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Introducing the Candy Bomber Collection

September 17, 2024 by Jenny Ashcraft | 1 Comment

We are pleased to announce that we’ve added the Gail S. Halvorsen “Candy Bomber” Collection to our archives. Fold3® is honored to be the official archive of the personal papers, journals, photographs, and videos of the late Col. Gail Seymour Halvorsen, also known as the Candy Bomber.

At the end of WWII, the Allies divided Germany into occupation zones. The US, UK, and France controlled the west, and the Soviets controlled the east. Berlin was within the Soviet zone, but Hitler’s formal capital was also divided into four sectors, with the US, UK, and France controlling three sectors and the Soviets controlling the fourth. Relations between the Allies and Soviets turned hostile, and on June 24, 1948, the Soviets blockaded all roads, rail lines, and water access to Allied-controlled areas of Berlin. In response, the US and UK began airlifting food and fuel to the starving residents of Berlin.

Aerial view of Berlin during the Berlin Airlift

Halvorsen, a young pilot from Utah, participated in the food drops in a mission known as “Operation Vittles,” which delivered 2.3 million tons of food and fuel to the people of Berlin. One day, during the Berlin Airlift, Halvorsen noticed children standing at the fence at Tempelhof Airport. He wandered over and offered them two sticks of gum. He was humbled to see them divide the prize into tiny pieces for all to share. He promised to return and bring more candy. He told them they would know it was him because he would wiggle the wings of his aircraft when he landed. This was the humble beginnings of “Operation Little Vittles” and earned Halvorsen the nicknames “Uncle Wiggly Wings” and “The Candy Bomber.” Halvorsen’s actions helped turn former enemies into friends. By the end of the Berlin Airlift in 1949, crews dropped 23 tons of candy over Berlin.

Following Col. Gail Halvorsen’s death in 2022, Fold3® has worked with the Halvorsen family to digitize and preserve the records documenting his remarkable lifetime of service. We are pleased to announce that the “Candy Bomber” Collection is now available to explore for free on Fold3®. This collection contains Col. Halvorsen’s personal history, photographs, videos, resources for educators, memories from the Berlin children, and more.

Explore the Gail S. Halvorsen “Candy Bomber” Collection today on Fold3®.

September 4, 1923: Maiden Voyage of the USS Shenandoah

September 9, 2024 by Jenny Ashcraft | 44 Comments

In 1919, US Navy Admiral William S. Sims asked the Senate to appropriate money to invest in rigid airships, saying that all first-class naval powers needed these ships as part of their fleets. Airships would allow the Navy to defend in three areas: sub-surface, surface, and air. The Navy’s first rigid airship was the ZR-1. It was later renamed the Shenandoah, and its maiden voyage was September 4, 1923.

USS Shenandoah under construction at Lakehurst Naval Air Station

The Shenandoah was constructed at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey. For weeks before her maiden voyage, thousands of visitors came from across the country to catch a glimpse of its giant hangar, 256 feet across, 803 feet long, and more than 200 feet tall.

On the morning of the launch, the ship was inflated with helium and pulled from the hangar. It took 400 men to hold the giant airship as she was slowly moved into place.

Some 2,000 spectators, including dignitaries like Rear Admiral William A. Moffett, gathered to watch. When it came time to launch, the Shenandoah rose rapidly to 1,000 feet and then headed east toward the Atlantic Ocean. The test trial was a success, and Moffett predicted that rigid airships would prove one of the country’s greatest forward strides in aviation. He hoped for a day when airships would provide overnight mail service to Europe, fly over the North Pole, and explore the Amazon River Valley.

By 1924, the Shenandoah set a record with a 9,000-mile flight over 18 days, crossing the country and becoming the first airship to travel west of the Mississippi. The public came in masses to view the ship, which brought enthusiasm and pride to the nation. The USS Patoka underwent major modifications, and an experimental mooring mast was constructed 125 feet above the water. This allowed the Shenandoah to conduct mooring experiments.

On September 2, 1925, the Shenandoah departed Lakehurst to participate in promotional flyovers to visit 40 cities and state fairs. On September 3, during the airship’s 57^th flight, the Shenandoah got caught in a violent thunderstorm over Ohio. An updraft carried the ship higher than its pressure limits could handle, and it broke apart. Fourteen crew members died, and 29 survived when they rode the ship back down to the ground. Following the crash, Army Colonel William “Billy” Mitchell criticized the leadership of both the Army and Navy, calling them incompetent and negligent. In response, Mitchell was court-martialed and found guilty. He was suspended from active duty for five years, but Mitchell resigned from military service.

