berliners consciously postponed the return to an easier life for something better later. They gave meaning to our efforts. We remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to feed a former enemy--they gave their lives that others might live. May we never forget these sacrifices and the great effort given by Berliners and Allied friends to keep Berlin free. 

With deep gratitude, 

Gail S. Halvorsen, Berlin Candy Bomber

Video Message:

Special greetings from the United States  to Berlin. 

In these difficult times of COVID-19 we cannot meet in person to celebrate and remember the anniversary of the end of the Berlin Airlift 71 years ago on May 12, 1949. We remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice and gave their lives for a former enemy.

We can’t meet in person in these special times, but building bridges and strong ties is more important than ever. 

I remember flying into West Berlin in 1948 after the War, as a pilot in the Berlin Airlift—Die Luftbrücke.  How could 2 1/2 million people live in such devastation? I saw a city in need of food and freedom. We could help with both. I saw Berliners who were resolved to live on thin rations in order to preserve their freedom. Today Berlin is the beautiful capital of Germany—a free city. 

I encourage young people to continue to build bridges worldwide, especially between the US and Berlin. We are friends, we need each other, and must reach past politics to our shared humanity.

Berlin ist meine zweite Heimat! Thank you.