Seeds of 56-year marriage planted during Berlin Airlift

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jeremy Larlee
  • Air Force Print News
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AFPN) --  Retired Lt. Col. James and Ellie Spatafora possess a unique answer to a common question couples are quizzed about.

When asked where they met, they answer that the seeds of their 56-year marriage were planted during the historic Berlin Airlift.

The couple was able to catch up on old times with friends during a Berlin Airlift plaque dedication at Veterans Memorial Park here Oct. 4. More than 150 people attended the dedication, which was one of numerous events held during the weeklong reunion of the Berlin Airlift Veterans Association.

The Berlin Airlift was a 15-month humanitarian mission spearheaded by American forces. Three years after the end of World War II, supplies could not to be delivered by land or sea because the Russians were blocking those routes. From June 1948 to September 1949, more than 2 million tons of essential supplies were delivered by aircraft to Germans in West Berlin. 

The tense situation was caused by disagreements in how to govern Germany following the war. The situation intensified the growing Cold War between the United States and Russia.

Colonel Spatafora arrived at Rhein-Main Air Base in Germany in the summer of 1948 to support the mission. As a hydraulics specialist in the rank of airman first class, the Brooklyn, N.Y., native said he remembers he often had the dirtiest uniform of any Airman on the flightline following a shift.

He noticed that even when his uniform was clean he could not get it as neatly pressed as the radar operators. He asked the operators about their uniforms, and they shared with him that they took their uniforms to a dry cleaners off base and invited him along on their next trip.

At the dry cleaners one of his friends introduced him to Ellie, who had a job there. She grew up in East Prussia in Germany and had seen the war firsthand. The two married Dec. 24, 1949.

She said she believes the American efforts were essential to the transformation of Germany into a better place.

"The Americans did a great job there," she said. "I have done a lot of volunteer work in my life because I feel indebted to what this country has done."

Colonel Spatafora said it was the most important mission of his 30-year career and that he is grateful he had a chance to contribute to it.