Ironically, Rear Admiral Moffett, one of the staunchest advocates for the development of airships (Moffett Field in California is named after him), died in 1933 when he was a passenger aboard the USS Akron, a dirigible that crashed into the ocean off the coast of New Jersey during a storm.

The US Navy suspended its airship program in 1961, and the last flight of a naval airship occurred in 1962. Have you ever seen a Navy airship in person? If you would like to learn more about the naval airship program, search Fold3® today.

Collection Highlight: WWII Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954

August 28, 2024 by Jenny Ashcraft | 33 Comments

If you are researching military personnel who served during WWII, the WWII Hospital Admission Card Files are an often-overlooked resource that can provide details about injuries received during WWII and the Korean War.

This collection contains records for some 5.3 million patients, mostly US Army personnel, treated at Army facilities between 1942 and 1954. However, when the military created these records, many service members’ names were not included – only military service numbers. Thus, when searching this collection, you should search by military service number and name.

How Do I Find a Military Service Number? You can find military service numbers in various records available on Fold3®. One option is Army Enlistment Records. Go to our WWII Army Enlistment Records Collection and search by name. When you have located your ancestor’s enlistment record, you will find the Army Serial Number on the second line.

How to Filter Your Search by Military Service Number? Once you’ve located your ancestor’s Military Service Number, search Fold3® by selecting ‘Military’ and then ‘Service Number’ under the search filter.

If you find your ancestor in the WWII Hospital Admission Cards collection, it can reveal details about their life and military service, including admission age and date, type of injury, and more. Hospital Admission Cards specify whether the reason for admission was an illness or battle injury.

This is the Hospital Admission Card for Sylvester Antolak. During the Allied invasion of Italy, Antolak came under intense fire near Cisterna di Littoria. Despite being shot three times, Antolak continued to charge towards a German machinegun nest before being mortally wounded. He received a posthumous Medal of Honor.

Explore the Hospital Admission Cards collection on Fold3® today and discover new details about the service and injuries of US military personnel during WWII and the Korean War.

The M-1 Helmet

August 13, 2024 by Jenny Ashcraft | 25 Comments

In 1940, as the likelihood of the United States entering WWII hostilities increased, military officials assessed equipment and decided soldiers needed a better helmet. The newly redesigned combat helmet was called the M-1 Helmet, and production began in 1941. The design proved so popular that with slight modifications, the helmet became a standard issue for more than four decades until 1985, when the PASGT helmet succeeded it.

Soldiers inside a mobile weather station wear their M-1 helmets during WWII

The M-1 helmet was made of steel, weighed about three pounds, and was known by nicknames like the ‘steel pot’ or ‘brain bucket.’ It was designed with features like a slight visor to protect the wearer from precipitation, a flanged lip around the bottom, an adjustable helmet liner, and chin straps to keep the helmet in place. The helmet provided full coverage and could withstand a .45 caliber bullet fired at point-blank range.

The M-1 helmet was also notable because it did much more than protect the head. It was used as an entrenching tool or a wash basin for laundry or shaving (the helmet could hold more than three quarts of water). Military personnel also used the helmets as stools, a place to prepare food, or even to soak tired feet. The ultimate goal of the M-1, however, was to save lives—and it did.

A soldier from the 9th Air Force uses his M-1 helmet to shave during WWII

A WWII Army nurse does her laundry in an M-1 helmet in the Middle East

Lt. John A. Walsh was aboard the USS Walke in 1942 during the Battle of Guadalcanal. Before the battle began, Walsh was prompted to do something he hadn’t done in more than a year of action aboard the Walke – don a life vest and his M-1 helmet. On the night of November 15, 1942, the Walke was hit by a torpedo. The impact threw Walsh into the bulkhead, breaking a vertebrate in his neck before slamming him back down, breaking his leg. Walsh jumped from the sinking ship and swam until he cleared the burning wreckage. He then realized his helmet was pushed down very low on his head. He pried it off and was shocked to see the steel helmet creased like a fedora where he had slammed into the angle iron. The helmet saved his life, and in turn, Walsh was able to save 16 members of his crew. He received the Navy-Marine Corps Medal for Heroism and the Purple Heart.

