Photos courtesy of Brendan Jamison |
Construction of the first permanent SIGINT facility on Teufelsberg, the operational home of Field Station Berlin, began in October 1963. The fiftieth anniversary of the shift from mobile to fixed operations on Teufelsberg, is being marked by a special Commemorative issue of Cinderella Stamps. The designer is T.H.E. Hill, the award winning author of two novels about Field Station Berlin.
The first day of issue of the Cinderella Stamps was 26 September 2013 during the Field Station Berlin Veterans' Reunion in Berlin, as a part of sculptor Brendan Jamison's "Teufelsberg" show in Berlin's WerkStadt Gallery (Neukölln), which was chosen because it is in the American Sector of Berlin, within walking distance of Tempelhof Airfield. The unveiling of the stamps took place at WerkStadt on Wednesday September 25. The unveiling of the stamps was followed by the installation of a Field Station Berlin commemorative plaque in the old Guard Shack where the MPs checked badges.
Jeff Gammon and Brendan Jamison in front of the Werkstadt Gallery.
Field Station Berlin veterans studying the exhibition.
Field Station Berlin veterans contemplating the Commemorative stamps and plaque on display at Jamison's exhibition.
Irish sculptor Brendan Jamison unveils the new commemorative stamps by T.H.E. Hill. If you would like to buy a sheet of stamps, follow me.
Jamison's sugar-cube sculpture of Teufelsberg surrounded by a sea of T.H.E. Hill's commemorative stamps.
The Irish artist Brendan Jamison, Jason Benedict, the Art Director of the WerkStadt Gallery, and Jeff Gammon, the driving force behind the reunion, in front of the gallery.
A plaque has been designed by Field Station Berlin veterans who served there in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s in various roles. It is intended to commemorate Teufelsberg, its mission, and the thousands of Allied servicemen and women who served at Field Station Berlin and all its predecessor units. Their dedication and constant vigilance from 1951 to 1991 played a key role in protecting Berlin and ending the Cold War. Field Station Berlin was a four-time winner of the prestigious Travis Trophy, an unprecedented feat at the time. The plaque memorializes our specific role in the Outpost of Freedom behind the Iron Curtain.
The Field Station Berlin Commemorative Initiative hopes to place a bronze plaque—as yet to be cast—atop Teufelsberg. An aluminum replica of the bronze plaque was mounted on a wall of the old Guard Shack where the MPs checked badges during the 2013 Field Station Berlin veterans reunion in Berlin.
Reunion organizer Jeff Gammon unloads the plaque from his car at the Werkstadt Gallery prior to the unveiling of the commemorative stamps.
The deputation of veterans who came to Teufelsberg to install the plaque.
The Jambalaya Tower is in the background. (It wasn't pink in my day.)
A great night-time shot of the Jambalaya Tower as it is anno 2015 is included as the third slide of 25 in a CNN slideshow entitled: Last chance to see: 25 magnificent structures on the verge of extinction.
The green circle marks the building where the plaque was installed in the old Guard Shack where the MPs checked badges.
The Field Station Berlin Commemorative Plaque in its new home.
When you take the Berlin SightOut tour of Teufelsberg, be sure to ask to see the plaque.
Another replica was presented to the Allied Museum.
Brendan Jamison presents a sheet of Commemorative stamps to the Director of the Allied Museum, Dr. Gundula Bavendamm.
(Photo by Leontia Fegan)
Watch a you-tube video of the Field Station Berlin Reunion events of 25 September.
The ultimate goal of the Field Station Berlin Commemorative Initiative is to place a bronze plaque—as yet to be cast—atop Teufelsberg. To find out how you can help make that happen, follow me.
If you would like to buy an aluminum Replica of the Field Station Berlin Commemorative Plaque for your very own, follow me.
Special thanks to Brendan Jamison, Jason Benedict, the Art Director of the WerkStadt Gallery, Jeff Gammon, the driving force behind the reunion, Shalom Abraham, the lease-holder for Tberg, and all the veterans who came to Berlin for all they did to make these events a success.
2013 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Field Station Berlin, which is also being commemorated by:
- The publication of T.H.E. Hill's new novel: Reunification: A Monterey Mary Returns to Berlin,
- The Field Station Berlin Commemorative Initiative described here,
- The issue of a sheet of Cinderella Stamps,
- A Field Station Berlin Veteran's Reunion in Berlin, and
- Brendan Jamison’s Teufelsberg Spy Station Project.
For other mementos of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the first permanent buildings on Teufelsberg, the operational home of Field Station Berlin, follow me.
