Ella HB

The Good Soldier

Ella Huckel-Bauer 

Yarmouth High School, Grade 10

My unsung hero is Colonial Gail Halvorsen. I chose this unsung hero because I was very captivated by his story. Halvorsen grew up in Utah and always wanted to fly. He got his pilot's license in 1941, then joined the United States Air Force in 1942. He was assigned to Germany in 1948. Halvorsen is best known as the Berlin Candy Bomber, in which he dropped candy with mini parachutes out of his plane in the Berlin Airlift. This was an effort to boost morale in Germany from 1948 through 1949. He would fly over towns and drop candy out of his plane to children in Germany. This is especially impressive since he was a US soldier, and he still did this for a foreign country. I find this story incredibly inspirational because he went above and beyond his duty. Halvorsen didn't have permission from his supervisors but decided to do this anyway because he wanted to make an impact on the kids in Berlin. This shows his amazing character and his kind heart. 

I think one of the many important things about my unsung hero is his personality. He had no reason to do this for the kids, but he still did. Halvorsen just wanted to help out in a time of need and at a time when the kid's spirits might be down and upset. He dropped over 23 tons of candy to the people in Germany in his one year doing this. Even later in his life when he could have put what he did behind him, he made other candy drops in other countries to continue to boost morale. In my artwork, I wanted to display the scene of what he did and how it truly affected people. I look up to Halvorsen for his kind nature and I hope to continue to replicate that in my own life. 

My artwork shows the streets of Germany and kids receiving candy dropped from Halvorsen’s plane. The kids are all very excited and happy. I wanted to show the important impact he had on the people he was delivering the candy to at this time. I showed this impact by having the background and the main painting muted, but the kids are very vibrant and bright. This addition draws attention to the children. I also made sure that the candy was very visible and easy to see, making this another highlight of this piece. For the candy, I used beads to make this become a 3d effect and make it bounce off the painting. The sky in the background is a gloomy gray, with storm clouds. This represents the feelings and emotions that were going on at this time in Germany. In contrast, the plane is very bright and represents hope. The colorful plane is emphasized in my painting.  

Showing Halvorsen’s story through my art has opened my mind to many new questions and wonders. Learning his story has also made me look and search for unsung heroes in my daily life. Halvorsen’s goodwill has changed my attitude towards my relationship with others and inspired me to recreate this impact on a smaller scale. I have learned how a simple act of kindness can make someone's day, and I put it to use now in my life and community. Colonial Gail Halvorsen is extremely inspirational and I look forward to sharing his amazing story with many other people. I am excited to show my artwork and talk about my unsung hero to the people I know and am close with to get his story out there. I hope that sharing his journey will inspire others as it has inspired me.