- about 150 seats and he was the only passenger. The plane took off and the next thing he noticed was they were coming in for landing over an expanse of what seemed like endless forests and lakes. It was Helsinki, but as he could see, the Soviets wanted him out of Moscow. A year later, Runnings went to Berlin to knock chunks out of the Wall and finally got arrested by East German guards and put in their jail for over three months. At the time, his back was injured, and Runnings was in extreme chronic pain. They finally released him through a West Berlin gate. External links Website on John Runnings 2004 deaths American anti-war activists 1917 births Canadian emigrants to the United States