“Candy Bomber” Given Hero Treatment In Berlin – IOTW Report

“Candy Bomber” Given Hero Treatment In Berlin

Sunday, 12 May 2019, 16:00 Dr. Tar Uncategorized 12

The Daily Mail (UK)

A former U.S. Air Force pilot famous for dropping candy to starving children during the Berlin Airlift of 1948 and 1949 has returned to the German capital as a guest of honor 70 years after the end of the crisis.

Gail Halvorsen, 98, received a hero’s welcome as he donned his military uniform, signed autographs, and posed for photos with city residents on Saturday.

Halvorsen became known as the ‘Candy Bomber’ after inventing the idea to airdrop small bags of sweets to children in West Berlin, who were going hungry after the Soviet Union blocked railway, road and canal access to the city.

The blockade lasted from June 1948 until May 1949 and became known as the first crisis in the Cold War. More

12 Comments on “Candy Bomber” Given Hero Treatment In Berlin

  1. Very different times and now we have the commies in Congress instead of blockading Berlin. My Father volunteered for the airlift without talking about it with my mother. That was 2 years before I Army
    Bratted along. They divorced in 1953 and I heard
    he died in Vegas in 2003.

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  2. One of my favorite WWII era stories – I studied it in high school (we all had to pick an era) and read in a number of sources about a man who passed chocolate to a young girl and she showed her anger, or something negative at any rate (sorry, it’s been a while since I’ve read of the encounter). The soldier said, “I’m sorry, I just wanted to bring you some pleasure in these rough times.” I think perhaps the grown-up child was remembering this moment to a journalist, perhaps, and it made its way into many writings about the war and its aftermath.

    It may not even have been during the blockade or right after, but it definitely was WWII era. I’m not exactly sure why it has stuck with me.

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  6. Years a go I remember seeing him on a Christmas special hosted by Tom Brokaw and they told the story of the Candy Bomber.

    My late next door neighbor was involved in the Berlin Airlift on the receiving end ground crew. He was suppose to have been discharged but got extended for this project.

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  7. :googles Germany:

    …….wow……..does anyone else know about this place? Just….wow.

    I’m just sayin’ that if the bomber pilot had googled Germany he might not have dropped candy.

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  10. I have the book. It was a very good story and worth another read. The book was a Christmas gift by a female family friend who abhors war. When I unwrapped it, I thought, oh no, I want some blood and guts story about real war. After 20 pages, I started to get interested, and finished it pretty quickly. Halvorsen is the embodiment of the American spirit of forgiving and helping those we have overcome in war.

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  11. berliners went through hell, then the russians dragged them back and forth for in it.

    The candy bomber threw the children a lifesaver. And some oh henrys and some hersheys and some butterscotch and….

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