Talk:William H. Tunner

The Candy Bombers
To get a better idea of the contributions of William Tunner to the air transport command in WW II and the Berlin Blockade, I recommend the latest book on the Blockade - The Candy Bombers by Andrei Cherny. The book also focuses on the political battles taking place at home and in Europe: Democrats vs Republicans, Truman vs the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the Allies vs the Soviets, and the American vs the Germans. The initial portion of the book is very depressing as the author seeks to explain the depressing atmosphere of the people of Germany and other individuals which later is totally eclipsed by the hope generated by Truman's decision not to abandon Berlin and the success of the Airlift. The stories of the many individuals revealed in this book is at once uplifting and amazing in how simple actions can change perceptions and history. I was one year old when the Blockade took place and never understood its place in history. When I mentioned the book to my mother, tears welled up in her eyes and she said that she remembered "The Candy Bombers." Despite the fact that she is Australian and lived in the U.S. during the event.

William Tunner is the man most responsible for the success of the Airlift and his place in history has been mostly overlooked. In fact, before I edited this page, the Airlift was not even mentioned. Yet, his organizational ability allowed the Allies and the Berliners to successfully resist the Soviet attempts to secure more territory in Europe. Berlin was the final effort of the Soviets to seize more land in Europe, which they had been successfully doing, country by country. The success of the Berlin Airlift supported those who created NATO and the Marshall Plan and was instrumental in Truman's reelection and the formation of the Truman Doctrine. His presence in office in 1950 when the North Koreans invaded South Korean is considered essential to that country's continued independence today. I find it distressing that Tunner's contributions to all of this is forgotten today. Thomas R. Fasulo (talk) 00:30, 12 May 2009 (UTC)