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‘Candy Bomber’ of Berlin Blockade, Gail Halvorsen, Dies at 101

  • Delivered hope to war-torn children following World War II
  • U.S. pilot dropped treats in tiny parachutes from his plane
A group of children surround Gail Halvorsen, in Berlin in 1949.
A group of children surround Gail Halvorsen, in Berlin in 1949.Source: PhotoQuest/Archive Photos/Getty Images

Gail Halvorsen, the U.S. military pilot who brought joy to Berlin’s children by dropping candy in tiny handkerchief parachutes from his plane when the Soviet Union blockaded the divided city during the Cold War, has died. He was 101. 

He died Wednesday evening at Utah Valley Hospital in Provo, Utah, after a long illness, surrounded by most of his children, according to a Facebook post by his educational foundation