My father flew B-29s during the war. These are very good photographs and very historic. Despite the controversy over the Enola Gay, its crew and support people, it remains a very historic aircraft that accomplished a mission changing the course of the war and the shape of the world. God bless all those that were involved in this endeavor to shorten the war and save thousands of American and Japanese lives.

Jack Reinhardt

I am alive today because I was on Leyte in the Phiipnes when the Atom bombs were dropped. We were staying in shape waiting for orders to board ships to invade Japan. Thanks to President Harry Truman the 81st Infantry "Wildcat" Division did not have to invade Japan with blazing guns. The 81st Division was the 2nd division to land in Japan for the occupation. We landed in Hirosaki in the Aomori Prefacture which is the northernmost area of Honshu,
the main island of Japan.
Thanks again Harry Truman.

Since i saw the movie with Robert Taylor when i was a kid that the Enola Gay is a main interest for me.I simply admire the guys who flew it.

Awesome, just awesome! It is good to know the world's history is being so well preserved.

Are there any high-resolution versions available? EDITORS' REPLY: We'll look into it and let you know if we hear of a HD version.

Last month I visited the museum, both places, I can admired the B 29.
It was a big plane and thanks to it and the crew, WWII finished, and many lives were safe.

In 1988 I was in the Washington DC area for an installtion project with my company. While there I toured the Paul Garber facility with great interest. During the tour we walked by the fuselage of the Enola Gay which had it's wings removed and was placed against a wall in the hangar. With no ropes around the aircraft and a gaping hole where the wings would attach, I saw a unique opportunity. I just walked up to the open wing root and leaned into the most famous bombay in aviation history. Having flown in B-52s for the USAF, I knew what it was like to be around special weapons, but this was truly amazing and a once-in-a-lifetime occaision. My hat's off to the excellent work done by the restoration crews at Garber to preserve such a special aircraft for the lessons we can learn from it and the crew who flew and maintained it.

I never dreamed I would see the inside of this historic plane. Thanks.
Frank Maurer

I"ll never forget this name. It ended WW2 and saved many lives and our freedom. To bad this kind of history and sacrifice that our citizens were proud to fight for aren't taught in our schools today and so much mis-information that isn't real history. I know my grandchildren will never learn the real truth of our USA history.

I was a Radar Tech. in the 1950's on B-29's and there is a serious misstatement about the radar. The box behind the "scope" was called a Slant Range Computer that provided information to the radar scope, ONLY! The Norden and Radar bomb systems were completely seperate! There was a frindly competition between the Bombardier and the Radar Operators. Who were commissoned officers at that time. EDITORS' REPLY: Curator Roger Connor of the National Air and Space Museum found the following, from pg. 77 of the “Summary Technical Report of Division 14, National Defense Research Committee: Military Airborne Radar Systems” – i.e. the folks who developed the equipment (referring specifically to the AN/APA-5 and AN/APQ-5 Low Altitude Bombing Systems):

“A potentiometer or selsyn tie-in between the radar scanner and the Norden stabilizer makes the azimuth cross hair correspond with the azimuth of the Norden telescope. The bombardier, by operating the azimuth stabilizer knobs in the usual manner, steers the plane to the proper release point by synchronizing the target on this azimuth cross hair.”

Connor adds: Perhaps at the time of the correspondent’s experience, the slant range computers could drop on their own, but this was not the case at the end of World War II, when the Norden and the bombardier were still essential to initiating bomb release.

Thanks for the photos of the inside of the plane. I took my Dad to see this plane a few years ago. He was stationed on Tinian with the 77th Air Servise Sq and worked on B29s including the Enola Gay. He'll like seeing these photos.

25 years ago I was privileged to be an intern at the Garber Facility and was allowed to climb into the cockpit one afternoon during a break---awesome....

As a pilot and military history & warbird enthusiast, it was a great pleasure and privilege to meet Paul TIbbets at an airshow a few years back. Hearing him speak and getting to shake his hand and thank him personally was a moment I'll never forget.

