; Whereas Operation Little Vittles ultimately dropped more than 3 tons of candy in more than 250,000 miniature parachutes; Whereas, on Easter Sunday, April 17, 1949, airlifters reached the pinnacle of Operation Vittles by delivering 13,000 tons of cargo, including the equivalent of 600 railroad cars full of coal, and setting the record for tonnage of cargo delivered in a single day during the Berlin Airlift; Whereas 39 British airmen and 31 American airmen made the ultimate sacrifice during the Berlin Airlift and 8 British aircraft and 17 American aircraft were lost; Whereas airlifters delivered more than 2,300,000 tons of food and supplies during 278,228 total flights into Berlin; Whereas the Soviet Union was forced to lift the blockade of Berlin in light of the success of the 15-month airlift operation; Whereas the Berlin Airlift marked the first use of airpower to provide hope and humanitarian assistance and to win a strategic victory against enemy aggression and intimidation; Whereas the enormous effort and cooperation of the Berlin Airlift helped overcome years of animosity between the United States and Germany and laid the foundation for a deep and lasting friendship between the people of the two countries; and Whereas today Germany is one of the closest and strongest allies of the United States in Europe, based on the close and vital relationship of the two countries as friends, trading partners, and allies sharing common values and institutions that promote stability in political, economic, and security matters: Now, therefore, be it