Visa källa för Cold War Pilot Known As apos;Candy Bomber apos; As He Dropped Sweets To Kids

Colonel Gail Halvorsen (pictured) - nicknamed the Candy Bomber - released the treats, tied to miniature parachutes made from handkerchiefs<br>A pilot who delivered chocolate for children behind the Iron Curtain will be honoured by the Royal British Legion today.<br>Colonel Gail Halvorsen - nicknamed the Candy Bomber - released the treats, tied to miniature parachutes made from handkerchiefs, as he flew in vital supplies to West  after it was blockaded by the Soviet Union in 1948.<br>His kindness during one of the Cold War's first major crises duly raised Berliners' morale - and the initially unauthorised drops soon gathered momentum, with children eventually receiving around 20 tons of sweets as other airmen joined 'Operation Little Vittles'.<br>The RAF-trained pilot, now aged 99,  [https://weareliferuiner.com/reception-candy-sticks-dipped-in-chocolate/ weareliferuiner.com] and his inspirational deeds during the Berlin Airlift - when the Allies circumvented the blockade by flying in food and fuel every day for more than two million Germans - will be featured during the Royal British Legion's Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.<br>A young actress will read a testimonial from Traute Grier, a teenager when the blockade began, who said: 'The chocolate was wonderful but it wasn't the chocolate that was most important. <br>'What it meant was that someone cared.<br><br>That parachute was something more important than candy. It represented hope.'<br>         Hope: Meeting children at Tempelhof airport. His kindness during one of the Cold War's first major crises duly raised Berliners' morale<br>   RELATED ARTICLES              <br><br><br><br>Share this article<br>Share<br><br><br>Col Halvorsen told how the chocolate drops began with two sticks of Wrigley's chewing gum, following a group of children's heartfelt plea for liberty from Communist oppression. <br>The pilot, then a 28-year-old lieutenant, met the children through the fence of an airfield where he was working.<br>'The kids said, 'someday we'll have enough to eat but if we lose our freedom, we'll never get it back'.<br><br>I thought their attitude was wonderful so I reached in my pocket. All I had was two sticks of gum. <br>'They held it like it was fragile, they were thrilled,' he recalled this week, during a tour of the RAF Museum in Hendon, north London, organised with the help of the RAF Museum American Foundation.<br>         Chocs away: A West Berlin airdrop in 1948 from a cargo plane. The RAF-trained pilot, now aged 99, and his inspirational deeds during the Berlin Airlift will be featured during the Royal British Legion's Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall<br>The father of five, a farmer's son from Provo, Utah, served in the United States Air Force for 32 years from 1942.<br><br>He said his thoughts on Remembrance Sunday would be with the 36 British and 32 American airmen who lost their lives in crashes during the Berlin Airlift.<br>'The spirit of the Berliners was incredible and their support for us - enemies who were bombing them a few years before - was unbelievable,' he said.<br>'That's an important message still today. Dedication to ideals - to identify first of all what's best for the human race, then supporting those efforts to make it that way.'<br>The Royal British Legion's Festival of Remembrance is on BBC1 at 9pm tonight. <br><br><br>adverts.addToArray({"pos":"inread_player"})Advertisement