My father-in-law was a SeaBee during the war and, in early August 1945, was on a ship headed for what would have been the invasion of Japan. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that my wife is here today because of what Tib and his crew did. I brought her to meet him the following day at that airshow. Though she was shy about it at the time (she thought she'd tear up too much to actually shake his hand), I know that she treasures the photo of herself with the man who undoubtedly saved her Dad's life, along with so many other Americans.

A great man, and a great American.

For Ann. You state that "I know my grandchildren will never learn the real truth of our USA history." Maybe then that is the responsibility of those who do know the truth to educate our youth. Not just the grandchildren, but the parents of those grandchildren as well.

By the way, an excellent, well-balanced book (and the best that I've read so far) is "Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire" by Richard Frank.

I'm glad at least one person recognizes that there is ongoing controversy as to the morality of the decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki. President Truman was a friend of my Uncle and a heroic figure in my household and I appreciate the moral dilema he faced with this decision. To this day, I have not resolved the issue, but I respect those who carried out their orders and applaud the Smithsonian for the work of restoration and preservation of the Enola Gay. May we always have to wrestle with such decisions. They should never be easy.

I'm glad at least one person recognizes that there is ongoing controversy as to the morality of the decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki. President Truman was a friend of my Uncle and a heroic figure in my household and I appreciate the moral dilema he faced with this decision. To this day, I have not resolved the issue, but I respect those who carried out their orders and applaud the Smithsonian for the work of restoration and preservation of the Enola Gay. May we always have to wrestle with such decisions. They should never be easy.

The B-29 and I were together during the Korean War when I was a B-29 pilot flying missions from Okinawa to North Korea. This experience matured me (age 24) and made me realise what the United States could continue to do with its air power. My 10 man crew was a well trained professional organization that got the job done on each of our 10-12 hour missions. Our last scheduled mission was also the last of the War in July 1953. The B-29 was now ready for retirement and being replaced by the B-47.
I am now a resident of Washington DC and enjoy visiting the Air and Space Museums.
Hugo Schmidt

My uncle, Robert Merwin Pilchard, was a B-29 pilot who flew in the first daylight raid over Japan, out of Chengdu China. For that mission he earned the gold star. Navigation problems led to his plane crashing in the Himalayas, where locals found and buried the crew. Countless others perished in the B-29 program in the pursuit of ultimately delivering the atom bomb. He knew when leaving Illinois for China that his chances of survival were slim- hundreds of B-29's and their crews were lost to crashes, mechanical failures and enemy fire. But they were all committed to the project that ultimately led to the Enola Gay's successful mission.

I MET THE ORIGINAL CREW OF THE ENOLA GAY ON SAIPAN BEFORE THEY DROPPED THE ATOMIC BOMB. I WAS ON AN LST ANCHORED OFF SAIPAN
AND USED TO WATCH THEM COMING BACK FROM BOMBING RUNS TO JAPAN.
MY CURIOSITY GOT THE BEST OF ME AND ONE DAY TREKKED UP TO THE AIRFIELD TO SEE THE B29'S FIRST HAND.I SPOKE TO THE CREW AND THEY
WERE MOST CORDIAL AND ANSWERED ALL MY QUESTIONS.I DIDN'T OWN A
CAMERA AND WAS SORRY I WASN'T ABLE TO PHOTOGRAPH THEM. THE NAME
OF THE PLANE STUCK IN MHY HEAD ALL THESE YEARS NEVER DREAMING THAT I
PICKED THE RIGHT GROUP OF PILOTS AND CRERW TO SPEAK TO.

My father, just out of high school, fought island to island headed towards Japan. I have stories, photos, and two Bronze Stars from him.

I believe I would not have been born if President Truman had not dropped the bomb(s). Just thinking about my existence...I'm grateful to two heroes: my Dad and President Truman.

Family history... My grandmother dropped the s and added the t to our last name of my Father Delbert Wayne Tibbett, his father Curtis Tibbett,whose parents were Oliver J. and Martha E Tibbets, Uncle Cecil Fern Tibbet TEC5 11 Field Hosp World War 11. some how we are all related.. incl My sister Sharon Tibbett all deceased and buried in Silverwood Ind. I have read so many stories, and things my mother has remembed, it is amazing what I have learned about my family history. I am proud of our name no matter how you spell it..

