Exhibit Recounts Berlin Crisis

This month, The National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey, located at the Sea Girt Army Camp, will host a new exhibition in commemoration of the anniversary of the Berlin Crisis.

"50 Years On: New Jersey's National Guard and the Berlin Crisis" will run through Jan. 2 and marks the fiftieth anniversary of the 1961 Berlin Crisis deployment— specifically, the New Jersey Air National Guard's role in the strategic military event.

A landmark event in the Cold War, the international incident was incited by the Soviets during their occupation of the German capital city when they built the Berlin Wall.

President John F. Kennedy ordered New Jersey airmen from the 108th Tactical Fighter Wing to France while another squadron was kept on active duty at home. 

Lieutenant Colonel William Kale, a retired officer and volunteer curator with the museum, recalled the event vividly.

"Thousands of National Guard members from New Jersey and other states were called to active duty, left their jobs and families for over a year and deployed to duty stations in the United States and Europe," he said. "They did not know whether war or peace was in their immediate future."

Over 10,000 Air Guard members were deployed to Europe while 33,000 were kept on domestic alert in the United States. No fighting occurred as a result of the Berlin Crisis and eventually, deployed servicemen returned home in August of 1962.

The collection includes numerous materials drawn from the museum archives as well as materials from the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Air Force Heritage Center. Donations from individuals who served during the deployment will also be featured.

Admission to the museum and the exhibit are free to the public. More information can be found at www.nj.gov/military/museum/.