In 1948, Germany was under siege. With Berlin surrounded by the Russians, the western allies and Germans of West Berlin launched an impossible rescue mission and the greatest humanitarian effort in modern history. With the ground and water routes to West Berlin blockaded by the Soviet Union, the extraordinary Berlin airlift flew coal, food, medicine, and everything needed for survival to 2.24 million West Berliners for 462 days until the blockade's end in May 1949. The mission saved West Berlin and perhaps all of Europe from Russian aggression following World War II. THE UNHERALDED: Men and Women of the Berlin Blockade and Airlift is 298 pages, includes 30 pictures, and tells about: ? The personal perspectives and sacrifices of those who contributed to the airlift's success from the ground up. ? Stalin's most humiliating defeat and events that launched the Cold War. ? The Soviet blockade and Berlin airlift from a new historical perspective. ? How the Berlin airlift pioneered tactics vital to U.S. airlift preparedness today. Edwin Gere flew Seventh Air Force B-24s against Japan in World War II, then three years later flew 184 missions in the Berlin Airlift. With a doctorate in political science, he taught for 35 years at the Universities of Connecticut and Massachusetts. His 65 professional publications were written under the academic publish or perish dictum, but this book was written for love and sheer pleasure, out of heartfelt need.