I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4787 
To rename the Provo Veterans Center in Orem, Utah, as the ‘‘Gail S. 
Halvorsen ‘Candy Bomber’ Veterans Center’’. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 29, 2021 
Mr. CURTIS (for himself, Mr. MOORE of Utah, Mr. OWENS, and Mr. STEW-
ART) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To rename the Provo Veterans Center in Orem, Utah, as 
the ‘‘Gail S. Halvorsen ‘Candy Bomber’ Veterans Center’’. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF THE 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 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:38 Aug 07, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4787.IH
H4787
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
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 Ber-
lin into occupation zones, disputes broke out between 
the Western Allies and the Soviet Union over the fu-
ture of Europe. 
(5) Negotiations deteriorated, and in June of 
1948 Soviet forces locked down all land routes con-
necting Western Germany with the allied portions of 
Berlin. Approximately 2,000,000 people in West 
Berlin were left completely isolated. Starvation, pov-
erty, and desperate want ensued. 
(6) In an effort to alleviate the immense human 
suffering, the allies decided to drop supplies to peo-
ple 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. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:38 Aug 07, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4787.IH
H4787
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
(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 chil-
dren 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 rec-
ognize 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’’, 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:38 Aug 07, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4787.IH
H4787
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
‘‘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 Op-
eration Little Vittles reached the United States. 
Families, schoolchildren, and candymakers in the 
United States began contributing candy and home-
made parachutes that Halvorsen and other pilots 
could drop. 
(16) When the Berlin Airlift ended, an esti-
mated 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 con-
tinued his humanitarian service. He has voluntarily 
represented the United States Air Force and the 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:38 Aug 07, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4787.IH
H4787
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
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 ‘‘Gail S. 
Halvorsen ‘Candy Bomber’ Veterans Center’’. 
(c) REFERENCE.—Any reference in any law, regula-
tion, 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 Gail S. 
Halvorsen ‘‘Candy Bomber’’ Veterans Center. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:38 Aug 07, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H4787.IH
H4787
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS