Colonel Gail S. Halvorsen - The Candy Bomber

Pilot

Born: October 10, 1920, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A.
Died: February 16, 2022, Provo, Utah, U.S.A.

Colonel Gail Halvorsen was a U.S. Air Force pilot who became famous during the Berlin Airlift for dropping candy to children trapped in the Soviet blockade.

Growing up on small farms in Idaho and Utah, Gail Halvorsen’s childhood was peaceful and simple. He spent his days working in the fields, but his eyes were often on the skies, watching airplanes soar. He promised himself that one day, he would become a pilot. He never could have imagined how far that dream would take him.

When Halvorsen was 21, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor drew the United States into World War II. His life changed overnight. He trained as a fighter pilot with the Royal Air Force, then became a transport pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He flew in the South Atlantic Theater, moving supplies for the war effort.

When the war ended, many soldiers returned home to start families and new lives. But Halvorsen was sent back to Germany, this time not to fight, but to help save lives. In 1948, the Soviet Union cut off all roads, rail, and canal routes into West Berlin. More than two million people, most of them women and children, were suddenly trapped without food, water, or fuel. The United States, Great Britain, and France responded with an airlift called “Operation Vittles,” flying supplies into the city every day.

Halvorsen was just 27. He wasn’t sure how he felt about helping people who had once been America’s enemies. But when he landed his first delivery of flour at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin, he saw a man cry with gratitude as he unloaded the cargo. Halvorsen’s doubts disappeared. These people were starving, and he knew his job mattered.

Day after day, Halvorsen flew over the wreckage of Berlin, delivering food, medicine, and coal. C-54 planes flew 24 hours a day in every kind of weather. One afternoon, he noticed 30 children standing at the fence of the airport. Unlike other children he had met, they didn’t beg for candy or gum. Instead, they told him: "When the weather gets so bad that you can’t land, don’t worry about us. We can get by on little food. But if we lose our freedom, we may never get it back. Just don’t give up on us.”

The children’s words stayed with him. He gave them his last two sticks of gum, which they carefully divided and even passed the wrappers around just to smell. Their gratitude touched him deeply. He wanted to give them more.

Halvorsen promised the children that the next day he would drop candy for all of them. “How will we know it’s you?” they asked. He smiled and said, “I’ll wiggle my wings as I come over the airport.” That’s how he became known as “Uncle Wiggly Wings.”

That night, Halvorsen tied candy bars and gum to little parachutes made from handkerchiefs. The next day, as he flew over the city, he wiggled his wings and dropped the candy. The children cheered as the parachutes floated down. He and his co-pilot repeated this many times. When officers found out, he was almost punished, but General Tunner, the commander of the airlift, told him to keep it up.

The effort became known as “Operation Little Vittles.” Families back home in America sent parachutes, and companies like Hershey and Wrigley donated chocolate and gum. Over 15 months, American and British pilots delivered more than 2 million tons of supplies to West Berlin. Thanks to Halvorsen, they also dropped more than 20 tons of candy to children.

The blockade ended in May 1949, but Halvorsen’s story lived on. Children who had once caught parachutes wrote him letters for decades. In 1998, one man told Halvorsen that as a boy he had caught a parachute with a single Hershey bar. He said, “The chocolate was not the most important thing. The most important thing was that someone in America knew I was in trouble and cared. That meant hope.”

For Halvorsen, that was the true mission: bringing hope. Even later in life, he continued to deliver candy, toys, and school supplies to children in need, from Berlin to Kosovo.

Colonel Gail Halvorsen became known not just as a pilot, but as the “Candy Bomber.” His kindness reminded the world that hope, and compassion can break down barriers even in the hardest times.

References:
“Gail Halvorsen.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/airlift-gail-halvorsen.
“Gail’s Story.” The Candy Bomber Foundation, 10 June 2025, www.thecandybomber.org/gails-story.
“In Memoriam: Colonel Gail S. Halvorsen, USAF (Ret.) (1920-2022).” The National WWII Museum | New Orleans, www.nationalww2museum.org/about-us/notes-museum/memoriam-colonel-gail-s-halvorsen-usaf-ret-1920-2022.

Keywords:
Innovation, Wartime, Courage, Generosity, Freedom, Responsibility, Make a Difference, Build Bridges to Unite

Explore ARTEFFECT projects about this Unsung Hero:
Gail Halvorsen artworks