“The Candy Bomber: The Story of the Berlin Airlift’s “Chocolate Pilot”
by Michael O. Tunnell.
Charlesbridge Press, Watertown, Mass., 2010, 106 pages, Grades 4-7.
Rare is the book that page after page brings tears to the eyes of readers. This is one such book. It is especially important in view of the Russian invasion of Ukraine last week. This story is the account of one man’s response to the Russian government’s tyranny after World War II.
As the war ended, Germany will be divided by the victorious Allies. The East German section is controlled by the Soviet Union, as the Russian alliance was called. The Western sections are ruled by the United States, Great Britain and France. The capital city of Berlin is divided into four parts, with each of the victors controlling a particular section.
In an effort to stop any potential wars, the Allies try to positively rebuild West Germany. They will be successful. The Soviets have a different plan. East Germany will be dominated as a conquered province. Berlin lies 110 miles inside the Russian Zone. In 1948, they cut off all rail, highway and shipping to Berlin. The Communists want to have the Berliners renounce their allegiance to the West and become part of what will be called the “Iron Curtain.” Berlin will soon be starving, which is exactly the point.
The British and American air forces refuse to accept this decision and plan a gigantic airlift of supplies to the besieged city. In the 16 months of the Berlin Blockade, 277,569 flights are made into the strangled capital and 2,325,510 tons of food are flown into Berlin.
One pilot, Lt. Gail Halvorsen, lands in Berlin and has a chance meeting with a group of bedraggled children. Through the airport fence, they look at him. He is moved by the sight and takes out two sticks of chewing gum, breaks them in half and gives the gum to four children. The children then pass the gum wrappers through the group and all the children smell the sugar and mint scent from the wrappers.
Halvorsen is profoundly moved by this experience. He tells the children he will come back with more gum and candy. They want to know which plane he is flying. The lieutenant tells them he will wiggle his plane’s wings as he flies over. Sure enough, Halvorsen soon flies over the children wiggling his wings. He and his crew make small parachutes holding chocolates and toss them down to the children. Within days, the Berlin children are all trying to catch a parachute.
Halverson’s candy drops make instant news across Europe. Other flying crews quickly join the project now entitled Operation Little Vittles. Now named the Chocolate Pilot, Uncle Wiggle Wings or the Candy Bomber, Halvorsen becomes the face of the Allied effort to befriend West Germany. For the children of Berlin, he is the pilot who finally brings hope to a devastated city. Operation Little Vittles will parachute drop 20 tons of candy and gum to the children in Berlin during the 16 months of the blockade. Upon hearing that children in a polio hospital and other welfare sites cannot chase the parachutes, Halvorsen visits the stricken children and helps arrange the distribution of candy. The Allies donate 6,000 pounds of candy, gum and other surprises such as teddy bears to children in other hospitals in Berlin.
The Germans never forget Lt. Halvorsen. In later life, he will command the Air Force base he landed in as a young pilot. Halvorsen receives many awards from Germany and the United States. He is so highly honored in Germany that he is asked to lead the German athletes in the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2002 Olympics. This story is simply marvelous and it started with two pieces of gum. I hope you get a chance to check out this wonderful title.
I would especially like to thank Brenda Ealey, the library director at Gere Library in Lincoln, for the outstanding children’s collection she oversees. The Lincoln City Libraries are what public libraries should be. As the Berlin children would say: Danke schön!
