This Military Service Page was created/owned by
AB Raymond Guinn
to remember
Edwards, Edmund Barber ("Ben" ), Brig Gen USAF(Ret).
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Contact Info
Home Town San Antonio, Texas
Last Address Fort Belvoir, Fairfax County, Virginia
Date of Passing Dec 06, 2003
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Wall/Plot Coordinates Section 34, Site 4132
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Berlin Airlift (East Gemany)
From Month/Year
June / 1948
To Month/Year
September / 1949
Description Western Allies organized the Berlin airlift (26 June 1948 – 30 September 1949) to carry supplies to the people of West Berlin, a difficult feat given the size of the city's population. Aircrews from the United States Air Force, the British Royal Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and the South African Air Force flew over 200,000 flights in one year, providing to the West Berliners up to 8,893 tons of necessities each day, such as fuel and food. The Soviets did not disrupt the airlift for fear this might lead to open conflict.
By the spring of 1949, the airlift was clearly succeeding, and by April it was delivering more cargo than had previously been transported into the city by rail. On 12 May 1949, the USSR lifted the blockade of West Berlin. The Berlin Blockade served to highlight the competing ideological and economic visions for postwar Europe.