ARMY MOTORS38

The Berlin Airlift Associationlast November dedicated a

memorial at the crash site ofthe first aircrew lost duringthe Berlin Airlift Operation

(1948/49). American AirForce veteran Col Gail

Halvorsen (Rtd.)* was theguest of honor at the site inthe Taunus Mountains. TheUS Military Vehicle Club

(USMVC) Germany provideda number of MVs for the

occasion. It was a touchingmoment for a smiling veteran

and the other outstandingguests of honor in attendance.

Joakim Steinweden, #36138 Frankfurt, Germany

ARMY MOTORS 39

This mission started with a simple phone call by myfriend Dr. John Provan, a local historian, collector and Vice President of the Berlin Airlift Association.He asked for our help: “Hey buddy, we are planning a memorial in the Taunus Mountains and aninauguration with Gail Halvorsen attending…” I replied that it sounded interesting and asked whatthe plan was. John went on to explain his idea: amemorial stone that was to be erected by the BerlinAirlift Association and located at the crash site of thefirst aircraft lost during the Berlin Airlift Operation.That plane was a C-47 with two pilots and a civilianemployee of the US Army. Coming to Germany would be a former Berlin

Airlift pilot, Col Gail, ‘Hall’ Halvorsen, the legendaryCandy-Bomber, aka, Uncle Wiggly Wings, and alsonicknamed the Chocolate Flier! We wanted to takehim to the crash site in a WWII vehicle.I obviously knew there would be some additional

work waiting for me and as it turned out they wanted

some of our clubs WWII jeeps. The crash site islocated on a hilltop 2.5 km in the forest – or to bemore exact – in the middle of nowhere!Okay that was the Mission, I thought, and it

would be simple: some phone calls, and with thesupport of some of our USMVC members andsupporters, we would find a solution. Novemberwould not be the perfect month to organize a taxi jobfor this outstanding American veteran. John, however,had another point in mind.“The memorial stone will soon be finished and I

need some help to set it up on Steinkopf Peak, and Iknow you have a 4x4 SUV.” I’m sure I don’t have toexplain the rest of the phone call. Even worse, John isa nice fellow, but he’s a paper pusher, not an expert onrebuilding historic MVs or memorial stoneconstruction projects. Some days later, after a heavy snowfall, he and I

went on our first scouting trip, on gravel roads, to thecrash site in the Taunus hills’ thick German forest.

ARMY MOTORS40

After looking at a map we started up thehills on a muddy trail, full of brokentrees from a previous snowfall. It took usabout an hour with the SUV and a ropeto clear the route and access SteinkopfPeak, some 570 meters (1870’) high.At the peak was a small pile of stones

but the wooden cross that I had seen inolder photographs was missing. About 50meters from the top of the peak we couldsee an area with younger trees towardsthe direction of Wiesbaden ErbenheimAFB. This was the crash site of the C-47.The registration number was

43-48256. It was built in 1944, and waslost on 08 July 1948. It was fully loadedwith goods for Berlin and appeared tohave problems climbing high enough toclear the Taunus hills. It hit the first peakof the Steinkopf on its outbound climbabout 2 km north of the City ofKoenigstein.The reason for the crash is not

known. Some sources stated that therewas too much freight on board, buttechnical problems might also have beeninvolved. The lack of flight recorders atthat time made it an unsolved mystery. A local forest ranger heard the noise

of the crash and saw the fire from hishouse. He was the first to reach the crashsite but found the crew dead. Later thefire brigade arrived from Koenigstein,and a recovery team from the Air Force

Base came, inorder to removethe wreck fromthe crash site.

Halvorsen with friends and the media in place. He often visitsGermany and was honored by the German President in 1974, withthe Großes Bundesverdienstkreuz (Grand Cross of the Order of Meritof the Federal Republic of Germany), Germany's highest award.

Col Gail Halvorsen (Rtd.) at theage of 96, in a WWII jeep providedby the USMVC on the way to thememorial inauguration.

Halvorsen being drivenby our oldest memberPeter Jaberg. Theywere heading for

Steinkopf Peak in themiddle of nowherenorthwest of the

Wiesbaden ErbenheimAir Force Base.

ARMY MOTORS 41

The pilots were identified as 1st Lt. George BatesSmith from Los Angeles, California and 1st Lt.Leland V. Williams, from Tuscola, Texas. Both werelater buried in the USA. The third victim was aGerman emigrant – Karl-Victor Hagen, employed bythe Department of the Army, who was later buried inthe family grave in East Berlin,Our additional tasks were clearing up the peak for

the inauguration, setting up the memorial stone,organizing the invitations, the routes and roadblocks,and planning transport for Col. Halvorsen and theother guests to the site.One week later John and I loaded 60 kg of

concrete, tools and the memorial stone in the back ofmy SUV and started up on our second trip. Oncethere we added more stones to the pile marking thesite. John had constructed a new wooden cross thatwe placed in position. Finally the memorial wasfinished and everything prepared for the inaugurationon November 26, 2016.The following Saturday John picked up Col.

