Speeches
Berlin Airlift Memorial, Frankfurt International Airport
Ambassador William R. Timken, Jr.
Frankfurt
June 26, 2008
As prepared for delivery.
Thank you Minister-President Koch, for the hospitality and friendliness of the great State of Hesse.
Dr. Bender, Lord Mayor Roth, the world-class city of Frankfurt and this tremendous international airport deserve high praise for hosting this commemorative event. It is only fitting that Frankfurt and its International Airport, one of the great transportation and finance centers in the world, should host this event.
The blockade of Berlin was triggered by the Soviet effort to prop up a failing East German puppet government. Politically and economically, one of the most important effects of the Airlift was that it enabled West Germany to become a free, democratic state and the powerhouse of Europe's recovery, an industrial giant that ultimately helped bring about the reunification of Germany, Europe and the elimination of Cold War division.
The flags you see flying above us make it clear that the Berlin Airlift was a joint operation of the Western Allies. The Airlift played a big role in eventually bringing Germany itself into that Alliance. Berlin became a symbol of freedom and the struggle to preserve common civic values.
Defense Minister Jung, Lord Mayor Roth, Dr. Bender, Gail, Gen. Schneiderhan, Gen. Johnston, General Hunzeker, we've all just had the great pleasure of flying up from Wiesbaden, from the original airfield where it all started on June 26, 1948, in that great vintage DC-3 airplane sitting over there on the tarmac. It is basically the same aircraft as this C-47 "Skytrain" right here [to left of podium], the kind of airplane that carried the bulk of the load during the first months of the Airlift.
I think I speak for everyone here in expressing our gratitude to our special guests, the people who made all this happen in the first place -- the veterans of the Berlin Airlift.
You made the Berlin Airlift one of those great uplifting events in history that moved the world in a better direction. Our solemn respect goes to your friends and colleagues whose names are on this monument, British and American pilots and crew who made the ultimate sacrifice doing their duty.
I would like to make special note of the presence of German veterans of the Airlift here today. Without the plain hard work of loading, unloading, and maintaining aircraft and building and keeping up facilities, the work of the pilots and crew who flew these aircraft could not have succeeded. The Airlift brought Germans and former enemies together, working hand in hand to keep the lifeline open to their fellow Germans in Berlin. Today we honor them and all the veterans of the Berlin Airlift for their unparalleled service for a cause whose ultimate success lives on today, 60 years later.
The Berlin Airlift was a key event in forging the strong postwar relationship between the United States and Germany. I am pleased to see so many young people here today. It is important that you carry on that partnership.
In a little over a week, we will celebrate another important milestone in the story of German-American relations. On Pariser Platz, only a few meters away from the Brandenburg Gate, where a wall once divided Germany and the world, the new United States Embassy will be officially dedicated on July 4, Independence Day, my country's most important holiday. The new Embassy is further proof that the special bonds between our countries, which the Berlin Airlift did so much to create, are as strong as ever. Working together, we can and will keep it that way.
Thank you.
