Tribute: Remembering Gail Halvorsen, the "Berlin Candy Bomber" and "Uncle Wiggly Wings"

Colonel Gail Seymour Halvorsen (October 10, 1920 - February 16, 2022)

This morning, we were saddened to learn the passing of Gail Halvorsen at the age of 101 years old yesterday in Provo, Utah on February 16, 2022. Colonel Gail Seymour Halvorsen was born on October 10, 1920 in Salt Lake City, Utah and served as a senior officer and command pilot of the United States Air Force. He learned to fly in rural Utah and earned his private pilots license in 1941 before joining the Civil Air Patrol. Colonel Halvorsen joined the United States Army Air Force in 1942 and was eventually assigned to Germany in 1948 in order to fly for the Berlin Airlift as part of Operation Vittles at the onset of the Cold War flying Douglas C-47 Skytrains and C-54 Skymasters. Best known as the "Berlin Candy Bomber" and "Uncle Wiggly Wings" (for rocking and wiggling his wings whenever his plane approached Berlin for the children to look out for), he is famous for kickstarting Operation "Little Vittles," a humanitarian operation that was a part of Operation Vittles, which dropped candy via miniature parachutes for German children during the Berlin Airlift in order to raise morale.

Colonel Halvorsen speaking at the 2018 groundbreaking ceremony for the Gail S. Halvorsen Aviation Center being built at the Spanish Fork Airport in Utah. 

Colonel Halvorsen initially began "Little Vittles" with no authorization from his superiors. But within a year, word of his humanitarian gesture reached Lieutenant General William H. Turner, airlift commander of the whole operation, who ordered the expansion of the "Little Vittles" operations. Support for the candy-dropping efforts grew, first from Halvorsen and his pilot friends flying in the Berlin Airlift, then to his whole airlift squadron, and then to the United States. When news of Operation "Little Vittles" reached the United States, American children and candy makers from throughout the country began contributing. Over 23 tons of candy was dropped as part of "Little Vittles" via over 250,000 miniature parachutes from September 1948 until May 1949. Halvorsen himself became a national hero and received the Congressional Gold Medal among other numerous awards for his part in Operation "Little Vittles." Many also consider him a hero of the Cold War, an icon of the West standing its ground against the expansion of a then-Soviet-led Communism.

Halvorsen flew C-47 Skytrains much like this one.

Douglas C-54G Skymaster on display the Hill Aerospace Museum in Ogden, Utah. This particular airframe actually flew in the Berlin Airlift and is now painted to look like the plane Halvorsen flew during the airlift in commemoration of his contributions to Operation "Little Vittles." Throughout the Wasatch and Utah Valleys, Halvorsen has been a well-known fixture in Utah communities, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which he was also a prominent member of.

After the Berlin Airlift, Colonel Halvorsen continued his military and humanitarian career, spanning 25 years where he advocated for and performed candy drops in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, Japan, Guam, and Iraq. His professional and military career included various notable positions, including his contributions which led to the development of reusable manned spacecraft at the Directorate of Space and Technology and served as commander of Berlin Tempelhof Airport. Halvorsen retired from Air Force service in 1974 after logging over 8,000 flying hours. From 1976 until 1986, he served as the Assistant Dean of Student Life at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. The legacy of Operation "Little Vittles" had a profound impact in the United States and throughout the world. Even after retiring from the military, Colonel Halvorsen continued to serve the local, national, and international community in a variety of ways.

Halvorsen's candy drop had also been a fixture and many local aviation events, albeit in a more educational and fun setting, including the 2018 groundbreaking ceremony of the Gail S. Halvorsen Aviation Center pictured here.

I also had the privilege of meeting and shaking hands with Colonel Gail Halvorsen, back in 2016. He was truly an inspiration and a fine gentleman.

Colonel Halvorsen and I at a 2016 aviation event that took place at the Spanish Fork Airport in Utah. This was without a doubt a very memorable moment in my life and I treasure it even more so now...

To you, Colonel Gail S. Halvorsen, blue skies and tailwinds sir! You will be greatly missed! And thank you for your inspirational service! His legacy lives on and it would be very appropriate to eat a chocolate bar in his memory.