FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: The Berlin Airlift, Part 3 ~ December 19, 2011

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[Kathy in Alaska]

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~ Hall of Heroes ~

Part 3:  Operation Little Vittles
All info and photos from this website.

Link to Part One
Link to Part Two

           

"DER SCHOKOLADEN FLIEGER"
 

OPERATION LITTLE VITTLES
 

40K JPEG	General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force is shown presenting the 1948 Cheney Award to 1st Lieutenant Gail S. Halvorsen, USAF, former Berlin Airlift pilot and originator of Operation Little Vittles while his wife, second from left, looks on.
U.S. Air Force Photograph Negative Number A-35720 AC National Air and Space Archives Videodisc Number 3B-38771

One of the most poignant stories of the Berlin Airlift was that of one 1^st Lt. Gail S. Halvorsen.  Halvorsen was somewhat of an ammeter moviemaker, and on July 17, he decided that on one of his off days, he would hitch a ride as a passenger on a C-54 and visit the City he was saving.  Once at Tempelhof, Halvorsen walked to the end of the runway to film some aircraft landings when he noticed a group of children near the fence watching the planes, too.  He went over to them.  They asked questions about the aircraft, the cargo, how fast it was going and things like that.  During this conversation he noticed that these children, unlike others he had encountered in Europe as a Ferry command Pilot during the War, did not ask him for any candy or gum, like others always had.  This struck him funny, and he knew that they were too proud to beg for such things.  Some having been born during wartime had not even heard of treats like that.  He made a fateful decision at that moment which was to become one of the symbols of the airlift.  He reached into his pocket and found that he had only two sticks of Wrigley's Doublemint Gum.  He remarked that if they did not fight over it, he would drop some candy to them if they were there the next day.  They agreed, took the sticks of gum and divided it amongst themselves, some happy to get only a piece of the wrapper.  Before he left them, a child asked him how they would know it was him flying over.  He replied, "I'll wiggle my wings." 
True to his word, the very next day, on approach to Berlin, he rocked the airplane and dropped some chocolate bars attached to a handkerchief parachute to the children waiting below.  Every day, the number of children would increase and he made several more drops.  Soon there was a stack of mail in Base Ops addressed to "Uncle Wiggly Wings', "The Chocolate Uncle" and "The Chocolate Flier". 
Halvorsen didn't tell anyone about what he was doing for fear he'd get in trouble.  Then, he was called into his commander and asked what he was doing.  He replied 'Flying, Sir."  His commander asked again, and received the same response.  He then pulled out a newspaper with a picture of Halvorsen's plane and tiny parachutes trailing behind.  Apparently, a newspaper reporter narrowly escaped being hit on the head with a chocolate bar.  His commander wasn't happy about it, but General Tunner though it was just the kind of gesture that the operation needed.  It was dubbed "Operation Little Vittles".  It continued, and many C-54 pilots participated.  Candy and parachutes were assembled and sent from Chicopee Falls, MA to assist in the gesture.  In the end, over three tons of candy was dropped over Berlin, some even in the Soviet sector.  For this simple kindhearted gesture, Halvorsen became the most recognized pilot of the Berlin Airlift. 

THE EASTER PARADE
 

By April 1949, airlift operations were going rather smoothly, and General Tunner wanted to break up the monotony.  He liked the idea of a big event that would show the capabilities of his command, as well as give everyone a big morale boost.  He wanted to set a record.  In order to do that, much planning was necessary, and it was decided that on Easter Sunday, the only cargo was to be coal.  In fact general Tunner wanted to shatter all previous tonnage records set so far.  Secretly, coal was stockpiled for the event.  Maintenance schedules were altered so that the maximum number of planes was available.  Everyone put in extra effort for this special event.  From 12:00PM April 15, to 12:00PM April 16, 1949, crews worked overtime to deliver more tonnage than had ever been delivered in a 24 hour period.  When it was over, 12,941 tons of coal had been delivered as a result of 1,383 flights without a single accident.  As a matter of fact, as a result, the daily tonnage also increased from 6,729 tons a day before the Easter Parade, to 8,893 tons per day, an unexpected benefit.  This was the straw that broke the camel's back. 

THE END OF THE BLOCKADE
 

On May 12, 1949, the Soviets capitulated.  The blockade was over.  It was decided to continue supplying Berlin by air in addition to the land routes in order to build up a sufficient supply of goods.  The Airlift officially ended on Sept. 30, 1949, fifteen months after its meager beginnings in June of '48.  In total, the US delivered 1,783,572.7 tons, while 541,936.9 tons were delivered by the British totaling 2.3 Million tons from 277, 569 total flights to Berlin.  C-47's and C-54's alone traveled over 92 million miles in order to do so.  These were astounding figures, considering that in the beginning it seemed impossible to even try.  Nevertheless, even the greatest operation is not without risk.  A total of 101 fatalities were recorded as a result of the operation, including 31 Americans, mostly due to crashes. 

