The Berlin Airlift

On July 17, 1948, Air Force pilot Gail Halvorsen encountered children at the Tempelhof Airport in Berlin during the Berlin Blockade giving him the idea to drop candy in 'Operation Little Vittles'. From the article:

" Operation Little Vittles

One of the most poignant stories of the Berlin Airlift was that of one 1st Lt. Gail S. Halvorsen. Halvorsen was somewhat of an ammeter moviemaker, and on July 17, he decided that on one of his off days, he would hitch a ride as a passenger on a C-54 and visit the City he was saving. Once at Tempelhof, Halvorsen walked to the end of the runway to film some aircraft landings when he noticed a group of children near the fence watching the planes, too. He went over to them. They asked questions about the aircraft, the cargo, how fast it was going and things like that. During this conversation he noticed that these children, unlike others he had encountered in Europe as a Ferry command Pilot during the War, did not ask him for any candy or gum, like others always had. This struck him funny, and he knew that they were too proud to beg for such things. Some having been born during wartime had not even heard of treats like that. He made a fateful decision at that moment which was to become one of the symbols of the airlift. He reached into his pocket and found that he had only two sticks of Wrigley's Doublemint Gum. He remarked that if they did not fight over it, he would drop some candy to them if they were there the next day. They agreed, took the sticks of gum and divided it amongst themselves, some happy to get only a piece of the wrapper. Before he left them, a child asked him how they would know it was him flying over. He replied, "I'll wiggle my wings."
True to his word, the very next day, on approach to Berlin, he rocked the airplane and dropped some chocolate bars attached to a handkerchief parachute to the children waiting below. Every day, the number of children would increase and he made several more drops. Soon there was a stack of mail in Base Ops addressed to "Uncle Wiggly Wings', "The Chocolate Uncle" and "The Chocolate Flier".
Halvorsen didn't tell anyone about what he was doing for fear he'd get in trouble. Then, he was called into his commander and asked what he was doing. He replied 'Flying, Sir." His commander asked again, and received the same response. He then pulled out a newspaper with a picture of Halvorsen's plane and tiny parachutes trailing behind. Apparently, a newspaper reporter narrowly escaped being hit on the head with a chocolate bar. His commander wasn't happy about it, but General Tunner though it was just the kind of gesture that the operation needed. It was dubbed "Operation Little Vittles". It continued, and many C-54 pilots participated. Candy and parachutes were assembled and sent from Chicopee Falls, MA to assist in the gesture. In the end, over three tons of candy was dropped over Berlin, some even in the Soviet sector. For this simple kindhearted gesture, Halvorsen became the most recognized pilot of the Berlin Airlift."