'Candy bomber': Berlin Airlift US pilot dies at 101

Candy bomber Gail Halvorsen. Creative Commons.

US air force pilot Gail Halvorsen became known for dropping candy during the Soviet blockade of West Berlin after World War II.

Gail Halvorsen, a US air force pilot known as the "candy bomber" or "uncle wiggle wing" in Germany for dropping candy during the Berlin airlift, has died at the age of 101.

Halvorsen was much loved in postwar Berlin for his role in the US response to the Soviet blockade of the Western half of the city in the aftermath of the Second World War.

He last visited Berlin in 2019 as celebrations including a big party at the former Tempelhof airport, since converted to a park, for the 70th anniversary of the end to the Soviet blockade took place.

In a statement, Berlin mayor Franziska Giffey said, "Halvorsen's deeply human act has never been forgotten."

What is known about Halvorsen's life and death?

Halvorsen was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. He grew up poor on farms outside of the city during the Great Depression.

He trained as a fighter pilot after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the US into the Second World War. During the war, he flew in the south Atlantic prior to his stint flying food and other supplies during the Berlin Airlift.

On the website of his foundation, Halvorsen recalled having mixed feelings about the airlift so soon after the war as he lost friends and the US and Germany had been on opposing sides of the conflict.

After meeting a group of children on the other side of the Tempelhof fence, his views on the mission changed.

He broke up a piece of gum that he had to give it to the children. They then divvied it up further among themselves and even smelled the wrapper.

He vowed to return with enough candy for all the children and the next day his candy drops began, wiggling the wings of his aircraft as he did so.

The effort soon expanded to other pilots and the mission spawned "Operation Little Vittles."

Among the awards he had received, Halverson was honored with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

When he passed away Wednesday of pneumonia, he was at home 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.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox said after receiving news of Halvorsen's death, "I know he's up there, handing out candy behind the pearly gates somewhere."

The director of the Allied Museum in Berlin, Jürgen Lillteicher, called Halverson an "immensely charismatic and lovable person."

What is the Berlin Airlift?

On June 26, 1948, the US, UK and France began an airlift to bring food and supplies to West Berlin. Berlin was divided after the war between the US, Britain, France and the Soviet Union. The Soviets had blockaded West Berlin to try and squeeze the other powers out.

In total, 278,000 flights into Berlin brought 2.3 million tons of food, coal, medicine and supplies.

After nearly a year, in May of the following year, the Soviets ceased their blockade. The airlift continued for a bit longer in the event Moscow altered its calculus.

For the older, baby boomer generation of Germans born just after the war, memories of American soldiers handing out candy and fruit remain.

ar/fb (AP, dpa) – DW News