Over 22 million M-1 helmets were produced during WWII, saving an estimated 70,000 lives. To learn more about the M-1 helmet and other WWII military equipment, search Fold3® today.

August 25, 1944: Keep ‘Em Rolling – The Red Ball Express Opens

August 1, 2024 by Jenny Ashcraft | 38 Comments

Following the D-Day Landings in June 1944, more than a million Allied soldiers moved into France. After breaking out of Normandy in July, troops began advancing across the countryside—sometimes covering as much ground as 80 miles a week. This created a logistical challenge for officials trying to supply this moving army across a country where many roads, bridges, and rail lines were damaged or destroyed. Military officials devised a solution they called the “Red Ball Express,” a specially designated supply route only open to military vehicles. Over the next 82 days, the Red Ball Express delivered an estimated 12,000 tons of supplies daily, allowing Allied forces to advance and eventually liberate France.

The successful invasion of Allied forces on D-Day brought more than a million American, Canadian, and British troops ashore in Normandy. Intense fighting in the hedgerows left Allies wedged in a relatively small area 50 miles wide and 20 miles deep. On July 25, 1944, the First US Army, under the command of Lieutenant General Omar N. Bradley, broke through as part of Operation Cobra. Allied troops poured through the opening in German lines and were soon joined by the US Third Army, under the direction of Gen. George S. Patton Jr. The Allies had previously destroyed French rail lines to prevent Germany from bringing reinforcements. Now, US military officials realized the need for supplies, particularly gasoline, was critical to keep the army moving across France. The only way to supply the troops was by road.

A Red Ball Express truck gets stuck in the mud – 1944

Almost overnight, the Red Ball Express was born. The Red Ball Express was a trucking convoy route system named after the red dots commonly used to identify priority express trains in the United States. It operated 24 hours a day and consisted of one-way routes designated for military traffic only. Military supplies arrived at the French port of Cherbourg and were loaded onto trucks. Supplies were then transported to the Chartres area and unloaded. Empty trucks then returned to Cherbourg.

Thousands of military personnel received quick training to become drivers. Seventy-five percent were Black Americans, most with no previous experience driving trucks. They often worked in two-man teams, driving the 54-hour round-trip route from Cherbourg to Chartres, switching off drivers when one became too fatigued.

One of those drivers was James A. Baysmore. Baysmore was 19 when he enlisted in the US Army. He was assigned to the 3717 Quartermaster Truck Company and drove a truck on the Red Ball Express. “We didn’t think about what we were doing much because it was our job,” said Baysmore in a 1997 interview. “We carried gas, all kinds of supplies and even hauled bodies back to take to the cemetery,” he said.

Austin Powlis served in the 3902 Quartermaster Company and was a rifleman and a truck driver in the Red Ball Express. In an interview before his death in 2017, he recalled the bumpy narrow roads, dodging landmines, sniper fire, and aerial bombardment. “We’d drive and be fired upon at the same time. It’s still ringing in my ears,” he said.

An American tank in Paris near the Arc de Triomphe in 1944

At the height of operations, nearly 6,000 trucks were transporting supplies across France on the Red Ball Express. The Express remained open for 82 days until November 13, 1944, when enough French rail lines had been repaired, and the port facilities at Antwerp, Belgium, were reopened, alleviating the need for the highway. Military officials agreed that the Allies could not have reached Germany without the Red Ball Express. If you want to learn more about the Red Ball Express, search Fold3® today.

Collection Highlight – The Bowie List

July 24, 2024 by Jenny Ashcraft | 4 Comments

The Bowie List is a valuable resource that records the burial locations of Confederate soldiers who fought and died in Maryland during the Battles of Antietam, South Mountain, and Monocacy during the American Civil War.

The Battle of Antietam was the deadliest one-day battle in American history. It became a mass casualty event, with 22,000 Union and Confederate soldiers killed, wounded, or missing and captured. Both sides were overwhelmed with tending to the injured and hastily burying the dead. Makeshift grave markers marked burial locations for many soldiers. In 1864, a charter by the Maryland legislature allowed the purchase of property for the Antietam National Cemetery. In 1867, a year after the war ended, Union soldiers were reinterred at the new cemetery. Confederate soldiers, however, remained buried on the battlefield. In some cases, their graves had been disturbed by animals or plows.

