Two Sticks of Gum

Quick answer: Who was the Candy Bomber of the Berlin Airlift?

Gail Halvorsen, a sugar beet farmer's son from Garland, Utah, was an American C-54 pilot during the 1948 Berlin Airlift. After sharing two sticks of gum with children at Tempelhof's fence, he began dropping candy on tiny handkerchief parachutes, wiggling his wings so they'd know his plane. He died in 2022, aged 101.

In 1948 the Soviets close every road, rail line, and canal into West Berlin, and the only way in is the sky. A young American pilot with a few hours off stands at the fence at the end of Tempelhof's runway. Thirty children stand on the other side. Unlike children he's met elsewhere, they don't hold out their hands. They ask how many tons came in today. They tell him they can manage short on flour; losing their freedom is what they couldn't live with. Walking away, he finds two sticks of Doublemint in his pocket, breaks them in half, and pushes them through the wire. The others pass around strips of the wrapper just to smell it. He promises to drop enough for everyone tomorrow and to wiggle his wings so they'll know his plane. That night his crew hands over their candy rations, and he ties them to handkerchief parachutes. His name was Gail Halvorsen, and Germans still call him the Candy Bomber.

Why it matters for leaders: Small, personal acts of service done consistently can carry more weight than the cargo itself.

Q: What did the Berlin children tell Halvorsen at the fence?

A: They asked how many tons came in that day and said that if flour ran short they'd manage; what they couldn't live with was losing their freedom.

Q: How did the children know which plane was his?

A: He promised to wiggle his wings as he came over the field.

Read the full essay on Substack → https://heroespath.substack.com/p/two-sticks-of-gum

By John Fenzel, founder and CEO of Heroes' Path Foundation