[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 218 (Friday, December 17, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9306-S9307]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         COL. GAIL S. HALVORSEN `CANDY BOMBER' VETERANS CENTER

  Mr. SCHATZ. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 2514.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 2514) to rename the Provo Veterans Center in 
     Orem, Utah, as the ``Col.

[[Page S9307]]

     Gail S. Halvorsen `Candy Bomber' Veterans Center''.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
measure.
  Mr. SCHATZ. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read 
a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered 
made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 2514) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, 
was read the third time, and passed as follows:

                                S. 2514

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF THE COL. GAIL S. HALVORSEN ``CANDY 
                   BOMBER'' VETERANS CENTER.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (1) Gail Halvorsen was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on 
     October 10, 1920, and spent his youth with his family on 
     small farms in Utah and Idaho.
       (2) After a brief stint at Utah State University, Gail 
     Halvorsen joined the Civilian Pilot Training Program where he 
     earned his pilot's license in 1941. During that same year, 
     Halvorsen joined the Civil Air Patrol as a pilot.
       (3) Gail Halvorsen joined the United States Army Air Corps 
     in 1942 and trained flying fighter jets with the Royal Air 
     Force. Upon his return from training, he was assigned to fly 
     transport missions in the South Atlantic Theater.
       (4) After World War II and the division of Berlin into 
     occupation zones, disputes broke out between the Western 
     Allies and the Soviet Union over the future of Europe.
       (5) Negotiations deteriorated, and in June of 1948 Soviet 
     forces locked down all land routes connecting Western Germany 
     with the allied portions of Berlin. Approximately 2,000,000 
     people in West Berlin were left completely isolated. 
     Starvation, poverty, and desperate want ensued.
       (6) In an effort to alleviate the immense human suffering, 
     the allies decided to drop supplies to people of West Berlin 
     from the air until a diplomatic solution to the blockade 
     could be reached. Termed by United States forces ``Operation 
     Vittles'', the Berlin Airlift began on June 26, 1948.
       (7) Gail Halvorsen was assigned to Germany in 1948 to work 
     as an airlift pilot where he flew C-47 and C-54 cargo planes 
     as part of Operation Vittles.
       (8) While on mission at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin, 
     Halvorsen noticed a group of German children standing just 
     outside the barb wire fence.
       (9) The children were destitute and clearly had very little 
     to eat. Halvorsen gave the children two sticks of gum he had 
     in his pocket, which they split into little pieces to share 
     among themselves.
       (10) Colonel Halvorsen was deeply affected by the 
     experience and wanted to do more to help. He promised the 
     children he would drop more candy to them from his plane as 
     he flew his regular airlift missions.
       (11) Halvorsen told the children they would recognize his 
     plane by a back-and-forth waggle of his wings as he flew 
     over.
       (12) Colonel Halvorsen enlisted his copilot and engineer in 
     the project and began attaching their candy rations to 
     miniature parachutes which they dropped from their plane to 
     the starving children below.
       (13) The children of Berlin gave Halvorsen many nicknames 
     including ``Uncle Wiggly Wings'', ``The Chocolate Flier'', 
     ``The Gum Drop Kid'', and ``The Chocolate Uncle''. He 
     eventually became known around the world as ``The Candy 
     Bomber''.
       (14) Lieutenant General William H. Turner, who directed the 
     Berlin Airlift, learned about Halvorsen's efforts and 
     officially expanded the idea into a full-blown operation 
     known as ``Little Vittles'' as a play on the broader 
     operation's name.
       (15) As the candy drops continued, word of Operation Little 
     Vittles reached the United States. Families, schoolchildren, 
     and candymakers in the United States began contributing candy 
     and homemade parachutes that Halvorsen and other pilots could 
     drop.
       (16) When the Berlin Airlift ended, an estimated 250,000 
     parachutes containing approximately 21 tons of candy had been 
     dropped by Halvorsen and his fellow airmen as a part of 
     Operation Little Vittles.
       (17) Halvorsen retired from the military in 1974 after 31 
     years of service and more than 8,000 hours of flying time.
       (18) Since his retirement, Halvorson has continued his 
     humanitarian service. He has voluntarily represented the 
     United States Air Force and the United States abroad and has 
     re-enacted his famous candy drops several times in Berlin and 
     around the world.
       (19) Halvorsen has also been a tremendous boon to his 
     community through church service and other local 
     contributions.
       (20) Gail Halvorsen turned 100 years old on October 10, 
     2020.
       (b) Designation.--The Provo Veterans Center of the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs located at 360 State Street, 
     Orem, Utah, shall after the date of the enactment of this Act 
     be known and designated as the ``Col. Gail S. Halvorsen 
     `Candy Bomber' Veterans Center''.
       (c) Reference.--Any reference in any law, regulation, map, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     veterans center referred to in subsection (b) shall be 
     considered to be a reference to the Col. Gail S. Halvorsen 
     ``Candy Bomber'' Veterans Center.

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