By Russell V. Lewey
In early June, I began meeting with
young students at libraries around Huntsville, Ala., to talk to them about the Air
Force and aviation, but mostly to introduce them to an American hero: retired
Col. Gail S. Halvorsen, the famous “Candy
Bomber” of the Berlin Airlift. My goal was
to stimulate their interest in aviation and
inspire them through Halvorsen’s tale.
These talks, more than 10 in all, concluded in mid-July. The Air Force Association’s Tennessee Valley Chapter provided
this support to the Huntsville-Madison
County Public Library system’s summer
Photo by Diane Lewey
Young students learned about the Air
Force and the Berlin Airlift’s Candy Bomber
through AFA’s Tennessee Valley Chapter.
Summer Berry gives the thumbs-up
while wearing a B-52 helmet during
Russell Lewey’s presentation at the
New Hope Library in New Hope, Ala.
Wingman Magazine︱ September 2015
reading program geared to children ages
five to eight. I estimate that I met with
more than 350 children. You can’t help
but love the kids. They’re enthusiastic;
they take it all in.
Each presentation lasted about 45 minutes. I built my talks to fit with the theme
of this year’s reading program: Every Hero
Has a Story. I drew upon “Uncle Wiggly
Wings: The Story of Gail Halvorsen, the
Candy Bomber,” educational material
provided by the Civil Air Patrol.
I already knew Halvorsen’s story well
because I lived in West Berlin in the late
1960s when my dad was stationed at
Tempelhof Airport and Halvorsen commanded the installation.
Some 20 years earlier, then-1st Lieutenant Halvorsen had begun dropping
tiny candy-laden parachutes to eagerly
waiting German children from the cargo
airplane he flew to Berlin. He was part
of the US and allied air bridge that kept
the western sectors of the city fueled and
fed during the year-long Soviet land
blockade that started in June 1948. He
inspired other airmen to pitch in to bring
the children of western Berlin some joy
at a difficult time. He would wiggle
the wings of his C-54 Skymaster so the
children knew which airplane was his in
the steady stream of transports, earning
him the name Uncle Wiggly Wings from
the adoring children.
Halvorsen’s story itself is priceless, but
I wanted to give the kids a little more, so
I piqued their interest by describing the
notable places that flying had taken me
when I was an airman. I interspersed basic
aviation terminology and science into the
conversation. I then segued to Halvorsen,
who is still alive today at age 94 and is a
member of the Salt Lake City Chapter.
Like Halvorsen, my family and I built
little parachute sacks—this time filled
with gummi bears and made from paper
napkins, kite string, and stickers—for
the children.
My presentations would not have been
possible without the support of Tennessee Valley Chapter President Frederick J.
Driesbach and the other chapter members,
along with my wife, Diane, and my grandsons, James Hustoles and Auden Green.
The chapter’s involvement grew from
members’ desire to expand their aerospace
education outreach beyond high schools.
I worked with Mandy Pinyan, youth
services coordinator for the library system, to schedule my talks and build the
program. “What young child doesn’t
love flying and candy?” she responded,
when I spoke of Halvorsen during our
initial meeting.
Chapter members are already mulling
over how to support the 2016 summer
reading program. The chapter has
strong ties to the local space community, so we are considering something
space-related, depending on next year’s
reading theme.
✪
Russell V. Lewey is president of AFA’s
Alabama state organization and a member
of the Tennessee Valley Chapter.
For more on the Candy Bomber, visit http://www.
airforcemag.com to read “Halvorsen” from Air
Force Magazine’s archives. See also “Christmas
from Heaven: The Candy Bomber Story” at https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjz8yu5MWC0.
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