DAY 45: Auf Wiedersehen Rhein-Main

Mon, 10 October 2005

Today’s chapter is not related to Afghanistan, but to a past duty assignment of mine – Rhein-Main AB in Frankfurt, Germany. They held a ceremony today to mark the formal closing of this one-time “Gateway to Europe”. As a young airman, I recall passing through the main gate with that phrase emblazoned on a steel sign across the entire entrance. This was my first overseas assignment and I spent two wonderful years here in the 1980s.

In its heyday, Rhein-Main was the main air base where all American G.I.s passed through when entering Europe (except for England). Its history is marked with both special and sad moments: the Berlin Airlift, in which Rhein-Main was the main launching point for this important Cold War airlift in 1948-49; the birth and flourishing of Frankfurt International Airport in the 1950s, which shared the runway with the base; the first bombing in 1985, in which an American civilian was killed; the return of various American hostages from the Middle East during the later 1980s; and finally its rebirth upon the start of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001. Given the success of Frankfurt International Airport as the busiest airport on the European continent, Rhein-Main’s future would draw to a close as its precious land was needed for expansion of this important airway hub. Airlift operations have since transferred to Ramstein and Spangdahlem Air Bases in Germany – about 90 miles southwest of Rhein-Main. But, given the 60 years of history spanning from the Cold War to the Global War on Terrorism, Rhein-Main’s page is now complete.

In April, I stopped by Rhein-Main on my European vacation and was amazed at how much it had already downsized. My memories during my two-year tour were all wonderful – it is here that I grew up and became an adult; where I discovered good German beer; where I made a trip to then communist East Berlin; and where I re-enlisted for the first time knowing I would eventually become a career airman. Alas, a page in history now turns and is gone forever…