Today is the 30th anniversary of the Berlin Wall falling. I was there.
I was stationed at Rhein Main AB in Germany from 1985-1990. I went into Berlin frequently during that time. My squadron flew into Berlin every Tuesday and Thursday. It was a special qualification for pilots and navigators to fly into Berlin. I was also a Berlin Corridor Flight Examiner who escorted other (non-qualified) flight crews into Berlin.
When I visited Berlin, I often walked along the wall to see if there was anything new there, and just to pass the time. Below is a poem I wrote in 1988, the year before the wall fell.
The Wall
On journeys there
I walked along its changing face
Paint and design, bits of glass and mirror glued
Graffiti and names ever-changing
Thoughts and dreams on hard concrete
Barrier to the other side, with no-man’s land between
Barbed wire and guards bring death
What madness separates brothers such
Waipahu Bob 