McCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. — There are many colonels at the air
rodeo competition this week at McChord Air Force Base, Wash., but one
of them with the sweetest history is 88-year-old Col. Gail Halvorsen. Halvorsen
became known as the Candy Bomber of the Berlin Airlift after the
Soviets had blockaded West Berlin from June 1948 until May 1949. Later, in the 1980s, he and his wife served Mormon missions in the Soviet Union.The Soviets ended the blockade after the Americans airlifted thousands of tons of food and supplies into West Berlin.Col.
Charles K. Hyde, commander of the 314 Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air
Force Base, said, "Halvorsen is an air mobility icon.
He symbolizes Operation Vittles, the Berlin Airlift. He made a connection with a strategic impact airlift to a human element.