I was in the USAF, the 509th BOMB WING, in 1957-1962. This was the same group that bombed Japan. My father was in Leyta, Phillipines during this time. I have some photos of him and his fellow army buddies. It was a sad & dangerous time for everyone. My family & I have been to see the Air & Space Museum and I told them stories about this time and my dad. We are so blessed to have the freedoms we do, thanks to our fighting military of all branches.

PAUL W. WILSON
USAF
509TH BOMB WING

It is all very well to talk after the event, if it was morally correct, etc etc, i have the DVD,s from the history of the 2dWW and all you need to do is look at the ilands the marines had to invade, the japs preferred to die rather than surrender, and Okinawa was a,foretaste of what was to come, if the marines had to invade mainland japan, many thousands of marines would have been killed, so at the time to drop the bomb was the correct thing to do, politicaly corect or not, and all the bleeding hearts who did not have to go and risk their lives can go and take a jump in the ocean of Okinawa and visit the sunken ships the Kamikazies sank. and visit the graves of all the dead marines who are buried in those ilands. and thousand of lives of prisoners were saved by having the the camps in asia freed from the japs, by the way, i am not an american i am australian originaly from holland and i went tru the war so I KNOW what it was like .joseph theeboom

I recently attended an event entitled "The Atomic Bombings of WW II: The Views of the Radar Man held at the National Electronics Museum in Linthicum, Maryland. Jacob Beser, the Radar Man was the only man to fly on both the strike B-29's that delivered the A-bombs to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Jacob Beser passed away in 1992 and his son Jerome had presented Jacob's original manuscript of the speech he was to present at a conference a week before he died. What a thrill to be a part of this informative presentation and hear Jacob's thoughts and opinions communicated through his son. The manuscript illustrated Jacob's time as a student at Johns Hopkins University, his enlistment at the start of the war and his extensive training in the USAAC; all in preparation for the missions he played a major role in. One thing I did not know was that Jacob Beser was an Amateur Radio Operator and attributed his success as the Radar operator to the skills he learned while practicing the art of Ham Radio. At the conclusion of the presentation, I noticed that his family was selling Jacob's original QSL cards with his signature on the back. Of course, I just had to take one home with me (being an amateur Radio Operator myself). I will always keep Jacob's QSL card as a memento of the great presentation I attended and as a memento of a great man who served his country well.

I was a member of the crew of LCI 603 assigned to patrol off the island of Guam. Many B29s crashed for various reasons. There was a team of small ships near the islands where the 29s were based, destroyers farther out to sea, submarines in close to Japan and PBY aircraft to spot from the air and drop smoke bombs when they observed something in the water. We were able to save some of the crews that crashed in the ocean. We had a great deal of respect for the crews that flew in the B29s. Our ship and all it's crew would not have survived if it were not for what the B29s did to Japan. I sure would not be here to make this comment if it were not for them.

my wife's aunt, ruby wakefield, helped build the "enola gay". I remember talking to her aunt ruby wakefield and hearing this from her. she also included this information, in a book on the history of the wakefield family.

Frankly, I don't see a whole lot of moral dilemma in using the bomb. The lowest scum soldier on our side, while we are in a state of war, is worth more than everyone combined on the other side. Killing everyone in Japan to save a single American life would have been worth it. Anyone who believes otherwise had better be prepared to show that they would have gone to the families of any American soldier that died and tell those families that the enemy lives he didn't take were worth more than their son's life. We have a moral obligation to our own troops to use any and all means necessary to eliminate the enemy if it means saving even a single of our soldier's lives. There is no real division between soldiers and civilians, because civilians fund the military; no bucks, no bullets. Those who were killed by the bomb were the *enemy*, yes, even the children. It was worth the killing of every child in Japan in time of war if it would have saved even one American life. This is not a moral judgment on the Japanese people, it's a statement of support for my country's soldiers. In time of war, any one of my people are worth all of the other side's people, combined. How can anyone think otherwise and support their nation's soldiers (which is NOT the same as supporting their mission).

Once the enemy has surrendered (by act, not by word), the picture changes. We have an obligation to ensure that our enemy can no longer make war, but we also have an obligation to show that we are the better for not enacting revenge. Allowing an enemy to have supervised rebuilding, as was done in Japan, is the surest way to prevent that enemy from remaining an enemy and paves the way towards friendship- as has happened with Japan.

