When Arthur Wehner of Festus died 18 years ago, his son, Brian Wehner, knew his father had left behind something special in the collection of artifacts he had gathered over his decades-long career in the United States Air Force.
Among those items was a number of plates and soup dishes that came from the Berlin Air Safety Center in Germany. The china featured the flags of all four countries that governed Berlin after World War II – the United States, France, England and Russia.
“They were significant because Berlin Air Safety Center was one of only two places the British, French, Russians and Americans worked collectively together in Berlin,” said Brian, a Festus city councilman. “The Berlin Air Safety Center is where they (the dishes) came from. It (the center) ensured safe flight passage to Berlin from West Germany.”
Brian’s father’s collection also included about 100 slides and 19 rolls of film that he had taken during and after the construction of the Berlin Wall. Some were taken from the air. (Arthur Wehner was a lieutenant colonel who flew more than 10,000 hours during his career.)
Other photos were taken on the ground at well-known sites, like Checkpoint Charlie and the Brandenburg Gate. Some showed tanks rolling down the streets, President John F. Kennedy’s motorcade (on his visit to Berlin) and other post-war scenes.
“I think it’s just a really neat story,” Brian said. “I knew this was something so unique.”
After his retirement from the Air Force, Arthur and his wife, Nadine, returned to Festus. Arthur died in 2001 and Nadine in 2010.
Rather than keeping his father’s collection, Brian began emailing museums in the United States and Europe to see if they might be interested in the items. While he struck out with the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., he found some takers in Europe.
Brian and his wife, Robin, who own Wehner’s Awards in Festus, ended up donating and delivering Arthur’s collection of china to three museums – the Imperial War Museum in London, the Musee de l’Armee in Paris and the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin. All of the slides and films were donated to the War Museum in London
“We ended up making three trips overseas, to London and one to Paris and one to Berlin,” said Brian, who returned from his last trip to London in November.
He said he felt compelled to donate the collection so others could appreciate it.
“I don’t think there are any other ones like this, and they’re better displayed in a museum than in the basement of a house,” he said.
And it seems more trips to Europe are in Brian’s future. He said he plans to return to visit the museums in England, France and Germany when his father’s collection is put on display.
“I have a couple of boys, 26 and 29. It would be fun to take them there and let them see some of their grandfather’s history, too.”