(George Penn/Stars and Stripes)

Rhein-Main Airbase, Germany, Aug. 10, 1950: EUCOM personnel and their dependents debark from the Pan American clipper that brought a record passenger load from New York City to Rhein-Main airport. With the German occupation officially ending with the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany in May 1949, the U.S. military settled in for an extended stay in Europe — expanding base footprints and building more and more housing to accommodate the influx of dependents joining the service members stationed in West Germany.

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