The end of the blockade was unexpected; however, as bigger plans were made and bigger planes were set to replace the existing fleet of C-54's.  The USAF had already used a C-74 "Globemaster" and one Boeing YC-97A "Stratofreighter" in the airlift, testing the feasibility of heavy-lift transports and their use in a continued operation.  The Douglas C-124 "Globemaster II" was coming and the plan was to use C-97's and 124's to continue the operation without as many flights.  Fortunately, that was not necessary. 

Boeing C-97 "Stratofreighter" owned by the Foundation         Fairchild C-82 "Packet"                          Douglas C-74 "Globemaster"       

 

...continued and concluded next week....

 

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission!

[DeaconBenjamin]

Thank you so much for bringing these remembrances.

[BIGLOOK]

Aloha Night Owl!

[HopeandGlory]

Good morning Troops, Veterans and Canteeners.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Our Flag Flying Proudly One Nation Under God

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Lord, Please Bless Our Troops, They're fighting for our Freedom.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

God Bless Our Republic

I pledge allegiance to the Flag
of the United States of America,
and to the Republic, for which it stands;
one nation UNDER GOD,
indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.

Prayers going up

[ColdOne]

Hello From Idaho!

Thank You Kathy In Alaska for another wonderful thread!

((HUGS))

Not much new. People will start filling in the town for the Christmas holidays, snowmobiles are already racing up and down the airstrip today.

Should snow this week.

God Bless Our Troops!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hello Veterans, wherever you are!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Welcome to the Canteen, Deacon.

StarCMC brought us the original about 3 years ago. She has made The Berlin Airlift a yearly tradition as a reminder to all of us of how great our military is and was, and what great things can be done with American ingenuity.

I'm glad you are enjoying the retelling.

[Kathy in Alaska]

My apologies if you got pinged twice or to a wrong thread. The ping disappeared.

Please note: The author of the Hall of Heroes is StarCMC.

Please thank StarCMC for today’s thread.

~ Hall of Heroes: The Berlin Airlift, Part 3, Operation Little Vittles ~

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[The Mayor]

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All Is Well
December 19, 2011

Recently, my husband and I were reacquainted with a young man we had known as a child many years ago. We fondly reminisced about a Christmas program when Matthew had sung—in a perfect boy soprano—the song “All Is Well” by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Michael W. Smith. It was a wonderful memory of a song beautifully sung.

All is well, all is well;
Lift up your voice and sing.
Born is now Emmanuel,
Born is our Lord and Savior.
Sing Alleluia, sing Alleluia, all is well.

To hear the words of that song at Christmastime is comforting to many. But some people are unable to absorb the message because their lives are in turmoil. They’ve experienced the loss of a loved one, persistent unemployment, a serious illness, or depression that will not go away. Their hearts loudly cry out, “All is not well—not for me!”

But for those of us who celebrate the birth of our Savior—despite the dark night of the soul we may experience—all is well because of Christ. We are not alone in our pain. God is beside us and promises never to leave (Heb. 13:5). He promises that His grace will be sufficient (2 Cor. 12:9). He promises to supply all our needs (Phil. 4:19). And He promises us the amazing gift of eternal life (John 10:27-28).

As we review God’s promises, we can agree with the poet John Greenleaf Whittier, who wrote, “Before me, even as behind, God is, and all is well.”

God’s peace pillows the head when God’s promises calm the heart.

Read: Psalm 46:1-3

I will never leave you nor forsake you. —Hebrews 13:5

Bible in a year:
Jonah 1-4; Revelation 10

[Kathy in Alaska]

1st!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

2nd!!

2nd!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

3rd!!

[left that other site]

Hi Kathy!

Thank You for tonight’s thread.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Aloha, Hawaii...((HUGS))...high wind and high temps storming again since last night. All the snow is gone from the trees and mailboxes. The last half hour has seen the temps drop back down into the mid 30s. I am not liking this at all.

How about you...still raining?

[HiJinx]

All three of the aircraft at the end of tonight’s thread are on display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. The museum is due south of Davis-Monthan’s Boneyard, on Valencia Rd.

[SunkenCiv]

“We are going to stay, period.” — President Harry S. Truman

Thanks Kathy in Alaska.

[ConorMacNessa]

Very late tonight - Church, then our Choir's Christmas party, then shopping - didn't get back until after 5:00 p.m. - then cooking dinner and decorating the tree - a full day!

REQUEST PERMISSION TO COME ABOARD!

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS!!!





BOSTON, (Oct. 21, 2009) Boatswains Mate 2nd Class Philip Gagnon pipes as USS Constitution performs an underway demonstration in honor of the three-masted wooden frigate's 212th birthday. (U.S. Navy photo by Airman Mark Alexander/Released).



Detachment of Marines in 1812 regalia aboard USS Constitution.

OUR TROOPS ROCK!!!!!!!

Lamh Foistenach Abu!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, HJ...how cool that a piece of history is close enough for you to visit.

[HiJinx]

Visit? Did that when I was stationed in Berlin!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Thanks, Nana Hope, for today's Pledge…((HUGS)). Thanks, AfghanMan and Penguin Girl, for your service to America.