Righteous in Sodom
Without Portugal, Israel might not have existed today. In fact, the world might not have existed today.
On October 6, 1973, Israel was attacked by Egypt and Syria, whose armies were trained and equipped by the Soviet Union. The surprise attack had inflicted heavy casualties on the IDF and put Israel in a precarious position.
PM Golda Meir issued an appeal for military assistance, to which European nations declined and the US responded with limited aid, allowing the Israeli company El Al to transport weapons from the US.
This was not enough.
In response, Golda Meir reportedly authorized the assembly of thirteen 20-kiloton nuclear warheads to use against the invading Arabs. Their preparation was easily detectable, likely as a signal to the US.
Either concerned for the future of its ally or with the prospect of a nuclear war, the US decided to increase the aid.
Still wanting to avoid direct involvement, the US tried to use commercial carriers but none were willing to accept the job for fear of being refused entry to Arab nations after the war. On 12 October, Nixon decided that no more delays could be allowed, and ordered the USAF to "send everything that can fly" in what came to be known as Operation Nickel Grass.
However, there was a problem. Not only the Europeans refused to aid Israel, they even refused to allow the resupply aircraft to fly over their territory.
This is when Portugal came to the rescue.
After a few hours in the air, word came through that Portugal would permit American planes to land in Lajes Field in the Azores Islands. Lajes became a key staging point for the rest of the airlift, which included not only tanks, artillery, and ammunition, but also over 100 warplanes to replenish the bruised IAF.
The Arabs made several threats to intercept American aircraft, but no attacks were made. Throughout the war, the US shipped over 55,535 tons of materiel to Israel. During the same general time, the Soviets shipped 75,500 tons, mostly to Syria.
This allowed Israel to defeat the Arab invaders, and quiet possibly prevented a nuclear war.
Delayed a nuclear war for a future date
I always learn something here. I heard a story that the French asked jfk for nuclear weapons to bomb the Vietnamese communist stronghold and Kennedy declined but offered to send military advisers.