Aug. 19, 1961 - The United States Army battle group ordered to reinforce Allied forces in West Berlin crossed into Communist territory at dawn today for the 110-mile trip to that isolated Allied outpost. The 1,500 combat-ready men were ordered to move into Berlin from West Germany by President Kennedy on Friday. The leading vehicle crossed the 200 yards of No Man's Land between the Western and Eastern checkpoints and halted at a Soviet sentry post. Clearance went fast and within 16 minutes the first vehicles were through the controls and heading for Berlin.
