CandyBomber: The Story Behind the Name
“It wasn’t the candy. It was the fact that they were in trouble, and someone cared.”
Col. Gail Halvorsen, The Candy Bomber
By Founder, Kate Duhamel
I chose the name for my production company after learning about the Candy Bomber, Colonel Gail Halvorsen who was a pilot during the Berlin Airlift in 1948-49. He was on a team of pilots who landed at the Tempelhof airport in Berlin every three minutes around the clock, seven days a week in an astounding food supply operation that kept two million West Berliners alive for over a year. One day, Halvorsen noticed children gathering at the airport fence and approached them to talk. He was impressed by their maturity, their understanding of the value of the freedom they no longer had, and by their dignity in refraining from asking him for anything. As he was about to get back in his jeep, he stopped short, and though he didn’t know it then, made a spontaneous decision that would change the course of his life and deeply touch the lives of millions of others.
That decision was to give the children his last two pieces of gum which they broke into tiny pieces to share among themselves. Taken aback by seeing that those who didn’t get any were sharing the paper to lick, he impulsively promised to drop more for them from his airplane the next day. He gathered as much gum and candy as he could from his fellow officers, put it into three boxes, and tied handkerchiefs on them as parachutes so they wouldn't hurt the children when they fell. The drop worked and the children’s reaction was ecstatic. Though Halvorsen was breaking the rules, he and two of his fellow pilots managed to do a few more drops in the coming weeks. When a superior officer found out, rather than punishing Halvorsen, he was moved and told him to carry on dropping candy. Thus began a movement that grew to include candy companies and tens of thousands of people in the US who helped supply candy and parachutes. Eventually, over 23 tons of candy were dropped to the people of West Berlin. The stories told by Germans who received the candy convey an appreciation for something far more meaningful than a coveted sweet treat. Lt. Halvorsen delivered hope, and an example of the healing power of human kindness among former enemies.
I had the honor to meet Col. Halvorsen in person last March. He is now 101 years old, and alive and well in Utah. He even recovered from Covid last year! He is a remarkable man. His simple decision to drop candy to starving children trapped inside West Berlin captured the imagination of nations. But this story has layers I’ve come to appreciate more as I’ve continued to read and learn. The fact that the airlift occurred at all is a heroic story of determination by President Truman, who refused to leave the residents - our former enemies - trapped inside West Berlin to starve. Feeding over two million people by air should have been impossible on the short, unpaved runway in Berlin where the weather was frequently bad. It’s fascinating to learn about the many seemingly impossible challenges of delivering 1500 calories a day and heating fuel to two million people through a cold winter, but the heart of the Candy Bomber’s story to me lies in the quote above, “It wasn’t the candy. It was the fact that they were in trouble, and someone cared.”
I have been moved by the stories of Germans whose lives were saved by the Americans, and I am deeply inspired by what the Candy Bomber stands for. Col. Halvorsen took to heart simple lessons he learned from his father - that small things can set you on your life’s path; and from his mother - that service to others before self is the source of genuine happiness. His small gesture, born out of his own desire to help others is still inspiring hearts and minds around the world. I hope I can amplify his example through our work at CandyBomber - in short, that even small acts of kindness can make a difference, and that the lives most improved by helping others are actually our own.