COL Gail S. Halvorsen: The Candy Bomber

Warriors In Their Own Words | First Person War Stories

Robert Kirk

History

4.6 • 675 Ratings

🗓️ 2 March 2023

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

After World War Two, Germany was split up and occupied by the United States, France, Britain and the Soviet Union. In June of 1948, the U.S., France, and Britain announced they were creating a unified West German currency. Joseph Stalin opposed this unification, and cut off land routes from Berlin to West Germany. In order to bypass the land routes, bombers transported supplies (primarily food) and delivered them to West Berlin in what was called Operation Vittles. Colonel Gail S. Halvorsen was one of several pilots recruited to fly these missions. One day, after sneaking out and flying to Berlin for some R&R, COL Halvorsen met some local children who were survivors of the war. Talking with them changed his life, and he decided he wanted to do something to help them. He returned to base, gathered as much candy and gum as he could, fashioned parachutes with handkerchiefs, and put all the goodies inside. The next day, he flew over West Berlin and dropped the parachutes full of candy out of his bomb bay. The children were delighted. COL Halvorsen did this several more times, and gained international acclaim for his actions. To learn more about COL Halvorsen, check out his book, The Berlin Candy Bomber. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Autopilot Order.
0:01.7	Now, informal.
0:02.9	The strong urge felt at the ordering kiosk or drive-through
0:05.6	that takes over the entire body and mind
0:07.8	and results in a person ordering a Big Mac without even having to think.
0:11.5	Related phrases.
0:12.5	Looks like I've ordered a Big Mac again.
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0:49.4	Ties and Cs apply.
0:50.6	I'm Ken Harbaugh, host of Warriors in their own words. If you love listening to this show, as much as I love hosting it, I think you'll really like the Medal of Honor podcast produced in partnership with the Medal of Honor Museum. Each episode talks about a genuine American hero, and the actions that led to their receiving are nation's highest award for valor. They're just a few minutes each.
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