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ANNIVERSARIES

THE CANDY BOMBER:

The Berlin Airlift’s 70th Anniversary

he Air Force has been involved in numerous humanitarian candy rations with those of
Tefforts during its relatively brief 71-year existence, and one his co-pilot and engineer,
event that set these efforts into motion, raising the bar high for made parachutes out of
such future endeavors, was the Berlin Airlift — which occurred handkerchiefs and string,
roughly from June 26, 1948, to Sept. 30, 1949.
As World War II ended and the Cold War
began between the United States and the Soviet
Union, one of its most immediate hotspots be-
came the defeated and divided Germany. The
western portion of the country was taken by
the Allies — Britain, France and the United
States — and ideas of democracy were spread.
In the eastern half of Germany, taken by the
Russians, the communist ethic was instilled.
Berlin, the capital, deep within the eastern sec-
tor, was similarly divided.
Not satisfied with their portion of the split, in
June 1948, the Russians blockaded the Allied-
controlled areas of Berlin, shutting off the dis- Col. Gail Halvorsen, USAF
PHOTO: U.S. AIR FORCE
tribution of food, coal and medicine to millions
of Germans. Berliners watching a C-54 land at Tempelhof Airport and on July 18 dropped them for
Shipments by rail and autobahn came to a in Berlin, 1948. PHOTO: U.S. AIR FORCE the children in the first flight of
halt. A desperate Berlin, faced with starvation what was later dubbed “Operation
and in need of vital supplies, looked to the West for help. Little Vittles.” He continued the practice on his later flights.
On June 27, in a somewhat controversial move supported by As word got out about the candy drops, the amount of candy
President Harry Truman, U.S. Army Gen. Lucius Clay, military increased, along with the number of waiting children. When a
governor of Germany’s U.S. Zone, approved an order to begin Berlin newspaper learned of Halvorsen and his determination
supplying West Berlin by air. to get the candy to these young Berliners, he was outed as “The
All told, the airlift, including the air forces of not only the Candy Bomber,” and he became something of a celebrity in the
U.S but also Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand and South war-torn country.
Africa, reportedly carried over two million tons of supplies in Though his candy deliveries did not receive universal praise
270,000 flights. Among those flights were those made by a from certain billets of the Air Force, Halvorsen was allowed to
U.S. aviator nicknamed the “Candy Bomber,” who delivered keep dropping candy, as long as his bosses were informed of
chocolate — and more importantly, hope — to Berliners in need. the drops.
The drops became so popular that fellow airmen gave up
THE CANDY BOMBER their own candy rations to be used in the drops, and eventually,
The Candy Bomber was Gail Halvorsen, a first lieutenant in the American Confectioners Association donated 18 tons of
the fledgling Air Force at the time. He was one of the American candy to the cause.
pilots flying round-the-clock missions from Rhein-Main AB, When Halvorsen left Berlin, his candy drop was picked up
West Germany, to Tempelhof AF in Berlin. From July 1948 to by Willie Williams, and by the end of the Berlin Airlift, it was
February 1949, he flew 126 missions delivering supplies and food. estimated that Halvorsen, Williams and other American pilots
According to Halvorsen and other accounts, he learned from dropped upwards of 250,000 makeshift parachutes filled with
some encounters with German youth through the perimeter fence 23 tons of candy.
at Tempelhof that these children were not only willing and eager The blockade of Berlin was finally lifted by the Soviets on
to accept the supplies that he and other flyers delivered, but they May 12, 1949, but the airlift continued until Sept 30. Berlin
were hungrier for the sense of hope and freedom. became a symbol of the U.S.’s resolve to stand up to the Soviet
In his autobiography, “The Berlin Candy Bomber,” Halvorsen threat without being forced into a direct conflict.
says that during one of these encounters, he met up with about As for Halvorsen — now 98 and living in Utah — he retired
30 children between the ages of eight and 14. He was so im- from the Air Force as a colonel in 1974, but just before his re-
pressed with their composure under such harsh circumstances tirement, he returned to Berlin as Tempelhof commander, and
that he offered them a few sticks of gum he had in his pocket. heard numerous stories about how his drops were remembered
The children did not beg for anything, and even those who fondly by the young children of the time who had by then grown
did not get any of the gum simply asked for the wrappers so into adults.
they could take in the sugary aroma. To them, he would always be “Der Schokoladen Flieger,”
Impressed with their behavior, Halvorsen pledged to do some- or “The Chocolate Flyer.”
thing special for the children, and on an ensuing flight with his
Douglas C-54 Skymaster wiggling its wings and tail to alert Ashley M. Wright, Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs,
children that he had something for them, he combined his own contributed to this report.

DECEMBER 2018 | MILITARY CLUB & HOSPITALITY 9