A historic stained glass window from the Rhein-Main Air Base chapel now hangs in the passenger terminal here.

The window commemorates the U.S. servicemembers who died during the Berlin Airlift, which lasted from June 1948 through September 1949.

The Rhein-Main chapel closed Aug. 2 and the window transferred here. The Air Force will return the base to the German government in December.

“Just as Rhein-Main was the logistics hub for winning the Cold War, so too has Ramstein become the hub to win the global war on terrorism,” said Col. Jeff Derrick, 723rd Air Mobility Squadron commander.

“Transplanting that window from there to here is symbolic of that relationship,” he said.

The Rhein-Main Airman’s club donated the window, which is 8 feet in diameter and made of 1,500 individual hand-cut pieces of glass held together with 3,000 soldering points.

Karl Lutz designed the memorial, and it was produced under the supervision of master glass artist H. Weissenrieder of Offenbach, Germany.

During the airlift, called Operation Vittles, pilots from Allied bases in Germany delivered more than 2 million tons of supplies to the starving residents of Soviet-blockaded Berlin. After more than 275,000 flights, the Allies were able to save the city and force the Soviets to lift the ground blockade.

The pattern of the window symbolizes the airlift. The abstract man on the left panel represents the American people. Two figures on the right symbolize a woman and child for whom the Americans gave their lives.

The design in the background looks like a wall representing the blockade. Birds were used to represent the airplanes, which supplied the cutoff city with necessities. Also, along the bottom of the memorial are the bodies of birds lying dead on the altar of sacrifice.

Included in the memorial window is a Latin inscription: “Vita Nostra Fratribus Laborantibus,” which translates to, “Our lives for brothers in distress” -- the theme for the memorial window.

“The window will be an incredible addition to the terminal -- to honor the Air Force's airlift heritage and its presence in Europe,” said Capt. Brian Mitchell, officer in charge of the passenger terminal.

“The placement of the window in the main lobby celebrates the accomplishments of the Berlin Airlift and its impact on the airlift mission currently at Ramstein,” he said. “It is a true reminder of the dedication it takes to support the common goals we share in accomplishing something bigger than ourselves.”