*In time of war*, any one of our soldiers is worth more than all of the enemy, military and civilian, combined. When war is over, we need to extend the hand of friendship. Anyone who has a problem with that has some serious moral issues to work out.

Great pictures. I wonder how big the debate would have been in 1946 at President Truman's impeachment trial, if he had not used the bombs. I can hear the speeches in congress."Mr. President, you had the power to end the war and did not? Because of your lack of leadership, we have lost 500,000 more men". That would have been the big debate. Truman did the right thing; ask my uncle Paul Byers in Columbia SC, he was fighting on Okinawa at the time.
Gob Bless the United States of America

Robert Shumard was on that flight. What happened was horrible, but what could have happened if the War had continued would have been far, far worse, for both sides.

Having met Colonel Paul Tibbets as a younger man I was absolutely amazed by the stories that he told me about the 509th Composite Squadron and the fact that although the Enola Gay and Bock's Car were about to rewrite history he and his crew and the crew of Bock's Car never fully comprehended the nature of the beast they were about to unleash. I had a very rare opportunity to ask Col. Tibbets if he had known what would happen would he do it again? His response through hollow eyes and from a collectively deep vault of memory and pain his response was very cryptic and concise: "NO".

There is nothing else in this world more hurtful than watching a 70+ year old man tear up knowing that what he had done was unleash the monster that Mr. Einstein had warned us about, and knowing there is nothing that could ever offer him comfort. If only I had had the opportunity to meet the man that actually dropped the bomb, Dutch Van Kirk then it would have all come full circle. Thank you Colonel for letting me help your legacy live on!

My mother is/was Japanese from the Tokyo suburbs. She was a little girl during the war and was removed to the hills outside town to avoid the fire bombings. Several times she commented that the soldiers would show no respect for life of any kind, human or dog, and she was very happy the war ended as it did, without american AND RUSSIAN soldiers shooting up her family and home while trying to avoid being killed by japanese children with rifles bigger than some of the boys being pressed into service. As she said, " a hundred thousand civilians killed by 2 bombs was still preferrable to a million being murdered by both sides."

It is honor to the men who flew the "Enola Gay" to have her preserved to all time. Without the brave crew and the support system this bomber had, there is no doubt in my mind WW2 would have raged on for another bloody year.
I hate the idea the Japanese put such pressure on our country to make us feel sorry for them getting nuked. Their emperor wanted to march on his white horse down Penn. Avenue and give his terms of surrender to FDR. Well too bad. Japan got what she deserved. I have no regrets what we did to them to end WW2.
(If they had the bomb, no doubt they would have used it).

Anyone having morality issues with the A-Bomb usage against Japan should read a book called "Flyboys" by James Bradley( son of Iwo Jima flag raiser).The Japanese officers on Chi Chi Jima had no problem torturing captured airmen to the point of incapacitation and serving their flesh for dinner.I cried when I read this book. In my opinion, they got away easy with just 2 bombs.....Len

"the enola gay" crew led by col tibbets were great living heroes til today, they shall be honored like superman,batman,spiderman and all more than other great men in the history of america...i am a daughter of a fil-am vet.. and i have read all about enola gay and its men at the "american legion" journal..and there i found col tibbets so cute and so handsome during his early 20's,it seems to me he is so just innocent looking, and as i can see him now as old as my father (deceased 2005)i just can remember the stories of my father when he was there in nagasaki as a phil-am scout...long live to col tibbets and his two bomber crew!!!god bless them saving the philippines too during wwii from the hands of the japs..."enola gay" then was the last saviour for the phils during wwii...thanx god for these great people...god bless fil-am vets..

My father-in-law guarded the Enola Gay the night before it mission to drop the bomb. He died in 2005 and I have a photo taken of him and the others who guarded the plane. An article in Time magazine featured the those who flew the mission. It is obvious from the shadows, etc. the photo I possess was taken about the same time. I feel like a copy of the photo should be shared but I just don't know who if anyone would want it. Any ideas. EDITORS' REPLY: If you would be interested in donating it to the National Air and Space Museum archives, please go to THIS WEB SITE and fill out the form you'll find there. Someone from the Archives will be in touch with you. Thank you.

