European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 8, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday August 8, 1991 j the stars and stripes a Page 3u.s. To take off from Tempelhof Anchor of Berlin Airlift to lose presence Byke Clauson Bremerhaven Bureau no air base in the world symbolizes american foreign policy of the past 45 years As much As Tempelhof Central Airport in Berlin. W a Anchor of the Berlin Airlift that saved the Western half of the City from a soviet stranglehold just after world War ii the base has represented americans commitment to a free Germany. The . Air Force has maintained a presence at the base from1945 through the cold War. Now that Germany is United arid Berlin no longer divided the american military is withdrawing from the City. The Pentagon announced last week that the air Force will be gone from Tempelhof by june 1993. The . Air Force uses Only half of the Airport. The rest is taken up by Small commuter airlines and the City aviation administration. The main . Unit is the 7350th air base group which includes the 7350th communications so the squadrons main Mission is support of the Allied Berlin air rout traffic control Center based at Tempelhof. A your role has turned from being an occupier to being a guest in Berlin a said col. Gary l. Lindner commander of the 7350th air base group and Tempelhof Central Airport. A there is a lot of emotional feeling on the part of the older generation of berliners. There Are still a lot of people who attach their survival to the presence of the americans in Berlin.�?�. When the 750 american airmen and 150 . Civilian employees do pull out they expect to leave behind some of the 58 air Force air traffic controllers who work with German British and French controllers in the Center coordinating air traffic in Eastern Germany. The German government has requested the Allied controllers stay on until the shortage of German controllers can be made up according to staff sgt. Michael land a base spokesman. Aside from its Berlin Airlift role Tempelhof Central Airport is Best known for its massive terminal and hangar building. The Airport grounds however have been the site of aviation activity for decades Ever since the Wright Brothers demonstrated their newfangled flying machine Here in 1909. By the 1920s, Tempelhof was a bustling commercial Airport. A decade later it was logging nearly 100 air plane arrivals a Day. The present terminal was built in the late 1930s by the nazis in the massive style used for monuments to themselves. Although never completed it was intended to be the largest building in the world. Its size still ranks behind Only three others one of which is ironically the Pentagon. The others Are the Chicago Trade Center and the Johnson space Center in Houston. Designed to represent an Eagle in flight the buildings hangar wings stretch three quarters of a mile from tip to tip. It encompasses 3 million Square feet of floor space and 5,000 offices mostly underground and a 15-mile Maze of maintenance tunnels according to Ludwig Turba assistant to the base civil Engineer. During world War ii the massive hangars were con German children and adults watch from a Heap of rubble As a . C-54 a a Raisin bomber lands in 1949. There Are still a lot of people who attach their survival to the presence of the americans in Berlin.1 a col. Gary l Lindner commander of the 73501h air base group and Tempelhof Central Airport Vertex to an aircraft factory. Parts were brought in by truck and train and completed warplanes flown out Turba said., Tempel hops moment in the worlds postwar spotlight was during the 15-month Berlin Airlift in 1948-49. The soviets had imposed a land blockade attempting to starve West Berlin into submission but the american and British air forces flew 2.3 million tons of food Coal and other supplies into the City during the now legendary a operation  at the operations Peak the Stream of aircraft was so it is Quot a. Quot a  a a fran a tums k View of the Tempelhof Central Airport Complex at Berlin As seen from the air in 1971 dense that planes landed virtually on top of each other one hardly Clearing the runway before the next touched Down. An american Pilot would later term the Airlift a a american a finest  berliners Eal cd it the a Luft Briick a or air Bridge. A soaring Monument representing one end of the Bridge arcs Westward from in front of the Tempelhof terminal a its counterpart arcs eastward from the airlifts other terminus at Rhein main a near Frankfurt. Together they memorialize the 77 pilots ground crewmen and civilians who died during the operation. Civilian aviation returned to Tempelhof shortly after the Airlift. It served As West berlins Only commercial Airfield until 1975 when the much larger Tygel Airport was opened. A spokesman for berlins aviation administration said Tygel is operating at full capacity and Tempelhof is still needed for commuter airline overflow. For some people Tempelhof is More than just a place to work. A i love Tempelhof a said Turba 44. A my whole working life has been  he was first hired by the americans As a 18-year-old Cook in 1965 before shifting later to the civil engineering department. He Speaks passionately about temp Elofs historical significance and about How much he wants to stay after the americans leave. A if i would have to leave one Day it would Hurt me a lot. Its like my Home a he said. A i know everybody who has Ever been working Here is still very attached to  he admitted being saddened by the americans withdrawal announcement. A i really hate to see them All go. We be always had very close relations but my main concern is for those people who should have continuous employment whose jobs   when the americans leave control of the entire facility initially reverts to the German government but the debate continues As to what its future should be. There Are proposals to comic Mically develop the nearly 900 acres of open land. Others want to build apartments. And still others want to turn the area into a Park. But since Tempelhof will be needed As an Airport for years to come Turba said there will naturally be a need for the facility a engineers who run the heating water and Power plants and maintain the buildings. A even local nationals who left for better paying jobs in the City always had one tear in their Eye when it was time to leave a he said. A i Hope i find a Way to stay