"Berlin Never Forgets!" - Ralph Dionne

Ralph Dionne
Airlift Mechanic & Flight Engineer

“Bibi, this is an account of a personal experience that occurred in Berlin, validating the saying that “Berlin Never Forgets!”

The setting of the event occurred in May of 2019 during the 70th Anniversary Celebration of the Berlin Airlift. My son Gary and I had flown to Berlin to participate in the memorable Celebration! Other USA and UK Airlift Veterans, including their family members and friends were also in attendance!

As a special event, that included about twenty USA and UK guests, special arrangements were made for an evening group dinner to be held at the renowned Dicke Wirtin Restaurant.

On the evening reserved, the group arrived at the restaurant via minibuses, which were driven by, and courtesy of, personnel from the Berlin Airlift Memorial Museum in Frankfurt! Upon entering the front entrance, the proud antiquity and aura of many years of operation was evident and unique! The German food was excellent, the quantity ample, and the banter of the close-knit group was most enjoyable, especially the deep boisterous laughter of several our UK friends!

The German food was excellent, the quantity ample, and the banter of the close-knit group was most enjoyable, especially the deep boisterous laughter of several our UK friends!

As dining neared completion, the guest drivers left to retrieve their rented minibuses. A portion of the guests, including my son Gary who had finished their dinners, started mingling outside awaiting the return of the minibuses!

There was a waitress in the group making inquiries, which was unusual! Prior to the completion of my dinner, I had also noticed the increasing activity outside, and out of curiosity, momentarily went to the front entrance and curiously joined the group.

Upon meeting, she asked me if I was a Berlin Airlift veteran? After assuring her that I was, she became very emotional! She embraced me and related to all present that when she was a little girl, her grandmother often told her that “many years ago, men had descended from the Heavens to bring food and relief supplies to the starving people in Berlin. She further related, that “all her life” she wondered if she would ever meet one of those “angels” and was now overcome that the moment had finally arrived!

Then, she asked me if I had paid for my dinner. As I had emerged out of curiosity, I advised her that I had not yet paid! A curious waiter was standing at the entrance, watching the group commotion below. The waitress called to the waiter by name and asked him to please bring my bill to her! He went inside and shortly returned with the requested bill and brought it to the waitress. She held it up to catch light, read it, and then said, “I Pay!”

Certainly, a wonderful gesture, and another sincere hug occurred there in Berlin, a distance of 3,795 miles from home! Where else in the world, would you find appreciation from a waitress for an event that took place 70 years ago, with the sincere respectful words, “I Pay!”

It’s not the amount involved, but the sincere appreciation that is still expressed by many Berliners, hence exemplifying the timeless expression that “Berliners never forget!”

Ralph Dionne