The Candy Bomber: How 2 Sticks of Gum Changed the World

On today's episode, I get to tell you a true story the Candy Bomber after World War II and three lessons we can learn from it. 3 Lessons from the Candy BomberLittle Things Can have a Big Ripple Effect Serving Others Heals Inspiring Hope Saves Lives You can learn more about Gail S. Halvorsen, The Candy Bomber on his website: http://wigglywings.weebly.com/ (http://wigglywings.weebly.com/) Here is the transcription of today's episode:Welcome to stories of hope in hard times, the show that explores how people endure and even thrive in difficult times. All with God's help. I'm your host, Tamara K. Anderson. Join me on a journey to find inspiring stories of hope and wisdom learned in life's hardest moments.  The Berlin AirliftMy true story today starts just after World War II in Germany during the Berlin airlift. You see, the city of Berlin then was starving due to the Soviet blockade. So in order to get food and supplies to the famished people, Allied Airmen flew over the city and dropped thousands of tons of food daily. I now quote from a history that talks about that time period, "It was determined that the city's daily food ration would be 646 tons of flour and wheat, 125 tons of cereal, 64 tons of fat 109 tons of meat and fish, 180 tons of dehydrated potatoes, 180 tons of sugar, 11 tons of coffee, 19 tons of powdered milk, five tons of whole milk for children, three tons of fresh yeast for baking, 144 tons of dehydrated vegetables, 38 tons of salt, and 10 tons of cheese. In total 1,534 tons were needed to keep the over 2 million people alive on a daily basis. And that number did not include necessities like coal and fuel."  So really what they ended up dropping was about 4,500 tons on a daily basis. Isn't that crazy? But that is what was needed to keep that city alive during the Soviet blockade. And they did this by dropping food from airplanes to the people.  The Candy BomberOne of the pilots who was part of this Berlin airlift was Gail Halverson and he just celebrated his 100th birthday this past week. So it is in memory of him and his service that I'd love to tell you a little bit about the impact two sticks of gum had not only on Berlin, but the ripple effect it had on the entire world.  Gail Halverson, known as "Hal" to his friends, was a rural farm boy from Utah, and he was serving as an Air Force pilot, then in the Berlin airlift. One day at the Tempelhof Airport, he noticed a line of children at the fence watching the planes fly over to bring them these life saving supplies. He felt he needed to go talk to these children. I now quote from his history.  The Two Sticks of Gum Which Changed Everything"One day in July 1948, I met 30 kids at the barbed wire fence at the Tempelhof in Berlin. They were excited, they said, "When the weather gets so bad that you can't land, don't worry about us. We can get by on little food, but if we lose our freedom, we may never get it back. The principle of freedom was more important than the pleasure of flour. "Don't give up on us," they asked. The Soviets had offered the Berliners food rations, but they would not capitulate.  For the hour I was at the fence not one child asked for gum or candy. Children I had met during and after the war, like them in other countries had always begged insistently for such treasures. These Berlin children were so grateful for the flour to be free, that they wouldn't lower themselves to be beggars for something more. It was even the more impressive because they hadn't had gum or candy in months.  When I realized this silent, mature show of gratitude, and the strength that it took not to ask, I had to do something. All I had was two sticks of gum. I broke them in two and passed them through the barbed wire. The result was unbelievable. Those with the gum tore off the strips of wrapper and gave them to the others. Those with the strips, put them to their noses and smell the tiny fragrance. The expression of...