SPRINGFIELD, Missouri (KY3) – The U.S. Army celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift this summer in Wiesbaden.

Missouri President Harry S. Truman faced a crisis in the late 1940s when the Soviet Union cut off all ground transportation to West Berlin. The blockade meant that the citizens of West Berlin would quickly run out of food and supplies. Truman decided that the United States would not abandon the people of West Berlin.

“It does not appear that Truman, President Truman, who had to make the decision, ever considered the possibility of giving up and withdrawing from West Berlin,” explained Randy Sowell, archivist at the Harry S. Truman Library. “He was convinced that this would be a disastrous course of action, not only for the Berliners in West Berlin, but for the future of Europe and the future of West Germany.”

We also talked about the man known as the Candy Bomber and his visit to the Truman Library and Museum. Hear in the video why the man started dropping candy from American planes.

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