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November 16, 2011
The Candy Bomber
Very cool story here about the "Candy Bomber", an American Air Force pilot who gave hope to people in a hopeless time in post-WWII Germany.
http://www.futilitycloset.com/2011/11/15/the-candy-bomber/
"In July 1948, 27-year-old Air Force lieutenant Gail Halvorsen was flying food and supplies into West Berlin, which was blockaded by the Soviet Union. One night he encountered a group of hungry children who had gathered near the runway to watch the planes land."
"They could speak a little English," he recalled later. "Their clothes were patched and they hadn't had gum and candy for two or three years. They barely had enough to eat."
"Halvorsen gave them two sticks of gum and promised to drop more candy for them the next day from his C-54. He said he'd rock his wings so that they could distinguish him from the other planes. Then he returned to the base and spent the night tying bundles of candy to handkerchief parachutes."
Posted by Rob Kiser on November 16, 2011 at 11:16 AM
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