The #2 - Bockscar - is at AF Museum here in Dayton. Too bad it had to fly, the Japanese should have surrendered after Hiroshima.
As far as the other respondents - no one knows what would have happened had we continued to firebomb, etc., until the Japanese "maybe" surrendered. The Russians would have invaded Jdapan - they were "late-comers" into Manchuria a few days after the two bombs were dropped. And Japan could be like N. Korea. Rape of Nanking, Bataan, etc., was brought on Japan by a self-aggrandizing regime.

Dick in Dayton

the topic of whether or not to drop the bombs is still debated today.why? it absolutely should have been.i've had the pleasure to meet and listen to paul tibbets,dutch vankirk,morris jeppson and those guys don't consider themselves heroes but they are.i saw an earlier post before about how tibbets regretted,i never heard him say that or read that he said that.in an interview on t.v i saw he was asked how do you justify the lives that were taken with the lives that were saved that day and he said that never's a time someone doesn't come up and say to thank you you saved my bacon i was scheduled for the invasion of japan.well that is more than good enough for me.thank you to paul tibbets and the crew of the enola gay.

I agree wholeheartedly with Truman's decision to use the two bombs to bring the war to its rightful conclusion. I believe that to some degree the controversy has been prolonged by at least half a dozen books written after the war by retired allied diplomats and diplomats of neutral countries that had nothing to lose after retirement, when they revealed that the Japanese gov't had been "reaching out" through the embassies of neutral nations to send a message to U.S. allied embassies that the Japanese wanted to sue for peace, but in order to 'save face,' they couldn't or wouldn't just make an announcement over the radio to that effect. Foreign diplomoacy works in mysterious ways. Recall that MacArthur did not approach the Emperor after MacArthur took up residence in Japan as head of the Allied Occupying Forces of Japan. Having been tutored by his father about the Oriental mindset, he knew that the Emperor would approach him in a formal manner to offer his own salutation and to humble himself before his conquerors in a discreet way, which is the Oriental way, and tha 5,000 year old Japanese way. We never hear anything about those books authored by foreign diplomats that revealed that the Japanese Imperial Army and Navy wanted to surrender. So, the arguments continue and will never be ssettled until we learn why FDR and Truman did not acknowledge such outreaches by the gov't of Japan in wanting peace, during or after the war. Coverup. But why? To set the world up for the Nuclear Age. Read Herman Kahn's "Thinking About The Unthinkable."

Being a historian of the 20th Century (WWI, Great Depression, WWII, Cold War, Space Race) I have always had a fascination with the Enola Gay and the mission of this historic bomber to deliver the first atomic weapon. I am fortunate to be able to volunteer in the Curatorial Department at the National World War II Museum here in New Orleans. During my years at the museum I have been honored to get to speak to numerous veterans of the Pacific Theater. To the last man every single one of them felt that President Truman was absolutely justified in ordering the use of the atomic bomb against such an intractable and defiant enemy that had proven time and time again that they would fight to the last man, woman and child before they would surrender. The war in the Pacific was a war without mercy and an objective review of the historical record clearly shows that the use of these atomic weapons along with the fire-bombing of the Japanese cities brought the bloody conflict to the earliest end possible. Many lives on both sides were saved by this action which is why there were so many veterans who were able to tell me their opinion in person including my grandfather who fought with the 6th Marine Division on Okinawa. As a historian, I was taught to examine the historical record in the context of the time the event occurred and not bias my conclusions based on the morality of 20/20 hindsight in our modern era. I appreciate the Air & Space Museum working so diligently to preserve our history to educate and enlighten us about the past and connect us to said past in a visceral manner so we can hopefully learn from such experience and never have to repeat those costly lessons. I am also pleased to have connected with several high school history teachers from across the country and trust me they do tell the accurate, evidence-based history of our participation in WWII including why we found it necessary to use the atomic bombs.

