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Show -N E W S- Spanish Fork Covering what matters most Man on a Mission: WEDNESDAY, JULY 30, 2008 • A7 Obituary From HALVORSEN • A l he had his eye on West Berlin. Stalin had cut off all food and energy sources to the people, hoping that their need would make them fall into his hands. Halverson and the other men involved in the airlift operation knew that bringing in the supplies was not only feeding the people, but was giving them an opportunity to escape the crushing yoke of communism. One day in July of 1948, he saw about 30 children behind a barbed wire fence in Tefnpelhof, West Berlin.. Their eyes were hungry, but there was an inner strength and determination in their faces that made a deep impression on him. He had seen many children in different areas during and after the war, and always they begged the Americans for candy or gum. These children were eager to talk to him, but they did not beg. They were grateful for the food he had brought, and determined to hold on to their freedom. "When the weather gets so bad you can't land, don't worry about us," they told him. "We can get by on little food, but if we lose our freedom, we may never get it back." Halvorsen was so touched he wanted to do something, but all he had was two sticks of gum. He passed them through the bars of the fence into their hands. Two sticks of gum didn't go far between thirty children, but they even tore up the wrapper and passed the tiny strips around so that all the children could press it to their noses and smell the- faint memory of the peppermint. Halvorsen promised he would be back. He told them to watch for his plane. He would wiggle his wings as he came down, and would bring enough candy and gum for all of them. The next day, he tied up gum and chocolate bars into three handkerchief parachutes and dropped them from the plane after wiggling bis wings. He continued to drop candy to the children for several weeks before he got caught. He was threatened with a court martial, but when his commander, General TAinner, heard of it, he pardoned him, and told him to "keep it up." Halvorsen came to be known as the candy bomber, and his packages of sweets were a message of hope to the children of war-torn Berlin. Halvorsen received hundreds of letters from the grateful children of West Berlin, some of whom have become dear friends in the subsequent years .'One man James C. Purkey Courtesy photo GUEST OF HONOR: Halvorsen was recently honored in Berlin at the 60th anniversary of the airlift. There he presented German Chancellor Angela Merkel, above, with a book about his experiences as the "candy bomber." later told him that he had caught one of the chocolate bars during the airlift. He savored it for a week, and kept it safely hidden away where he could look at it whenever he wanted to. It meant everything to him that someone knew of his struggles and cared enough to help. "Without hope the soul dies," the man told 'The Berlin Airlift changed post-war history, and the rest of my life." -Gail Halvorsen Halvorsen. "I can live without rations, but not without hope." The West Berlin airlift brought in 2.3 million tons ofsupplies.Inthis 14-month period, Halvorsen delivered over 20 tons of chocolate, gum and other sweets to the children of West Berlin. "The Berlin Airlift changed post-war history, and the rest of my life," he said. Halvorsen joined in the food re-supply drop over Bosnia in 1994. He flew in a supply run to Albania in 1999, and visited Camp Hope, a refugee camp, where he delivered packages of toys, school supplies and candy to Kosovo children. In December of 2000 he participated in the "Christmas Drop" to seven Micronesian Islands. He has also made numerous candy and parachute drops to various elementary schools. Natnon Bills / Spanish Fork News ON LOCATION: Cameraman Adam Moffat gets footage for ABC's World News with Charles Gibson. and has been honored with many awards and celebrations through the years. Halvorsen retired from the Air Force in 1974 with over 8,000 flying hours. Some of the awards he has been given are the Legion of Merit, the Cheney Award 1948-49 and the Ira Eaker "Fellow" Award by the USAFChiefofStaff in 1998. He was awarded the Americanism Award Air Force Sergeants Association, also in 1998. Other recipients of this award were Bob Hope and President George Bush. He earned the Service Cross to the Order of Merit from the president of Germany in 1974, the Freedom Award from the City of Provo and the Distinguished Humanitarian Award from the Insti- tute of German-American Rekrtions in 1999. Just since February 2008 Halvorsen has received five invitations lo go back to Berlin. He was only able to accept three of them. In May. Halvorsen attended the 60th anniversary of the airlift in the International Air Show in Berlin where he presented Chancelor Angela Merkel with a copy of one o\' the books written about his days as the candy bomber. In July 2008. Halvorson attended the celebration of the opening of the new American Embassy in Berlin where George Bush, Sr. spoke. Halvorsen currently lives with his wife, Lorraine, on the Halvorsen farm in Spanish Fork. • A/C Add Ons Jim was married lo Junabelle Barnett for 20 years. They were later divorced . He is survived by his sons, Jim (Jan) Purkey pf Mi Iburn and Jerry (Laurie) Purkey of Spanish Fork; and also his daughter, Kathy (Paul) Johnston of Spanish Fork; his brother, Bryce Purkey of Meeker. Colo, and his sisters, Betty Mitchell of Murray, Beverly Peace of Carbon Dale, Colo., Janet Rippy of New Castle, Colo, and Saundra Murray of Silt, Colo; his grandchildren, Shane (Tracy) Bunker, Cristy Johnston, Nikki Purkey, Cassie Purkey, Shad (Lacey) Edwards, Cody Purkey and Paige Purkey; his great-grandchildren. Chase (Jenny) Bunker, Jacob Bunker, Kaitlyn Bunker and Jordan Simmons; and his great-great-granddaugh'tei\ Brindly Bunker. He was preceded in death by his father, John Frank Purkey, and his mother, Josephine May Hawkins Purkey; also his brother, Harry Purkey, and sisters. Patsy Purkey and Helen Karren. Graveside services will be Wednesday July 30 at II a.m. at the Evergreen Cemetery, 1997 South 400 East, Springville. Friends may call at the Walker Mortuary, 187 South Main Street in Spanish Fork, Wednesday morning 9-10:45 a.m. Condolences may be sent to the family at www. walkerfamilymortuary.com Chris Miller's UfaJblfe RV Repair "I guarantee you will not get better care for your RV." -Chris Miller I'll keep you here! BUILDER OF CUSTOM HOMES FOR 30 YEARS HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING • Service • Furnace Replacements James C. Purkey "Pop" was born July 5, 1929 in Meeker, Colo, to John Frank Purkey and Josephine May Hawkins Purkey. He passed away on July 25 surrounded by his family. Jim attended school in Colorado and graduated from Meeker High School in 1946. He was active in sports and lettered in most of them. He was a member of the FFA. Do-Si-Do Club, and the Drama Club. He was the student body president and was voted most likely to succeed. Jim served in the U.S. Navy for two years, in Denver, Colo, and San Diego, Calif. He worked with his family in the meat and livestock operation in Meeker. Colo. Jim was employed at the Spanish Fork Packing Plant and Deseret Meat plant for a combined 27 years. After retirement, he continued to cut meat until the age of 77. He also worked in the Rifle and Craig sale yard as an auctioneer. He had many hobbies such as searching for Indian artifacts, farming, hunting, bull riding and other rodeo events. He also loved old tractors. He enjoyed serving on the rodeo committee and working with meat for the city celebrations. He was well known for his pitBBQs. 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