Retired Air Force Col. Gail S. Halvorsen, the “Candy Bomber” whose exploits endeared him to a generation of children in war-ravaged Berlin and made him an iconic figure in his Mormon community, died Wednesday at his home in Salt Lake City. He was 101.
The Associated Press cited James Stewart, director of the Gail S. Halvorsen Aviation Education Foundation, as confirming Col. Halvorsen’s death after a brief illness. The wire service reported he was “surrounded by most of his children” at the time.
Col. Halvorsen’s impromptu act of kindness — sharing chewing gum and chocolates with children crowded around Templehof Airport’s runways — made him a hero in Berlin, a city ravaged by invading Allied forces as the Second World War ended.
West Berlin, the sector blockaded by Soviet forces at the start of the Cold War, suffered immensely before the airlift known as “Operation Vittles” began.
Having only two sticks of chewing gum to share during his first encounter, Col. Halvorsen promised the children he would return and drop candy from his airplane the following day. Asked how they would know a given aircraft was his, the pilot said he would wiggle the plane’s wings, earning the sobriquet “Uncle Wiggle Wings.”
An AP story at the time about Col. Halvorsen’s exploits generated massive candy donations that were passed on to the children in Berlin.
Adults on the ground expressed gratitude for the flour, olive oil, and other staples brought into the city.
Speaking at the Utah Senate in 2017, Col. Halvorsen recalled Germans telling him, “Just don’t give up on us. Someday, we’ll have enough to eat. But if we lose our freedom, we’ll never get it back.”
A devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Col. Halvorsen was one of six members featured in “Meet the Mormons,” a 2014 motion picture released to movie theatres across the country that was designed to introduce non-members to the faith.
Famed NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw narrated Col. Halvorsen’s story during a 2012 Christmas concert by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir that aired the following year on PBS.
As a climax to the tale of the candy drops the pilot made, Col. Halvorsen appeared on stage to thunderous applause as small parachutes with candy packets attached fell on the audience.
Col. Halvorsen “lived an exemplary life of goodness and represented the gospel and the Church of Jesus Christ worldwide in a very unique and authentic way,” said Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, a member of the LDS Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and a former chief pilot for the German airline Lufthansa.
Mr. Uchtdorf added, “My friend has flown to even greater heights and returned to his heavenly home. He will be remembered with love and missed by many.”
“Halvorsen’s deeply human act has never been forgotten,” Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey said in a statement.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox also praised Col. Halvorsen, who was born in Salt Lake City but grew up on farms before getting his pilot’s license.
“I know he’s up there, handing out candy behind the Pearly Gates somewhere,” he said.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.