Gail Halvorsen
Gail Seymour Halvorsen was born in Salt Lake City on the 10th of October 1920. He grew up on small farms first in Rigby, Idaho, and then in Garland, Utah. His paternal grandfather had been born in Norway. Halvorsen graduated from Bear River High School in 1939 before briefly attending Utah State University. He earned his private pilot license under the non-college Civilian Pilot Training Program in September 1941. At about the same time he joined the Civil Air Patrol as a pilot.
Lieutenant Halvorsen arrived in Germany on the 10th of July 1948 to be a pilot for Operation Vittles. During his flights he would fly to Berlin and deeper into Soviet-controlled areas. One day in July he was filming planes taking off and landing at Tempelhof Airport. While there he saw about thirty children lined up behind one of the barbed-wire fences. He went to meet them and noticed that the children had nothing. Halvorsen remembers: I met about thirty children at the barbed wire fence that protected Tempelhofs huge area. They were excited and told me that when the weather gets so bad that you can't land, don't worry about us. We can get by on a little food, but if we lose our freedom, we may never get it back. Touched, Halvorsen reached into his pocket and took out two sticks of gum to give to the children. The kids broke them into little pieces and shared them. The ones who did not get any sniffed the wrappers.
That night Halvorsen, his copilot, and his engineer pooled their candy rations for the next days drop. The accumulated candy was heavy, so in order to ensure that no children were hurt by the falling package, Halvorsen made three parachutes out of handkerchiefs and tied them to the rations. In the morning they dropped three boxes of candy attached to handkerchiefs once a week for three weeks. Each week the group of children waiting at the Tempelhof airport fence grew significantly. When word reached the airlift commander Lieutenant General William H. Tunner he ordered it expanded into Operation Little Vittles. Operation Little Vittles began officially on the 22nd of September 1948. By November 1948 Halvorsen could no longer keep up with the amount of candy and handkerchiefs being sent from across America. College student Mary C. Connors of Chicopee, Massachusetts offered to take charge of the now national project. She worked with the National Confectioners Association to prepare the candy and tie the handkerchiefs. In total it is estimated that Operation Little Vittles was responsible for dropping over 23 tons of candy from over 250,000 parachutes.
After returning home in January 1949 Halvorsen considered leaving the Air Force but changed his mind when offered a permanent commission. In 1951 and 1952 he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Florida as an assignment from the Air Force Institute of Technology. He went on to be the project engineer for cargo aircraft research and development with the Wright Air Development Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and Hill Air Force Base from 1952 to 1957. Halvorsen was reassigned in 1957 to the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. He was there until 1958 when assigned at the Air Force Space Systems Division of Air Force Systems Command in Inglewood, California. While on this assignment Halvorsen researched and developed various space projects including the Titan III launch vehicle program. From 1962 to 1965 Halvorsen served in Wiesbaden, West Germany with the Foreign Technology division of AF Systems Command. He then became the Commander of the 7350th Air Base Group at Tempelhof Central Airport, Berlin, Germany in February 1970.
During Halvorsens career and for several years following his retirement he voluntarily represented the U.S. Air Force and the United States of America. In 1994 he persuaded the air force to let him drop hundreds of candy bars over Bosnia-Herzegovina as part of Operation Provide Promise. Another larger drop was planned and executed by Halvorsen over Kosovo in 1999. Additional candy drops have been enacted in Japan, Guam, Albania, and across the United States. In 2003 and 2004 he advocated a similar series of candy drops over Baghdad as a humanitarian mission to be a ray of hope, a symbol that somebody in America cares. Since that time the United States military has emulated some of his actions in Iraq by dropping toys, teddy bears, and soccer balls to Iraqi children. His last flight was on the 17th of December 2019 where he flew the Spirit of Freedom for the last time.
In 1949 Halvorsen received the Cheney Award given by the Air Force to recognize humanitarian action from General Hoyt S. Vandenberg. Other prominent awards include the Legion of Merit and the Ira Baker Fellow Award by the USAF Chief of Staff General John Dale Ryan. In 2014 Halvorsen became a recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award that Congress can give to a civilian. He was inducted into the Airlift/Tanker Association Hall of Fame and the Utah Aviation Hall of Fame in May 2001. In 1974 he was decorated with the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Germanys highest award. In 2015 he was awarded the General Lucius D. Clay medal by the Federation of German-American Clubs. The Senate of Berlin is actually planning to tear down the historical fields along with other sport facilities. On the 8th of February 2002 for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City he carried the German national placard into the Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Gail Halvorsen and Alta Jolley were married in Las Vegas, Nevada on the 16th of April 1949. The Halvorsens had five children all of whom were raised in various parts of the United States and Germany as Halvorsen fulfilled his military assignments. After Halvorsens retirement in 1974 the couple moved to Provo, Utah. From 1976 until 1986 Halvorsen served as the Assistant Dean of Student Life at BYU. Alta died on the 25th of January 1999 at which time the couple had 24 grandchildren. Five years later Halvorsen married again this time to his high school sweetheart Lorraine Pace. The couple resided in Spanish Fork, Utah on their farm and spent winters in Arizona. In January 2021 it was reported that he had recovered from COVID-19 which he had contracted about one month before. Halvorsen died from respiratory failure in Provo on the 16th of February 2022 at the age of 101. He was buried at the Provo City Cemetery after funeral services conducted for him with full military honors.
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Common questions
When was Gail Halvorsen born and where did he grow up?
Gail Seymour Halvorsen was born in Salt Lake City on the 10th of October 1920. He grew up on small farms first in Rigby, Idaho, and then in Garland, Utah.
What event inspired Gail Halvorsen to start Operation Little Vittles?
Gail Halvorsen started Operation Little Vittles after meeting about thirty children behind a barbed-wire fence at Tempelhof Airport during his flights for Operation Vittles. He gave them two sticks of gum which they shared, prompting him to organize candy drops with handkerchief parachutes.
How much candy did Operation Little Vittles drop and when did it officially begin?
Operation Little Vittles began officially on the 22nd of September 1948. It is estimated that the program dropped over 23 tons of candy from over 250,000 parachutes.
Where did Gail Halvorsen serve as Commander of the 7350th Air Base Group?
Gail Halvorsen served as the Commander of the 7350th Air Base Group at Tempelhof Central Airport in Berlin, Germany starting in February 1970.
When did Gail Halvorsen die and how old was he?
Gail Halvorsen died from respiratory failure in Provo on the 16th of February 2022 at the age of 101. His last flight occurred on the 17th of December 2019 where he flew the Spirit of Freedom.