Berlin Airlift

Thank you for bringing back memories of that time in my childhood when the droning of U.S. planes meant survival to us citizens locked into Berlin (June 28). As children we watched those planes overhead with hearts pounding, hoping to catch a “shmoo.” Yes, you heard right, one of the magical animals out of Li’l Abner cartoons that could change into anything one would wish it to be. For those lucky ones who caught a shmoo, it represented a trade-in for a CARE package. I never did catch this white, ghost-shaped balloon, but had fun looking for them. I would like to know who dreamt up this idea, bringing so much joy to us--as much as the magic of handkerchief parachutes laden with candies did.

The U.S. planes meant life and freedom and a victory without guns over the Russians. But there was an irony in watching these planes with joy that was not lost on my mother’s generation. She and others had watched U.S. planes with terror in their hearts when bombs rained out of the sky. What a wonderful and sweet coda these planes represented to the bitterness of war.

KAREN FINELL, Santa Barbara

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How can you write an in-depth story of the airlift without even mentioning the man who did it--President Harry S. Truman? In the words of Truman biographer David McCullough, “The Berlin Airlift was about to become one of the most brilliant American achievements of the postwar era and one of Truman’s proudest decisions.”

SID KARSH, La Canada Flintridge