Gail “Hal” Halvorsen, also known as the Berlin Candy Bomber, was a pilot in both World War II and on the Berlin Airlift who “bombed” kids with candy, toys, and other things. Hal was born in Salt Lake City on October 10, 1920. He was also a fighter pilot in WWII. He was introduced into the Air Force in May 1942. In November of 1999, he was introduced into the Airlift/Tanker Hall of Fame. On September 30, 1974, Halvorsen retired from the Air Force. He is still alive today at ninety-seven years old.
On Christmas Eve of 1948, Halvorsen landed on the Templehof Runway in Berlin. He got out of the plane and saw thirty kids looking through a fence. He then walked over and gave two of the kids sticks of mint gum. The two kids then started tearing pieces…show more content… He also created an operation of his own, “Operation Little Vittles”, where he dropped twenty-three tons of candy from 250,000 parachutes. Dropping candy from an airplane is against regulations, but Halverson convinced his copilot and engineer to give him their chocolate rations. He dealt with the 110 mile-per-hour speed of candy dropping out of an airplane by attaching mini parachutes made out of handkerchiefs to the chocolate. He also had to drop the candy bombs on the children’s side of the fence with precise timing before landing on the Templehof Runway without getting caught. Just before landing on the runway, Halvorsen wiggled his plane’s wings, hence the nickname “Uncle Wiggly Wings”.
Since Halvorsen retired, he has written a personal essay called “Impressions of a Berlin Airlift Pilot” in 2007. This was about his career flying on the Berlin Airlift and his experience “bombing”, but it was also about the joys of his personal life. He married his first wife, Alta Jolley Halverson, in 1949. Unfortunately, Alta died in 1999. Halvorsen has now been happily married to his high school steady, Lorraine Pace, since
