***image1***Ever noticed the totem pole in the Zweibrücken Rose Garden? Zweibrücken used to be host to a military air base. It was operated by the U.S. Air Force from 1969 to 1991. However, from 1953 to 1969, it was a Royal Canadian Air Force Base operated by their 3 Wing.
In their desire to share a little bit of their culture with Germany, the 3 Wing contracted with Haida Indians in British Columbia to have two totem poles hand carved. One totem was placed at the entrance to Zweibrücken Air Base. The second was donated to the City of Zweibrücken, where it was placed it in their rose garden, and still stands today.
So what happened to the totem pole at the gate? The U.S. Air Force kept it at Zweibrücken Air Base through the base’s 1991 closure. Wing officials then gave it to the 4 Wing at Canadian Forces Base, Baden-Soellingen. Purportedly, after that base closed in 1993, it was given to the 409th Squadron, at Comox Canadian Forces Base, British Colombia. And from there it supposedly ended up at the Royal Canadian Air Force Memorial Museum in Trenton, Ontario.
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