OK, One more time on the AN/APQ-13's SLANT RANGE COMPUTER.
Your archivist Quotes for the AN/APQ-5 that you can read about on line which was "A LOW altitude Bombing radar by Western Electric for, B-24 Liberator, B-25 Mitchell, PBJ,PBM Mariner, & B32."
My old May 1949 copy of Trainig Project Outline for Radar Mech. Bombardment Equipment has a sketch of the box and identifies it as "Slant Range Computer"
An other one has a lengthy description of how it was used when they were trying to use "Synchronous Sightings" and the Radar Operator... "he signals the Bombardier BY INTERPHONE to set the sighting angle of 70 degrees..."

On the AN/APQ-13 it was called a Slant Range Computer with NO electrical tie-in to the Norden Bomb Sight. There I've said it again and will now shut up!

I recall seeing a bumper sticker some time ago. It said
"If there hadn't been a Pearl Harbor,there wouldn't have been a Hiroshima".
Served in the 407th Air Refueling Squadron at Malmstrom AFB, Montana back in the mid 50's. We were flying KB-29s as tankers for F84Fs and Gs.

My mom was a "Rosie the Riveter" at the Glen L. Martin plant during WW II. She didn't like to talk about it much, but I do remember her relating several times how everyone was so somber and tearful when those planes came back to them to be repaired. She spoke of how gut-wrenching it was to see the blood and tissue of a brave soldier splattered all about the inside of the plane. Mom had great respect and admiration for all those who served during that time. We were always so proud to know that our little Mom had been an important part of history. Our Dad never had the chance to actually serve: he was badly injured in training, and medically discharged. Being a country boy, he was undoubtedly terrified about being anywhere but home. However, he did try to do his part. I think all Americans should be fiercely proud of all the brave folks who fought so valiantly to keep this country free!

Debbie O'Bier - Seaford, DE

As a photographer for the National Air and Space Museum, I know a lot about photography, but not that much about the airplanes I shoot. The day I was in the cockpit photographing Gen. Paul Tibbets,and the other two crew members, I asked, "General Tibbets, could you please put your hands on the steering wheel?" He replied, "Its called a yoke son!" I guess the "yoke" was on me, so to speak.

Eric Long,
NASM Photographer

Who designed the release mechanism for the H-bomb on the Enola Gay? And who designed the interior?

I was a Phm3c at Pearl Harbor when the war ended.Vj Day in Honolulu, what a wonderful day. I have parade pictures.

These are the words of the Emperor, broadcast over the radio, which announced to the people of Japan that the nation had surrendered:




Despite the best that has been done by everyone—the gallant fighting of the military and naval forces, the diligence and assiduity of Our servants of the State, and the devoted service of Our one hundred million people—the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage, while the general trends of the world have all turned against her interest.




Moreover, the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives. Should we continue to fight, not only would it result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization.




Such being the case, how are We to save the millions of Our subjects, or to atone Ourselves before the hallowed spirits of Our Imperial Ancestors? This is the reason why We have ordered the acceptance of the provisions of the Joint Declaration of the Powers.




The hardships and sufferings to which Our nation is to be subjected hereafter will be certainly great. We are keenly aware of the inmost feelings of all of you, Our subjects. However, it is according to the dictates of time and fate that We have resolved to pave the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come by enduring the unendurable and suffering what is unsufferable.

I have lost count of my visits to the NASM. However I distinctly remember visiting DC in the early nineties and upon arrival for my ritual visit to the NASM, nothing indicated that I was going to have a life-changing encounter. Into the third hour of that visit, I encountered a notice indicating something or other about the ENOLA GAY. I entered a non-descript section of the museum and to my great amazement, the recently restored forward fuselage of the ENOLA GAY was on display! It was an overwhelming experience. On the way out of the museum, I decided to go back for a second encounter and that's when the tears finally came. Nobody else was there, and for several minutes I had the ENOLA GAY completely to myself! As an aviation enthusiast and historian, being so close to an historical artifact of such significance, meant something that still defies words. Seeing the plane fully assembled at the Udvar-Hazy annex did not surpass the strong emotions of that earlier, very personal experience.I could care less about the debate regarding the ethics of the missions to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. To think about the 1 million+ casualties we could have incurred had we invaded the islands of Dai Nippon should give us all reasons to pause. That's all. Thanks to all concerned from the fliers in 1945, to the brilliant restoration team.

