Confessions Of An Airshow Announcer – The Berlin Candy Bomber

"Of all the famous people you've interviewed in your three decades of airshow announcing, who was your favorite?"

She was a serious high school senior working on a paper about World War II flyers. One had been her grandfather. We were sitting at the picnic table in Golden Wings hangar surrounded by Greg Herrick's fabulous collection of vintage airplanes.

It was true. I'd interviewed many "names" in aviation and aerospace. The one that stood out the most I met for the first time at the Minnesota Wing's Ghost Squadron Show at Holman Field in August of 1998. I was privileged to connect with him other times at Anoka and Oshkosh - Gail Halversen, the Berlin Candy Bomber.

Born on 10 October 1920, a native of Utah, Gail Halversen learned to fly in September 1941 as part of the Civilian Pilot Training Program. He later joined the Army Air Force, and after training at No. 3 British Flying Training School at Miami, Oklahoma, was awarded his RAF and AAF wings on 17 June 1944. He flew C-47 and C-54 transports in the South Atlantic Theater and elected to stay in the Air Force at the end of the war, flying the C-47, C-54, and the giant Douglas C-74 Globemaster.

I announced for the Minnesota Wing of the CAF at Holman Field from 1995 to 1999 and later at Fleming from 2000 to 2002. During those days, the Wing brought together many historically significant aircraft, and more importantly, people who made history. Col. Gail Halversen was one of them.

He arrived aboard the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation's Douglas C-54E (N500EJ), the Spirit of Freedom, captained by Timothy A. Chopp. Col. Halversen was the co-pilot. Also on board was Bill Morrissey, a control tower operator at RAF Station Celle during the Berlin Airlift and Kevin Kearney, Flight Engineer and Vice President of the Foundation. The three-day gig was well attended and the C-54, a flying museum with displays aboard that told the 1948-1949 Airlift story, was the major attraction. The Spirit of Freedom had participated in the Airlift from 26 June 1948 through 12 May 1949 while serving with the United States Navy. She'd originally been delivered to the Army as AAF 44-9144, had been transferred to the USN as Bu-90414, and served with the Military Air Transport Service.

Col. Halversen not only spent time with me at the microphone, but, with the aid of a man-lift, dropped small parachutes with candy and gum to children who attended the show. From meeting children in Berlin in July 1948, children who had nothing, the idea for Operation "Little Vittles" evolved. Halversen and other crews, with the approval of Air Force brass, dropped treats to the children of the impoverished city.

Operation "Little Vittles" was a major public relations success for the Western Allies. For his idea of dropping small parachutes with candy from the inbound aircraft and rocking the wings on approach to let the children know of the candy drop, the children christened him "Uncle Wiggly Wings."

The Soviet blockade had isolated the divided city and cut the inhabitants off from all but the bare necessities. All road, rail and water access to Berlin had been cut off at Stalin's order. Only the air corridors remained.

Although statistics vary, the U. S. Air Force flew over 189,000 sorties to Berlin and the British Royal Air Force flew over 87,000. These flights brought in the fuel, food, medicine and equipment needed to, in the end, break Stalin's blockade. It was the first major Cold War victory for the Allies.

In February 1999, at the Polar Aviation Museum at Anoka County Airport, Col. Halversen returned to Minnesota, this time, for a series of seminars, which I moderated, about the Berlin Airlift.

I'd interviewed many "names" in aviation and aerospace. The one that stood out the most I met for the first time at the Minnesota Wing's Ghost Squadron Show at Holman Field in August of 1998. I was privileged to connect with him other times at Anoka and Oshkosh - Gail Halversen, the Berlin Candy Bomber.

When he wasn't talking with our guests, he autographed copies of his autobiography, The Berlin Candy Bomber (Horizon Publishers, 1997). His modesty, good humor and genuine love of people impressed everyone.

On 29 July 2007, I reconnected with Col. Halversen and the Spirit of Freedom. This time it was on the main ramp at Oshkosh. Ever the gentleman, Col. Halversen welcomed Sue and me aboard, remembered his time at Polar and thanked Sue for the Polar Museum sweatshirt and coffee mug, which he still used! A new edition, with added chapters, of his book had been published in 2006 and he graciously autographed it for us as we talked of past meetings.

In June 2019, he was aboard C-47A, AAF 42-24064, a D-Day veteran, named Placid Lassie, as she made a memorial overflight of Tempelhof Airfield in Berlin for the Airlift's 70th Anniversary. Photos show Col. Halversen, flying it from the left seat.

An internet posting on 13 April 2020 showed a heart-breaking photo of the Spirit of Freedom smashed against the side of a hangar at Lowcountry Regional Airport in South Carolina. Flown there to Swamp Fox Avionics for installation of the FAA transponders meeting the ADS-B mandate, N500EJ had been hit by tornado force winds and damaged beyond repair. The winds had been estimated at over 200 mph.

Fortunately, a replacement C-54D, AAF 43-17228 (N9015Q), was available for purchase by the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation. A former firebomber, it is also a veteran of the Airlift, having flown into Berlin from Rhein-Main, Celle and Fassberg. AAF 43-17228 will continue telling the story of the Berlin Airlift, painted in the same markings as the original Spirit of Freedom. It has also been re-registered as N500EJ in honor of its predecessor.

The Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation's "Mission of History, Education and Remembrance" will continue and, using the title of Roger G. Miller's excellent book about the Airlift as a theme, remind audiences how the Allies and Gail Halversen joined in a humanitarian effort To Save a City.