{"id":1532,"date":"2024-12-23T18:46:32","date_gmt":"2024-12-23T18:46:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo-websitedesigns.com\/helena\/v1\/?p=1532"},"modified":"2024-12-23T18:49:25","modified_gmt":"2024-12-23T18:49:25","slug":"the-berlin-candy-bomber-lt-gail-halvorsen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo-websitedesigns.com\/helena\/v1\/the-berlin-candy-bomber-lt-gail-halvorsen\/","title":{"rendered":"“The Berlin Candy Bomber” Lt. Gail Halvorsen"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Understanding ourselves by understanding the past\n\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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This blog is dedicated to discussing the Crusader Kingdoms of Jerusalem and Cyprus. Dr. Schrader holds a PhD in History from the University of Hamburg. For more information visit:

For readers tired of clich\u00e9s and cartoons, award-winning novelist Helena P. Schrader offers nuanced insight into historical events and figures based on sound research and an understanding of human nature. Her complex and engaging characters bring history back to life as a means to better understand ourselves.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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“The Berlin Candy Bomber” Lt. Gail Halvorsen<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Bridge to Tomorrow Series includes several historical characters. None of these is more important that Lt. Gail Halvorsen, a man who has gone down in history as “the Berlin Candy Bomber.”<\/p>

Lt. Gail Halvorsen joined the U.S. Army Air Corps during the Second World War and flew transport planes out of Natal, Brazil. A military professional, he was still flying transport planes in 1948 when the crisis in Berlin erupted. Halvorsen arrived in Berlin in early July when the Airlift was only a couple weeks old and the crews had been told the situation wouldn’t last more than 25 days or so. Halvorsen was anxious to see some of the famous capital of Hitler’s Germany from the ground before getting sent home to the States. So one day, instead of sleeping, he hitch-hiked on another C-54 and flew to Berlin as a tourist.<\/p>

The first thing he wanted to do was get a snap-shot of the way the cargo planes barely scraped over the tops of the surrounding five-story apartment buildings to land at Tempelhof airfield. So Halvorsen walked around to the opposite side of the airfield from the terminal to take a photo from right beside the perimeter fence. Here he found about 30 German kids hanging on the fence and watching the planes land. Halvorsen became involved in a conversation with these kids and was impressed both by how well they understood about what the political situation — and by the fact that they didn’t try to bum any candy or gum off him. He decided then and there to bring them some more candy so they could all have some. Knowing he couldn’t get away from his plane, he said he’d drop it from his aircraft on approach.<\/div>
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The “rest is history” (as the saying goes) and you can read more details at: https:\/\/europeanaviationhistory.blogspot.com\/2023\/12\/the-berlin-candy-bomber.html<\/div><\/div>
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Below is an\u00a0excerpt which depicts Lt. Gail Halvorsen’s first candy drop seen through the eyes of my fictional character J.B. Baronowsky:<\/p>

\u201cThe oldest of these kids couldn\u2019t have been more than twelve,\u201d Halvorsen stressed to his copilot in a breathless, excited voice. \u201cThe littlest was about eight. Yet every one of them understood that this Airlift isn\u2019t about food but freedom! It was amazing!\u201d The American pilots were sitting together in the mess having a quick meal before bed. Halvorsen had just returned from his off-duty trip to Berlin.<\/p>

\u201cYeah,\u201d J.B. agreed. \u201cThat is pretty amazing. Where did you say you ran into these kids?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cThey were hanging onto the perimeter fence right at the end of the runway. I\u2019d gone over there to try to get a picture of a C-54 landing over the apartment houses, and they were clinging to the outside of the fence. They said they live nearby and come to watch the planes every day.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cAnd what did they say about freedom, exactly?\u201d J.B.\u2019s scepticism was reflected in his voice. The kids he knew didn\u2019t care about politics.<\/p>

\u201cWell, there was this little girl with blond pigtails wearing hand-me-down trousers from probably more than one older brother and she said, \u2018When you bombed us and killed some of our parents and sisters and brothers \u2014\u201d<\/p>

