US Colonel Gail Halvorsen died Wednesday at the age of 101. A comment from BZ editor Oliver Ohmann.
The Soviet blockade threatened to starve two million West Berliners in 1948. The 28-year-old was one of the US Air Force pilots who supplied Berlin with air supplies for eleven months.
Halvorsen was one of the heroes of the airlift. It was he who was the first to attach sweets to homemade parachutes and drop them over Tempelhof for the children.
My parents told me about it and when I was allowed to meet Halvorsen I thanked him on their behalf.
Gail Halvorsen turned 101 and died on Wednesday surrounded by his family. It was an honor to write an obituary for him.
What the American, British and French friends did for Berlin must never be forgotten.