Soldiers bury the dead on the Battlefield of Antietam – September 1862

In 1869, three years after the war ended, Oden Bowie, the governor of Maryland, asked that the Confederate graves in Washington and Frederick counties be documented and, if possible, the soldiers identified. Aaron Good and Moses Poffinberger, residents of Sharpsburg, were very familiar with the battlefields and set about the task.

The result of their efforts is the Bowie List. Though Good and Poffinberger made every effort to honor the dead, the list contains some inaccuracies. Later, many of the Confederate dead were reinterred in Washington Confederate Cemetery in Hagerstown, Mount Olivet Cemetery in Frederick, and Elmwood Cemetery in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

If you have Confederate ancestors who died while fighting in Maryland, the Bowie List may provide details about where they fell and where they were initially buried. Explore this collection today on Fold3®.

Navy Pilot Escapes Laos POW Camp

July 2, 2024 by Jenny Ashcraft | 126 Comments

On July 20, 1966, US Navy pilot Dieter Dengler was rescued after escaping a POW camp in Laos, where he endured months of torture and deprivation after his plane was shot down near the North Vietnam-Laos border during the Vietnam War. He became only the second captured airman to escape during the war.

Dengler was born in 1938 in Wildberg in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. His father was drafted into the German Army in 1939 and killed during WWII. Dengler’s mother was left impoverished and struggled to feed her children. The family foraged for scraps and boiled wallpaper to scrape the wheat paste off the back for nutrients. During the war, a bomber flew through Wildberg, and young Dieter saw an airplane for the first time. He determined at that moment that his dream was to fly. This dream kept Dengler going for years while working as an apprentice for an abusive blacksmith who beat him regularly. Dengler later claimed it helped him learn survival skills he would need later in life. When the apprenticeship finally ended at age 18, Dengler left Germany for America – hoping to become a pilot.

After arriving in the United States, Dengler joined the Air Force. He soon realized that joining the Air Force didn’t mean he automatically got to fly. He peeled potatoes and worked as a mechanic but realized that he needed to attend college if he wanted to achieve his dream. He became a citizen, received an education, studied aeronautics, and got accepted into the US Navy Aviation Cadet Training Program.

Dengler headed to Vietnam as a Navy pilot when the Vietnam War broke out. In February 1966, he was on a mission when his plane was shot down over Laos. He survived the crash but was captured by the Pathet Lao. Over the next six months, Dengler endured horrific torture as his captors tried to get him to sign statements condemning US actions in Vietnam. They drove large bamboo slivers underneath his fingernails and skin where they festered; they hung him upside down over a nest of biting ants and nearly drowned him when they suspended him in a well.

Dieter Dengler with his squadron from VA-145 following his rescue

Dengler began studying the guards’ movements and, with fellow prisoners, began planning an escape. On June 29, 1966, while the guards were eating, Dengler and six other prisoners made their move. They seized guns and killed five guards in a shootout. Knowing that reinforcements would soon arrive, they ran for the jungle. Dengler was with Capt. Duane W. Martin, an American Air Force officer. The other prisoners disappeared into the jungle, and he never saw them again. Together, Dengler and Martin trekked barefoot while being pursued. They eventually made their way to a river and built a raft. When they became too weak from hunger to walk, they crawled. One day, they came upon some villagers. The villagers were hostile and came at them with a machete. In the blink of an eye, one villager beheaded Martin. During the ensuing screams and chaos, Dengler darted into the jungle. Now alone, Dengler continued his trek.

On July 20, 1966, Air Force Lt. Col. Eugene Deatrick was flying up a canyon in Laos when he noticed a man near the river waving wildly. Dietrick passed over two more times. There were no reports of recently downed Americans, and Dietrick was nervous that this might be an enemy soldier attempting a suicide attack. A gut feeling told him to call for help. A helicopter arrived and lowered a cable, which Dengler grasped. The crew raised him up but quickly slammed Dengler to the floor and strip-searched him, looking for explosives. They soon realized that Dengler was a missing American.

After his rescue, Dengler weighed just 85 pounds. He was welcomed back and awarded several military decorations, including the Navy Cross, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and the Air Medal. Dengler retired from the Armed Forces and became a test pilot. Dengler died in 2001 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. Search Fold3® today to discover more stories of heroism and valor.