\u201cShe said that to your face?\u201d J.B. asked horrified.<\/p>

\u201cYeah, and then she went on\u2014\u201d<\/p>

\u201cWait a minute! Didn\u2019t you correct her? Didn\u2019t you tell her\u00a0you<\/em>\u00a0hadn\u2019t flown bombers in the war? That you hadn\u2019t even been in the European theatre?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cNo, that wasn\u2019t important. What\u2019s important is what she said. Listen to me, J.B.! She said, that during the bombing, they\u2019d thought nothing could be worse than that \u2014 until the Russians came. She said something like, \u2018After the final battle for Berlin, we saw what the Russians did in the city before you arrived. And we\u2019ve learned more about Communism since.\u2019 An older boy with good English added, \u2018We don\u2019t need lectures about freedom. We can walk on both sides of the city, and we have relatives who visit from the East. They are hungry for American newspapers and listen to RIAS.\u2019 Several then chimed in to say that everyone listened to RIAS if they could get it \u2014 East or West.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cYeah, RIAS has a good mix of entertainment and information \u2014 and they have children\u2019s programs, too.\u201d J.B. conceded before asking, \u201cDid you enjoy the rest of your sightseeing tour?\u201d He had finished his meal and was wiping his hands on a paper napkin. Their next flight was scheduled to depart at 2 am and he wanted to get some sleep first.<\/p>

Halvorsen nodded absently and answered between his last mouthfuls of dinner. \u201cSure. It was interesting, although everything\u2019s pretty wrecked. The tour got cut short when we had to hightail it back in a hurry because some Reds started chasing us. Apparently, any American with a camera is treated like a spy. But I keep coming back to those kids.\u201d He put his cutlery down and wiped his hands on his napkin. \u201cHere they are living on less than 1,000 calories a day, with no candy or chocolate or gum. Geeze, they don\u2019t even get much sugar on the rations we give them, but not one of them tried to bum something off me.\u201d<\/p>

They both stood to return their trays with the dirty dishes, and Halvorsen continued, \u201cEverywhere else in the world the kids cluster around \u2014 not begging exactly, but, you know, hinting that they could sure use some candy or gum. Brazil, Colombia, Panama, wherever \u2014 the kids would grin and wave and call out: \u2018Hey, chum, got any gum?\u2019\u00a0\u00a0But not these kids. I\u2019d already turned away from them before I realised that they hadn\u2019t asked me for a thing. I felt in my pockets to see what I had to share and came up with just two sticks of Wriggley\u2019s gum \u2014 for a dozen kids! I tore the sticks in half and gave a piece to each of the kids who\u2019d done most of the talking. You know what they did? They passed the wrappers to the others so they could\u00a0sniff<\/em>\u00a0it \u2014 and you should have seen their faces! You would have thought they\u2019d just been given a whole bowl of ice cream with hot chocolate sauce and whipped cream on top.\u201d<\/p>

The pilots put their trays on the counter for the mess stewards and started for the shuttle to the Zeppelinheim. \u201cWhen I saw that,\u201d Halvorsen continued casually, \u201cI promised to bring them some candy today.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cHal! We\u2019re not allowed more than ten feet away from the aircraft, remember? You can\u2019t go wandering off across the airfield to give kids candy.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cI know, that\u2019s why I said I\u2019d drop it from the plane, just as we come over the fence.\u201d<\/p>

J.B. screeched to a halt, \u201cYou said\u00a0what<\/em>?\u201d Then before Halvorsen repeated himself, he added, \u201cWe can\u2019t do that! It would just get blown away and scatter all over the place. Hell, it would probably shatter on impact! We\u2019re still 200 feet up and going 90 to 100 mph when we come over the fence.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cI\u2019ve been thinking about it all the way back, and I figured we could make little parachutes out of handkerchiefs.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cHal, you\u2019re crazy. Sleep deprived, that\u2019s what. Let\u2019s get some shuteye, and you\u2019ll feel better and see things straight when you wake up.\u201d<\/p>

They returned to their quarters in the old barn. J.B. stripped down to his undershorts, rolled himself into his blanket and was out like a light. When he woke up, he was dismayed to find that instead of sleeping Halvorsen had been fashioning tiny parachutes from his handkerchiefs. \u201cThey work too!\u201d he assured J.B. \u201cI tested one from the window of the loft.\u201d Then with one of his irresistible, shy smiles, he asked, \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t happen to have any left-over candy or chocolate bars, would you? I\u2019ve still got six parachutes.\u201d<\/p>

Shaking his head, J.B. handed over all his candy rations, but he warned Hal. \u201cIf anyone finds out about this, we are going to get into a heap of trouble. Hell, Tunner\u2019s such a stickler for regulations, he\u2019ll probably court-martial us for something like this.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cHe\u2019ll never find out,\u201d Halvorsen insisted.<\/p>

