Gail Halvorsen | American Experience | PBS

On July 17, 1948, Air Force pilot Gail Halvorsen encountered children at Templehof Airport in Berlin during the Berlin Blockade. He only had two pieces of chewing gum to give to about thirty children. They shared the gum and those without smelled the wrappers. It gave him the idea to drop candy in what became known as 'Operation Little Vittles'. A feel good story of the Cold War. An excerpt from the article:

"Uncle Wiggly Wings
In the beginning, the Allies lacked enough aircraft for round-the-clock operations, so when Halvorsen arrived in Germany in early July, he flew three round-trips daily and had about seven hours off to sleep. During one of his down times in the middle of the month, Halvorsen decided to do some sightseeing in Berlin.

After hitching a ride on a flight to Tempelhof airport in the American sector, Halvorsen noticed a group of children watching through barbed wire as the airplanes landed. Halvorsen loved children, and during his transport days, he had often been followed by packs of them, begging for candy. But these Berliners were quieter and more polite; all they asked was that the Americans not abandon the airlift when the weather turned bad. They could go without enough food for a bit, the children told Halvorsen, but "if we lose our freedom we may never get it back." Touched, Halvorsen dug in his pocket for a couple sticks of gum and distributed them, promising to return the next day with more candy. The children wondered how they would recognize his plane. Don't worry; as I approach, I'll wiggle my wings, the pilot replied. Back at his base, Halvorsen improvised parachutes by tying strings to the corners of handkerchiefs and then attaching those strings to candy bars. The next day he released the handkerchiefs on approach to Tempelhof and saw the kids joyously clutching their candy. Soon large crowds had gathered and Halvorsen was receiving mail addressed to "Uncle Wiggly Wings" and the "Chocolate Flier."

Operation Little Vittles
Halvorsen knew what he had been doing violated Air Force regulations, and when his colonel found out, the young pilot got an earful. But Berlin newspapers had already gotten wind of Halvorsen's candy drops, and airlift commander General William Tunner approved the continuation of "Operation Little Vittles." What began with a pilot's spare handkerchiefs and candy his crew bought at the local commissary soon spread throughout the airlift, with 25 participants in his squadron alone."