A salute to Captian Wiggle Wings

[Platapus]

July 17th marked the 70th anniversary of something pretty cool

‘Captain Wiggle Wings’ – The U.S. Pilot Who Dropped Tons of Candy for Kids in Berlin After Fighting Their Country

70 years ago today, a US Air Force pilot went down in history as the man who started dropping candy with miniature parachutes – because every child deserves a sweet treat, even in times of war.


In 1948, the Soviet Union instituted the cruel ‘Berlin Blockade’ as an attempt to cut off all inroads to West Berlin, yet they refrained from stopping the massive humanitarian airlift led by American, British, and French flyers.


For nearly a year, more than a quarter million flights delivered thousands of tons of food and fuel, coal, and liquid fuel to the otherwise strangled German city, which was surrounded by 1.5 million Soviet military troops. Despite the Germans having been the sworn enemy of the West just three years earlier, the merciful airlift—dubbed Operation Vittles—gained popular support and was called “America’s greatest humanitarian mission”.



Gail Halvorsen, one of the many Airlift pilots, decided to use his off-time to fly into Berlin and make movies with his hand-held camera. He arrived at Tempelhof on July 17th, 1948 on one of the C-54s and walked over to a crowd of children who had gathered at the end of the runway to watch the aircraft. He introduced himself and they started to ask him questions about the aircraft and their flights. As a goodwill gesture, he handed out his only two sticks of Wrigley’s Doublemint Gum. The children quickly divided up the pieces as best they could, even passing around the wrapper for others to smell.


He was so impressed by their gratitude and that they didn’t fight over the gum, he promised the children that he would drop off more candy the next time he returned. Before he left them, a child asked him how they would know it was him flying over. He replied, “I’ll wiggle my wings.”


The next day on his approach to Berlin, he rocked the aircraft and dropped some chocolate bars attached to a handmade handkerchief parachute to the children waiting below. Every day after that, the number of children increased and he made several more drops. Soon, there was a stack of mail in Base Ops addressed to “Uncle Wiggly Wings”, “The Chocolate Uncle” and “The Chocolate Flier”.



When an officer heard about it, he immediately expanded it into “Operation Little Vittles”. Other pilots participated, and when news reached the US, children all over the country sent in their own candy to help out. Soon, major candy manufacturers joined in.


In the end, over twenty three tons of candy were dropped on Berlin during the airlift that kept that blockaded city alive and the operation became a major propaganda success.




Be Sure And Share This Sweet Piece Of History With Your Friends

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/70-y...-kids-in-need/

I am happy that Colonel Gail Seymour "Hal" Halvorsen is still alive at 97 years old

[Skybird]

"Rosinenbomber." Still not forgotten over here, believe it or not.

[Schroeder]

Originally Posted by Skybird

"Rosinenbomber." Still not forgotten over here, believe it or not.

In Berlin perhaps. If I had not been interested in aviation and history I would probably have never heard of the Berlin air lift.


BTW I was lucky enough to see Mr. Halvorsen in person on the ILA in Berlin about a decade ago. I was there with my then virtual squadron and he walked past us in a flight suit, army air force hat and a 360° smile. I asked one of our members who was from Berlin whether he had seen that funny looking guy and he said "Yep, that's Gail Halvorsen" as if anybody had to know who that guy is. It took me several seconds to remember where I had heard that name before and then remembered his story from an old book about the airlift that I had read some years before by pure chance. I really felt privileged after that that I had met that guy even though we just walked past one another.

[Catfish]

I remember my father speaking about it, but as far as i know Halvorsen was not the only allied pilot who dropped candy and sweets, during the airlift?
Anyway a lot of friends and relatives of us have heard about it, and it is not (yet) forgotten.
Best wishes to Mr Halvorsen

[Jimbuna]

[Niume]

Wow never knew anything like this.