Berlin Airlift remembered as key moment in Cold War

BERLIN (AP) — Berliners on May 12 celebrated the 70th anniversary of the day the Soviets lifted their blockade strangling West Berlin in the post-World War II years with a big party at the former Tempelhof airport in the German capital.

Among the invited guests of honor was 98-year-old US pilot Gail Halvorsen, who dropped hundreds of boxes of candy on tiny parachutes into West Berlin during the blockade. Halvorsen came to Berlin from Utah with his two daughters on Friday, the German news agency dpa reported.

On May 11, a baseball field at Tempelhof airport was named after him — “Gail S. Halvorsen Park — Home of the Berlin Braves” — in honor of his help for Berliners during the Cold War.

Dressed in a military uniform, Halvorsen told Berlin Mayor Michael Mueller that “it’s good to be home.”