Ramblings From the Ragged Crumbling Edge Of The Reality-Based Community

Thursday, June 26, 2008

When We Were Good Guys 

...I'm suffering a bit from outrage overload tonight and I just don't want to think about all the bad crap for a little while. What I have decided to think about is those times back before the Republican party managed to get its hands on all the levers and make it necessary to travel abroad with a handsome supply of "I'm From Canada"-themed apparel. One of those times officially commenced - with not very much anniversary fanfare, I notice - 60 years and two days ago with the commencement of the effort to break the Soviet blockade of Berlin with an airlift of critically-needed humanitarian supplies...

What I really want to think about tonight is "Uncle Wigglywings" and "Operation Little Vittles", which began with a bit of insubordination by Air Force C-54 pilot Gail Halvorson. His commanding officer, displaying the sort of hide-bound conservatism that is readily recognizable to anyone who has worked in either civilian or military organizations, was tremendously displeased by the publicity of Halvorson's little operation, but airlift commander Lt. General William H. Tunner found it to be a wonderful stroke of business and encouraged an expansion of Halvorson's 'candy bombing'...

The historical importance of Halvorson's actions have slipped out of the American memory bank, to the point that a gently nudging reminder needed to be administered this morning on NPR. In Germany, however, he is something of a national hero. Operation "Little Vittles" may have been, at root, a big-time propaganda campaign, but Col. Halvorson didn't start doing what he was doing because of that, nor did the thousands of Americans who contributed to the operation do so for propaganda reasons. They did it because that's what citizens of the United States did, just because, without consideration of motives. That spirit is still common at a lot of places on the ground in the United States today, but it isn't who we are perceived to be as a nation anymore....so, just for tonight, I want to reflect back with fond wistfulness back on the days when it was...
Posted by: Jack K. / 7:51 PM

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