THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Berlin Airlift Ends | September 30, 1949

“WE STAY IN BERLIN, PERIOD!”
– President Harry S. Truman

SEPTEMBER 30, 2024, marks the 75th anniversary of the end of the Berlin Airlift, America’s first major test of resolve during the Cold War and one of the largest humanitarian aid missions in history. Read More

Miracle in Berlin

By David Von Drehle
Washington Post deputy opinion editor and columnist 

The fall of the Berlin Wall in November of 1989 marked an epoch in world history. It signaled the end of the Cold War and a victory of free societies over totalitarianism. But that day would never have come without the resolute decision of Harry S. Truman to save an outpost of freedom in Berlin four decades earlier. And Truman’s decision would not have been possible without the strength of the U.S. aircraft industry to deliver on his promise. This partnership produced a transformative event in aviation history, when, against all odds, a major city was entirely supplied by air for more than a year.  Read More