Halvorsen at the railway station and drove him to ourmeeting point North of Koenigstein. There in the

parking lot we had a small lineup of our WWII MVswaiting for the Candy Bomber. Among our guests ofhonor was Helen Patton, granddaughter of GeneralGeorge S. Patton Jr., LTG Hodges, CommandingGeneral of the US Army in Europe, Col. Fish,Commander of the Wiesbaden Garrison and MajorPerry, a military Chaplain from Wiesbaden.Our oldest Club member, Peter Jaberg was the

designated driver for Halvorsen and provided the firsttaxi jeep in the line. Col. Halvorsen stood in the jeepwhile driving up the steep hill, bouncing over treestumps all the while with a wide grin in his face. After a brief introduction of the guests, a deep

sound could be heard – the unmistakable sound offour reciprocating piston-driven aircraft engines. Itwas our small surprise for an old pilot: a fly-by of fouraircraft and a pilot on the ground with a radio, so thatHal Halvorsen could talk to the pilots. His smile wasgetting wider and the engine noise was music in hisears. After the inauguration he was very enthusiastic

about his day in the German Forest and he stated,“With the jeep in the forest, like mine back in Utah

Gail Halvorsen with his daughters at theSteinkopf Peak cross and memorial.

Below: The Steinkopf Peak, with a newwooden cross and memorial stone,

donated by the Berlin Airlift Association.

ARMY MOTORS42

A smiling veteran at the end of the perfect dayGail Halvorsen (center) with MVPA correspondentJoakim Steinweden (left) at the new memorialstone, donated by the Berlin Airlift Association.

A great surprise for an American veteran. For thefirst time Gail Halvorsen met Helen Patton,General George S. Patton Jr.'s granddaughter. Formany years Helen has been supporting veteranswith her ‘Patton Foundation Sustainable Trust.’

at my Ranch, and then the fly-by!Joakim, that was the best thing ever!” What a great compliment from

such an outstanding person aftermore than 72 years of German-American history. We savored thelong lasting friendship between ourtwo nations that at one time hadbeen enemies. It was also a greathonor and pleasure for all ourUSMVC members to support theBerlin Airlift Association’s memorialproject. After the inauguration we allenjoyed a dinner together and sharedsome local German beer at a nearbypub.

Col Gail Halvorsen, at the former Rhein MainAir Base. The Berlin Airlift Memorial dedicationceremony took place last November. Behindthe memorial is a C-54 Skymaster, one of theaircraft types used during the Berlin Airlift

Operation that saved the city from starvationduring the Soviet blockade.

ARMY MOTORS 43

* Colonel Gail Seymour Hal Halvorsen is a retiredofficer and command pilot in the United StatesAir Force. He is best known as the Berlin CandyBomber who dropped candy to children during theBerlin airlift.Halvorsen grew up in rural Utah but always

had a desire to fly. He earned his private pilot'slicense in 1941 and then joined the Civil AirPatrol. Later he joined the United States Army AirForce in 1942 and was assigned to Germany on 10July 1948 as a pilot on the Berlin Airlift. Hepiloted C-47s and C-54s during that operationwhere he initiated Operation Little Vittles, an effortto raise morale in Berlin by dropping candy viaminiature parachutes to the city's residents. Hebegan that operation with no authorization fromhis superiors but over the next year became anational hero with support from all over theUnited States. His operation dropped over 23 tonsof candy to the Berlin residents. He becameknown as the Berlin Candy Bomber, Uncle WigglyWings, and The Chocolate Flier.Halvorsen received numerous awards for his

role in the Airlift, including the CongressionalGold Medal. However that was not the end of hismilitary and humanitarian career. Over the next25 years he advocated for and performed candydrops in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, Japan,Guam, and Iraq. Halverson's professional career

included various notable positions. He retiredin August 1974 after logging over 8,000flying hours. THE BERLIN AIRLIFT ASSOCIATIONThe Berlin Airlift Association, LuftbrückeFrankfurt-Berlin 1948-1949, since 2009attends to the care of the Berlin AirliftOperation memorial at Frankfurt Rhein-Main Airport (former Rhine-Main Air Base).Website: < www.luftbrueckechapter.de >THE US MILITARY VEHICLE CLUB(USMVC)The USMVC is one of the oldest US MilitaryVehicle Collectors Clubs in Germany, caringfor the heritage of US Army MVs inGermany for over 30 years.Website: < www.usmvc.eu >

The Candy Bomber, as all know him best, handing outHershey's bars to the kids at the Berlin Airlift memorialfive days before the Steinkopf ceremony took place.