Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany, Dec. 23, 1999: U.S. Air Force members stand at attention behind an American flag during the playing of the German and American national anthems. The “blue-suiters” were attending the official signing of the Rhein-Main Air Base return agreement. The base formal closure ceremony would take place several years later on Oct. 10, 2005, and the final handover to the German government in December of that year.