Flying for Freedom

Operation Vittles – One of the Greatest Humanitarian Actions of All Time

The friendship which the heroes of the Airlift planted in the hearts and minds of the German people endures.

: Enlarge image; Children in Berlin cheer on a "Candy Bomber" during the Berlin Airlift.; (© picture-alliance/dpa)

World War II had ended in 1945. Yet the Cold War was looming. On June 24, 1948, the Soviets blocked the western portion of Berlin controlled by American, British and French forces.

In response, the US and her Allies took to the skies on June 26, flying in provisions for West Berlin's grateful residents, an effort that grew into the Berlin Airlift. In what was one of the greatest humanitarian actions of all time they saved more than 2 million men, women and children from hunger and cold.

During the Airlift, American and British aircraft supplied the inhabitants of Berlin with all required food, fuel, industrial goods and raw materials. Supply deliveries grew from 500-700 tons a day in June 1948 to 12,940 tons by April 1949. At midnight on May 12, 1949, the Soviets gave in. They reopened land and water routes into Berlin, ending the 322-day blockade. Airlift missions finally ended in September 1949.

How Operation Little Vittles Came About and the “Candy Bomber” Got His Name

: Enlarge image; Halvorsen tosses candy from his plane in 1948 at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin.; (© picture-alliance/dpa)

Among the most eagerly anticipated provisions brought in were the bundles of candy for the city’s children. "Operation Little Vittles" started after American pilot, Lt. Gail S. Halvorsen, encountered a group of children near the Berlin airport.

Touched by their gratitude for his gift of a couple of sticks of gum, he promised more candy on his next trip, telling them to watch for the plane that would "wiggle" its wings once.

Halvorsen kept his promise by dropping candy wrapped in handkerchiefs and scraps of cloth as miniature parachutes the next day. His kindness earned him the nickname "Uncle Wiggly Wings2, the “Chocolate Flyer” and the “Berlin Candy Bomber”. News accounts of the deed caught the imagination of school children across America. As a result, American youngsters began candy collections for the kids in Berlin. Eventually donations of thousands of pounds of candy and hundreds of handkerchiefs and other pieces of scrap cloth reached him. By January 1949, more than 250,000 midget parachutes with treats attached had been dropped.

When the crowds of children awaiting his C-54 grew too large for the youngster's safety, his crew dropped the candy in other sections where they saw children playing. Other candy went to schools and to children confined to Berlin hospitals.

"This self-initiated act of kindness became the humanitarian heart that kept the aircrews going, fueled the hope of all Berliners, and set the mold for all future humanitarian airlifts," an Airlift Association website underscores. In recognition of his action and as a symbol of appreciation for the entire airlift operation, Lt. Halvorsen received the Cheney Award for 1948-49 " ... for an act of valor, extreme fortitude, or self-sacrifice in a humanitarian interest."

Germany and the United States are Committed Partners and Friends

Germany and the United States, two of the world’s strongest democracies and economies, stand as committed partners and friends today confronting new challenges, just as they stood together on freedom’s front line throughout the Cold War. The strong German-American relationship has grown for decades. It is based on shared fundamental interests and values.

The process of globalization, the ever increasing interlinking of individual states and regions in the world, in the last decades had decisive political repercussions as well as an obvious economic and social impact. Germany is ready to confront these challenges and strives for multilateral solutions to common problems such as global terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, regional conflicts, environmental threats, climate change, pandemics, poverty, failing states and barriers to free trade.

Germany and the United States are powerful and enduring partners for peace and security.