Armed Forces Network Connects Two South Dakota Veterans

In 1948 two Black Hills men were still in Germany, helping to stabilize and nation build.  Alan Herbert of Belle Fourche switched over from a battlefield artillery unit during the war to become an announcer for the Armed Forces Network (AFN), ministering primarily to troops across Europe from studios in Stuttgart.

     As president of the Berlin Airlift Veterans Association, Chuck Childs of Rapid City was recently interviewed by AFN Stuttgart, after he led teams of veterans from the US and Britain back to Germany for a reunion sponsored in part by Headquarters of the United States European Command.

     Childs remains convinced that the German people were strong even in defeat.  “I brought them food, but the Berliners had the inner resolve to build their own renewal,” he suggested.  Twice awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Childs piloted a B-17 during the war in 37 combat missions against the Third Reich.