Soon they had Sergeant Elkins\u2019 candy ration tied to parachutes too, and they hid the lot in Elkins\u2019 tool kit. Promptly, at two am they took off for Berlin, arriving before dawn. The C-54 was unloaded with the usual efficiency, while they waited beside it, receiving one jeep after another with the weather and paperwork that went with each flight. They bought coffee at the mobile snack bar when it came by, and then flew back to Frankfurt. Here the routine was repeated with them waiting near the aircraft as it was loaded with a cargo of powdered vegetable soup and then they were in the corridor again. It was approaching noon when they entered the traffic pattern for Tempelhof.<\/p>

Halvorsen hadn\u2019t slept a wink that J.B. had seen, and he was very keyed up. J.B. had never seen him like this before. He was licking his lips every few seconds and leaning forward in his seat as he squinted against the sun. Then, sounding as excited as a kid, he exclaimed: \u201cThere they are! There they are!\u201d He pointed ahead toward the airfield coming into view as they dropped down on their steep glide path over the apartment buildings. Sure enough, about thirty kids of all shapes and sizes were clustered at the perimeter fence and staring upwards at the approaching cargo planes.<\/p>

\u201cSergeant Elkins, go back and prepare to drop the parachutes when I tell you to,\u201d Halvorsen ordered.<\/p>

\u201cAre you really going to go through with this?\u201d J.B. asked.<\/p>

\u201cYes,\u201d Halvorsen\u2019s tone brooked no contradiction, and Elkins, shaking his head but grinning, retreated to the cabin where the parachutes waited near the flare-chute.<\/p>

Halvorsen started wiggling the wings of the heavily loaded freighter; that is, rolling ten to degrees first in one direction and then the other several times in succession.<\/p>

\u201cThe tower is going to think we\u2019re drunk as skunks!\u201d J.B. groaned, but his words were lost on Halvorsen. He was grinning from ear to ear as the kids started jumping up and down and waving like crazy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cWhat if one of the aircraft waiting for take-off gets our number?\u201d J.B. asked anxiously.<\/p>

Halvorsen answered with: \u201cGive me full flaps and 1800 RPM!\u201d<\/p>

Rolling his eyes, J.B. followed orders and as they almost stalled out over the end of the runway, Halvorsen called to Elkins over the intercom, \u201cNow!\u201d<\/p>

Elkins answered with: \u201cBon-bons away!\u201d<\/p>

An instant later their tyres screeched on the runway and the nose wheel flopped down, but they had no way of seeing if the parachutes had landed near the children, never mind if they\u2019d been retrieved.<\/p>

\u00a0Halvorsen is a character in “Cold Peace” Only<\/p>

Berlin is under siege. More than two million civilians must be supplied by air — or surrender to Stalin’s oppression.<\/p>

USAF Captain J.B. Baronowsky and RAF Flight Lieutenant Kit Moran once risked their lives to drop high explosives on Berlin. They are about to deliver milk, flour and children\u2019s shoes instead. Meanwhile, two women pilots are flying an air ambulance that carries malnourished and abandoned children to freedom in the West. Until General Winter deploys on the side of Russia.\u00a0Buy now!<\/a><\/p>

\u00a0Based on historical events, award-winning and best-selling novelist Helena P. Schrader delivers an insightful, exciting and moving tale about how former enemies became friends in the face of Russian aggression \u2014 and how close the Berlin Airlift came to failing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

\u00a0Watch a Video Teaser Here!<\/a><\/p>

\u00a0Winning a war with milk, coal and candy!<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Understanding ourselves by understanding the past This blog is dedicated to discussing the Crusader Kingdoms of Jerusalem and Cyprus. Dr. Schrader holds a PhD in History from the University of Hamburg. For more information visit: For readers tired of clich\u00e9s and cartoons, award-winning novelist Helena P. Schrader offers nuanced insight into historical events and figures […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-schraders-historical-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo-websitedesigns.com\/helena\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo-websitedesigns.com\/helena\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo-websitedesigns.com\/helena\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo-websitedesigns.com\/helena\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo-websitedesigns.com\/helena\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1532"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/demo-websitedesigns.com\/helena\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1542,"href":"https:\/\/demo-websitedesigns.com\/helena\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1532\/revisions\/1542"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo-websitedesigns.com\/helena\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo-websitedesigns.com\/helena\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo-websitedesigns.com\/helena\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo-websitedesigns.com\/helena\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}