As a United States Air Force pilot flying supplies into Berlin during the Soviet blockade, Gail Halvorsen conjured a special idea for lifting the spirits of children of West Berlin. He delivered packages of gum and candy by attaching them to small parachutes, and dropping them from his C-47 to the children who gathered to watch from the airfield below. The deliveries earned Halvorsen the nicknames the "Chocolate Pilot" and "Uncle Wiggly Wings." His packages offered hope to the children of the besieged city of Berlin whose young lives had been plagued by war.
The candy deliveries rallied the support of communities and school children in the United States. Since the Berlin Airlift, known as "Operation Vittles," had its stateside headquarters at Westover Air Force base in Chicopee, Massachusetts, officials established the headquarters of "Operation Little Vittles" in the same town.
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