European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 30, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday january 30, 1993 the stars and stripes b Pago 3. A amps Ken George retired air Force col. Gail i la Ivor sen now 72, stands proudly on the Tarmac at Tempelhof a on Friday in front or the c-54 transport he piloted As a Young officer during the Berlin Airlift. Fit photo Young air Force it. Gail s. Hat Orsch sits on a bunk and attaches Candy bars to tiny parachutes in 194849. Byron Jensen a Timberg Bureau Berlin a Gail s. Halvorson the retired air Force colonel who achieved Fame As Berlin s a Candy bomber Quot said Friday that the inactivation of Tempelhof a is Akin to a wedding at which relatives watch As a loved one leaves the nest to create a new family. A you be got a loved one that s been with you and suddenly its gone a said the Man who has been linked to the Airfield since the Berlin Airlift Days of 1948-49. It was Halvorson who during flights Between West Germany and Berlin dropped Candy from his plane to Berlin children and earned his Candy bomber nickname. More than 20 years later from 1970 to 1974, he was commander of the 7350th air base group at Tempelhof. The ceremonial inactivation Friday afternoon he said a few hours before it began a is a sad and Happy  he a sorry to see the air Force leave the City which it will do in june but glad to Sec the events that allowed it to happen. Halvorsen was one of hundreds of pilots flying round the clock to Supply West berliners with food fuel and clothing after the City was blockaded by the soviet Union in july 1948. But a Chance meeting with some children set him apart. The youngsters at the end of the runway spoke to the tall lean lieutenant for More than an hour encouraging him to continue his lifesaving Effort. But something about the dialogue puzzled the farm boy from Utah. A these kids they had t had any gum or Candy for months Quot he said h was with them for More than an hour and not one of them raised the  this was Odd. When Halvorsen had flown missions in other parts of the world the children had sought out american fliers for handouts of treats. On his first flight the next Day Halvorson wiggled his wings As a prearranged signal and then dropped Candy and gum fastened to Small handkerchiefs As parachutes to . The Candy bomber was born. The Story quickly spread around the world. Children on the receiving end began writing letters to their provider addressing them to Uncle chocolate flyer Uncle wiggle wings or Onkle of the heaven. Now 72, Halvorsen still shakes his head at the result of his impulsive Effort. A a it a absolutely mind boggling a he said. A the thing that seems so unusual to me is that people still Reems amps Kong Iorga members of a 33-Plcec Safe band rehearse in a hangar Friday morning for the afternoons ceremonial inactivation of Tempelhof a in Berlin. Americans dust activated the base in May 1945, Halvorsen said Young Peter was later adopted by a family in Pennsylvania and became an american citizen. Oyer the years Halvorsen has met Many of those children now grown but still grateful. While in Berlin this time he and his wife Alta will stay with the family of a woman who also requested an air dropped gift of Candy. Such relationships have made Berlin More than just another air Force assignment for Halvorsen the air Force s departure will not be the end of his visits to the City. Its been a member of my family. You be got to visit you bet Well be balt. Well be bar. I often wonder How Many opportunities of like magnitude in be missed by not being responsive Quot of special memory to Halvorsen is Peter Zimmerman who was a 9-Ycar-old living in a bombed out building. In a letter to the Candy bomber he wrote that he was too slow to grab any of the treats so would Halvorsen please drop them Over his House. A when you Lake off from Tempelhof Fly along the big canal to the second Highway Bridge turn right one Block. Ill be in the Back Yard every Day at 2 p.m., drop it  when Halvorsen was unable to deliver the boy wrote with some indignation a you Are a Pilot 1 gave you a map. How did you Guys win the War anyway a your relations a he said Back  from Page 1 Best in be seen. But i understand Why they re doing it and the politics behind it. The inactivation became possible when the Berlin Wall opened and communism lost its hold in Eastern Europe and the soviet Union. That theme was touched on by All of the speakers who noted the base s role in the cold War. It was in Berlin in 1948 and 1949 that air planes arrived nearly every minute for almost 18 months to Supply the City during the Berlin Airlift. I Berhard Diepgen governing mayor of Berlin and Wolfgang Kruger District mayor of t Tempelhof both noted the debt owed to the air Force from that time. Robert m. Kim Milt . Ambassador to Germany noted a today s ceremony. Is therefore a vivid demonstration of the Radical transformation of our world. A no longer Are our actions driven by the cold  maj. Gen. James e. Chambers 17th air Force commander said a nowhere else do americans serve with More Pride and a sense of duty. Only Here did we serve behind the Iron curtain and in front of the infamous . Col. Gary l. Lindner current commander of the 7350th air base group said Tempelhof a is a a living Monument to aviation teamwork and  he said the ties Between the military and civilians Are closer in Berlin than anywhere else in the world