Lighter Side (Cartoons)
Chapter section from:
Airbridge to Berlin ---  The Berlin Crisis of 1948,  its Origins and Aftermath 
By D.M. Giangreco and Robert E. Griffin
© 1988
(Used with permission)

  A fitting successor to Bill Mauldin's World War II cartoons was found in the pen of Staff Sergeant Jake Schuffert. Almost daily in The Task Force Times, the airlift newspaper, a Schuffert cartoon was featured which captured the foibles and ironies of life on the airbridge. His darts at the VIPs and high brass were loved by the pilots and crewmen. Later, Schuffert's cartoons were published in book form as Air Lift Laffs. This volume is treasured by many airlift veterans. Another example of written airlift humor is the famous Fassberg Diary. Unpublished, by an anonymous author, typewritten reproduced copies still survive today of this tribute to the Americans assigned to the British base at Fassberg. The author claims these Americans were sent there by "Emperor or Uncle Tumbler, Commander of the Airwick Task Force," and forgotten until a journalist stumbled in during the year 3200 as they were still awaiting their replacements. The Diary begins:

And so it came to pass, that after the one-hundred-and-eightieth day of his durance, a Voice from afar spoke unto him, saying:
"Dost desire PCS*?"
And he made swift reply in this wise saying:
''Hell, no!''
And so it came in time to pass that His orders were extended for an additional one-hundred-and-eighty days. . . ."

 The Diary continues on in a similar vein for another 18 pages.

*Permanent Change of Station