Review: Candy Bombers

Last year marked the 60th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift, an event in which my grandfather participated from 1948 to 1949 as a member of the 16th Constabulary Squadron.

This month, with all the news about the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down, I thought it would be appropriate to read "The Candy Bombers," a history about the Berlin Airlift.

What an incredibly moving story. Berliners by the end of World War II had received back in full measure the atrocities they had inflicted on Europe. They endured the air raids by Allied bombers, the destruction wrought by an angry Red Army bent on vengeance, the ensuing theft and rape, despair-induced suicides, and finally the slow death of cold, hunger, and disease.

Decimated, demoralized, and destitute, they were reviled by both Soviets and Westerners alike, and kept alive only begrudgingly by subsistence-level rations.

And so life went for three years.

By 1948, all the countries east of Austria had fallen to Communist coups, and Stalin began to maneuver for control over the Western sectors of Berlin. An aberration of geography, Berlin was connected only tenously to the West by three roads. Stalin surreptitiously blocked the roads (for "repairs"), and the Berlin Blockade began.

Though the Berlin Airlift started haphazardly (and only as a temporary alternative to an armed convoy) the pace quickened and became more efficient as logistics genius Bill Tunner was brought in.

About this time, Gail S. Halvorsen, a transport pilot from Utah, began dropping his candy rations by handkerchief parachute to German children standing at the end of the runway. His efforts (and the resulting thank-you letters) grew until they caused a national sensation that changed the perceptions of Americans forever.

In addition to Halvorsen's humanitarianism, author Andrei Cherny includes lengthy descriptions of the 1948 election, the incremental madness that overtook James Forrestal, the internal battles of the Defense and State Departments, the conflicts between the four occupying powers, and the uplifting story of West Berlin's growing commitment to democracy.

There were many occasions when I teared up so badly I had to put the book down. Stories of indescribable human suffering and the madness of war contrasted with others about beautiful expressions of kindness, gratitude, and bravery in the face of Soviet intimidation.

It was the Berlin Airlift that inspired Americans to become the stalwart bastion of democracy for the duration of the Cold War, and led to the formation of NATO.

More importantly, it showed the world how simple acts of compassion could change the world. A fanstastic book.