{"id":64443,"date":"2022-02-17T20:06:13","date_gmt":"2022-02-17T20:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/02\/17\/candy-bomber-who-dropped-sweets-during-berlin-airlift-dies\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T12:25:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T12:25:56","slug":"candy-bomber-who-dropped-sweets-during-berlin-airlift-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2022\/02\/17\/candy-bomber-who-dropped-sweets-during-berlin-airlift-dies\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Candy Bomber\u2019 who dropped sweets during Berlin Airlift dies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DENVER \u2014 U.S. military pilot <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2020\/10\/18\/candy-bomber-during-berlin-airlift-glides-into-milestone-birthday\/\" target=\"_blank\">Gail S. Halvorsen<\/a> \u2014 known as the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/11\/17\/how-you-can-help-the-100-year-old-berlin-candy-bomber-receive-the-presidential-medal-of-freedom\/\" target=\"_blank\">Candy Bomber<\/a>\u201d for his candy airdrops during the Berlin Airlift after World War II ended \u2014 has died at age 101.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Halvorsen died Wednesday following a brief illness in his home state of Utah, surrounded by most of his children, James Stewart, the director of the Gail S. Halvorsen Aviation Education Foundation, said Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4259\" height=\"3215\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22048602744772.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-100385\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22048602744772.jpg.jpg 4259w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22048602744772.jpg.jpg?resize=300,226 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22048602744772.jpg.jpg?resize=768,580 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22048602744772.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,773 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22048602744772.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1159 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22048602744772.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1546 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4259px) 100vw, 4259px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">FILE &#8211; &#8220;Candy Bomber&#8221; pilot Gail Halvorsen gives thumbs up in front of an old US military aircraft with the name &#8220;The Berlin Train&#8221; in Frankfurt, Germany, on Nov. 21, 2016. (Michael Probst\/AP, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Halvorsen was beloved and venerated in Berlin, which he last visited in 2019&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/ap-top-news-international-news-berlin-blockades-cold-war-4f324f43a0d3456fa65c967e83d9f0d8\">when the city celebrated the 70th anniversary of the day the Soviets lifted their post-War World II blockade<\/a>&nbsp;cutting off supplies to West Berlin with a big party at the former Tempelhof airport in the German capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHalvorsen\u2019s deeply human act has never been forgotten,\u201d Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Utah Gov. Spencer Cox also praised Halvorsen, who was born in Salt Lake City but grew up on farms before getting his pilot\u2019s license.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/military-honor\/salute-veterans\/2019\/05\/12\/baseball-field-dedicated-to-98-year-old-us-wwii-veteran-as-germans-recall-berlin-airlift\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19131487803151.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Baseball field dedicated to 98-year-old US WWII veteran as Germans recall Berlin Airlift<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Berliners on Sunday celebrated the 70th anniversary of the day the Soviets lifted their blockade strangling West Berlin in the post-World War II years with a big party at the former Tempelhof airport in the German capital.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI know he\u2019s up there, handing out candy behind the pearly gates somewhere,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the United States entered World War II following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Halvorsen trained as a fighter pilot and served as a transport pilot in the south Atlantic during World War II before flying food and other supplies to West Berlin as part of the airlift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to his account on the foundation\u2019s website, Halvorsen had mixed feelings about the mission to help the United States\u2019 former enemy after losing friends during the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But his attitude changed, and his new mission was launched, after meeting a group of children behind a fence at Templehof airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He offered them the two pieces of gum that he had, broken in half, and was touched to see those who got the gum sharing pieces of the wrapper with the other children, who smelled the paper. He promised to drop enough for all of them the following day as he flew, wiggling the wings of his plane as he flew over the airport, Halvorsen recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He started doing so regularly, using his own candy ration, with handkerchiefs as parachutes to carry them to the ground. Soon other pilots and crews joined in what would be dubbed \u201cOperation Little Vittles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After an Associated Press story appeared under the headline \u201cLollipop Bomber Flies Over Berlin,\u201d a wave of candy and handkerchief donations, followed.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2015\/07\/04\/candy-bomber-drops-sweets-from-utah-s-air-for-july-4\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635716227772285864-candy-djpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">&#8216;Candy Bomber&#8217; drops sweets from Utah&#8217;s air for July 4<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A pilot who delivered candy to children in Berlin at the end of World War II parachuted sweets down to Orem to celebrate Independence Day.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The airlift began on June 26, 1948, in an ambitious plan to feed and supply West Berlin after the Soviets \u2014 one of the four occupying powers of a divided Berlin after World War II \u2014 blockaded the city in an attempt to squeeze the U.S., Britain and France out of the enclave within Soviet-occupied eastern Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Allied pilots flew 278,000 flights to Berlin, carrying about 2.3 million tons of food, coal, medicine and other supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, on May 12, 1949, the Soviets realized the blockade was futile and lifted their barricades. The airlift continued for several more months, however, as a precaution in case the Soviets changed their minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Memories in Germany of American soldiers handing out candy, chewing gum or fresh oranges are still omnipresent \u2014 especially for the older generation born during or right after the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many fondly remember eating their first candy and fresh fruit during an era when people in bombed-out cities were starving or selling their family heirlooms on the black market for small amounts of of flour, butter or oil just so they could get by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Halvorsen\u2019s efforts to reach out to the people of Berlin helped send a message that they were not forgotten and would not be abandoned, Stewart said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite his initial ambivalence about the airlift, Halvorsen, who grew up poor during the Great Depression, recognized a bit of himself in the children behind the fence and made a connection with them, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA simple person to person act of kindness can really change the world,\u201d Stewart said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Grieshaber reported from Berlin. Sam Metz contributed to this report from Salt Lake City.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pilot Gail S. Halvorsen used his own candy ration to regularly drop sweet treats for children, using handkerchiefs as parachutes to carry the to the ground.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":35279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,23,89,12,26,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2126,3156],"class_list":["post-64443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"FBDAVTLLHFFVHOK5XN5NK3AP7Q","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2022\/02\/17\/candy-bomber-who-dropped-sweets-during-berlin-airlift-dies\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018Candy Bomber\u2019 who dropped sweets during Berlin Airlift dies - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Pilot Gail S. 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