My father worked on the Enola Gay at the Martin plant in Omaha. I remember him saying that the workers had to have security clearance, and they all knew it was for a special mission of some type, but of course didn't know the details. He worked on some of the modifications that had to be made in the interior. I remember him saying that they kept changing and trying different things till they got it the way they wanted it.

I have never understood why some Americans want to apologize for dropping the Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

True, dropping those bombs was Horrible, Horrible, Horrible...

But a land invasion of Japan would have produced many, many, many more casualties, both American and Japanese.

In other words, those A Bombs saved ten(?) or twenty(?) or possibly a hundred(?)times more lives than they took.

The Tibbets family's service to the US continued. Paul Tibbets grandson flew or flies one of the B-2's on missions to the Middle East. From Wikipedia: "His grandson Colonel Paul W. Tibbets IV, USAF, (a 1989 graduate of the US Air Force Academy) was also commander of the 393rd Bomb Squadron at Whiteman AFB, Missouri, from 2005–2007 and flew the B-2 Spirit. The 393rd is one of two operational squadrons under the same unit his grandfather commanded, the 509th Bomb Wing."

During the 70s and 80s, I would from time to time crew on FIFI the CAF B-29. Quite a privilege especially with my decades of interest in aviation and WWII history. I would often sit in the bombardiers position. Looking down through the Norden brought quiet contemplation. Yet as most posters have agreed, the two bombings probably saved upward to one million Allied lives. A recent authoritative read indicated
that 12 to 15 million Japanese lives were spared. As we know they were prepared to fight to the last citizen.
Protestors - give that some thought.
I had become acquainted with Bob Caron the tail gunner of
the Enola Gay. A very nice man.



Chuck Lindell

Colorado Springs

I found this article really interesting. My great grandpa helped with the wiring on the Enola Gay and Bockscar. It's cool to see history that my family had something to do with.

i am one of the lucky ones who "fell thru the cracks" i.e. too young for korea & too old for "nam". However my dad was the perfect age for WW2. He was to be part of the invasion force that was to invade Japan in '46 (or was it late '45?). At any rate he was in transit to the Phillipines (the staging area) when he was at sea, his outfit's orders were changed from invasion troops to occupation troops, because the bomb was dropped and Japan surrendered. Dad spent the next 53 years trying to track down Enola Gay and/or Bockscar crews and personally thank them. I finally got the opportunity at an airshow in Minneapolis 2 years after dad passed away. Very emotional time for me which I will never forget.

15 years ago, I took my 11 y.o. daughter to the Air and Space museum. As we spiraled through the Enola Gay exhibit, I was remembering a video project I had just completed for McGraw-Hill. I was tasked to create short historic clips for a CD-ROM. So I screened hours of historic footage, include a lot from Hiroshima that I had never seen -- with good reason, these clips were too horrific to show in newsreels.
So my daughter and I went to sit quietly near the wall to just look at the historic plane. No one else was there, until a 30-something y.o. Japanese man came around the nose. We were in shadow so he thought he was alone, but he was so engaged with the plane, he may as well have been.
He stood near the cockpit, near the name. And as we watched, he slowly leaned forward, placed his forearm on the Enola Gay and leaned his head on his arm, placing his other palm on the side of the fuselage.
I can only imagine the family stories running through the young man's head. But between that and my recent film experience I was overwhelmed. It was the first time my daughter had seen me weep in a public place. It was the most moving moments I've ever had in a museum.

I never thought I'd ever actually see the Enola Gay but in 2011 I packed myself onto an Australian Aviation tour group and managed to see both Enola Gay and Bock's Car.
Knowing the history these iconic aircraft garner, I stared at them both for ages and soaked up the significance and every detail of their makeup I could hope to remember. The Docent at Udvar Hazy centre who was taking our group around did a wonderful job of answering our questions and filled us in with all manner of stories about the EG. I mentioned to the Docent that I had read a newspaper article in Australia years before that told of the EG being fully restored and newly displayed. It dissapointed me to read that a mob of protesters had 'carried on' over it. The docent added that one of them returned to throw a Coke bottle at the EG, and actually denting the skin just behind the Port side of the cockpit. I could actually see the dent for myself. What a pity- small minds and no respect.
Standing near these Aircraft was a humbling experience and carries feelings and memories I shall never forget
Steve Winzar, Melbourne Australia

Seventy years after the end of the war is hardly the time to re-fight WWII. This is particularly true in that most of the participants are no longer with us and trying to second guess the motives (and emotions) of these men in the context of today's morality is pointless. It is akin to justifying the invasion of Afghanistan in 2071, seventy years after 9-11.

