Gail Halvorsen, known as the "Candy Bomber" for his actions during the Berlin Airlift during the 1940s tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, according to members of his family. Halvorsen is 100 years old.
The resident of a long-term care facility in Provo, Utah, Halvorsen is reportedly quarantining. Halversen acquired the nickname of the "Candy Bomber" after World War II during the blockade of Berlin which began in 1948. Soviet forces prevented citizens in areas of Berlin controlled by the Allies from receiving food, fuel and medicinal supplies. In a 2009 interview, Halverson said he was initially unsure about helping German nationals.
"They'd started the war," Halverson said, "and we had been told what beasts these people were—killing Jews and everybody else, whatever it took. Germans were bad news."
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