Written by Todd DePastino The Berlin Air Lift of 1948-1949 owed its enormous success not only to the skill, determination, and courage of its air crews but also to good old American hoopla that publicized it. The Cold War, among other things, was a battle of messaging, as the United States and the Soviet
Written by Todd DePastino The Berlin Airlift, which began 75 years ago on June 25, was one of the United States Armed Forces’ finest hours. Children watching a U.S. cargo plane landing at Tempelhof Airfield in Berlin, 1948 (USAF Historical Research Agency) For almost one year, the US Air Force, with the
Written by Todd DePastino All he did was give candy to children. But in doing so, Lieutenant Gail Halvorsen inadvertently launched one of the greatest diplomatic missions of the Cold War. A Douglas C-54 Skymaster dropping candy over Berlin (Museum of USAF) In November 2020, we welcomed the 100-year-old Berlin Airlift hero
Written by Todd DePastino March is Women's History Month, something that would not have been possible during the Cold War, when Women's Day, March 8, was a Communist holiday with radical associations. On our VBC trip to Vietnam in 2018, we checked into our hotel at Halong Bay on March 8. As each woman in
Written by Jim McStay An aerial view of Diego Garcia island, 2013 (USN) In 1973, Navy SeaBees on the tiny island of Diego Garcia faced a crisis. They were hot, dry, and thirsty. One Navy P-3 Orion pilot, Jim McStay, came to their rescue. In 1973, I was a Navy pilot who
Sixty years ago, a U–2 spy plane spotted Intermediate Range and Medium Range Ballistic Missiles on Cuba, triggering an international crisis that brought the world to the brink of nuclear annihilation. This is the story as it unfolded over thirteen days in October 1962. Todd DePastino Nuclear Warhead Bunker Under Construction San Cristobal
