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In
the aftermath of World War II, Germany was divided and the Soviet Union
quickly isolated East Germany from the west. Supplies were scarce, so
under direction of President Harry Truman, the Allied Forces began the
Berlin Airlift. For fifteen months, British and American pilots flew more
than 277,000 missions to drop more than 2.3 million tons of supplies to
the citizens of Berlin. The supplies that appealed most to the children
were those dropped in secret by U.S. Pilot, Lt. Gail Halvorsen. Mercedes,
a young girl living with her mother, wrote a letter to the "Chocolate
Pilot" and asked him to drop some candy at her house. Lt. Halvorsen
did even better; he mailed a package directly to Mercedes and began a
life-long friendship.
About
the Author
Margot
Theis Raven has written for 30 years for radio, television, journals, and
books. She lives with her family in their homes in Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, and South Carolina. When she found a story about a retired U.S.
Air Force Colonel named Gail Halvorsen who had parachuted candy down to
the children of Berlin, Ms. Raven was determined to learn more. She and
her daughter flew to Utah to meet Col. Halvorsen and planned how best to
bring his story to life.
Activities
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Write
a letter to Colonel Halvorsen
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Find
London and Berlin on a globe and determine the distance. Estimate how
many miles were covered during the 15 months (figure 2 roundtrips per
day).
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Taste-test
a variety of candy and graph the class favorites.
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Learn
more about the Berlin Airlift and President Truman.
More,
more, more...
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Ferrell,
Nancy Warren. The US Air Force. Lerner, 1990.
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Grant,
R.G. The Berlin Wall. Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 1999.
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Joseph,
Paul. Harry S. Truman. Abdo, 1999.
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Stein,
R. Conrad. Berlin. Children's Press, 1997.
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Van
Meter, Vicki. Taking Flight: My Story. Viking, 1995.
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Woods,
Samuel G. Chocolate from Start to Finish. Blackbirch
Press, 1999.
Websites
Berlin
Airlift
Berlin
Airlift Historical Foundation
Operation
Little Vittles
Hershey
Chocolate
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