The Army Center of Military History has an excellent book posted on line "Command Decisions" which includes a chapter on the decision to drop the bomb.



http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/070/70-7-1/index.html

Over the years there have been a lot of ' negative press' about the mission of the Enola Gay and the atomic bomb she delivered. I belive ANY country involved in war will use the ' biggest stick ' it has to neutralize the enemy.This mission (and the mission by Bocks Car ) saved countless American lives and probably thousands of Japanese lives when compared to proceeding with Operation Olympic Coronet, the then planed American invasion of the Japanese homeland. Let us not forget these flights occurred during open and declared war. A war that was started by the cowardly sneak attract by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor. My heart goes out to the people on both sides who suffered because of the conflict -But -war is hell and innocent people do suffer.
In the summer of 1970 while visiting Washington, D.C.,the gentleman in charge of the Silver Hill, Md. facility invited to show me through the facility. They were not set-up for public tours at that time-so I consider that opportunity an honor and a privilege that I shall not forget.
Stored in the same building with the Enola Gay and sitting between the Enola Gay and a Japenese Zero was a Twin-Jet Japanese fighter that was TEST-Flown on the SAME DAY that the Enola Gay delivered the atomic bomb. As I recall this aircraft is about two-thirds the size of the German Me-262 .(with similar feathers). I have since learned this aircraft is a Kakajima Kikka and was based on the Me-262 design.
I won't speculate on the 'what-if' or the 'too-little-too-late' about this aircraft, but I think we , the American public should know about the escalating technical capabilities of Japan toward the end of the war.

I was very surprised to read a comment concerning Paul Tibbets' tearing up and saying No to the question would he do it again knowing what he knew following the event. My wife and I had the honor and pleasure to meet him and his bombardier about an dozen years or so ago. He had written a book and was in Miami promoting it at the Week's Air Museum. His talk was inspiring. We also asked him about regrets, etc. his answer was with totally clear eyes and strong voice. He was emphatic with his response that there were no regrets whatever. He saw the mission as necessary and the only reasonable alternative. He would most assuredly do it again knowing what he knew. His autobiography also confirms this. He also was contemptuous of those who tried to create controversy about this, as most all were not there and had no first hand knowledge. I have also seen video lately on a two part tv show on Tibbets and his crew and the Enola Gay. Not one word of regret by any of the crew whose interviews were part of the show.

I fail to see the distinction in morality between the use of an atomic bomb, and the use of a bayonet. And I know that using the bombs saved countless American and Japanese lives, as perverse as that seems.

What I find objectionable are some Americans who persist in the glorification of the war...with very few exceptions, the veterans I know are not among them.

I've seen both the [I]Enola Gay[/I] and [I]Bock's Car[/I] in their respective museums, on separate trips to Washington and Dayton, and took my daughter's picture standing next to the mockup of "Fat Man" at the USAF museum. The history exuded by these two aircraft flowed over me like warm breezes as I walked around them remembering the time I got to see [I]FiFi[/I] when she was still based in Harlingen, Tx. A fellow USAF Flight Nurse and I had made the trip from Brooks AFB in San Antonio, where we were TDY for training in 1988, to visit the Commemorative Air Force (then still the Confederate AF) Museum.

While walking on the flight line, we introduced ourselves to a gentleman in coveralls, on a stepladder working on the #2 engine of the YB80 (B-24) that was parked next to FiFi. As it turned out, we two relatively new 2nd Lt's were talking to the Assistant Surgeon General of the Air Force Reserve, a Lt. General. He consented to us climbing into FiFi, and gave us a tour of the inside, including allowing us to scoot through the passageway between the front and mid pressurized compartments that passes over the bomb bay. I was amazed at the size of the B-29, and completely awed by this machine that at the time it was first in service, was the most complex aircraft ever flown.