Thank you, Colonel Tibbets

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Someday, whether by weight of economic force or feat of arms, China will own those islands off its coast that we call japan.

Somehow, I don't think that the chinese will ever forget the sadism that the japs visited upon their people and country. The japs murdered over 300,000 civilians in Nanking alone, mostly for sport.

Sure wish I could get a couple of licks in on the bastards for murdering members of my family. I can only imagine how the chinese feel. Unlike us, they are not fettered with short memories and political correctness.
 
In this PC world, we who say that the Enola Gay's crew are heroes, and they were/are, we catch hell by the liberals.
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I AM a liberal and occasionally leftists, Japanese fascists and neo-Nazis pretending to be Japanese fascists have TRIED to give me hell for supporting the atomic bombings. In each and every case, that went as well for them as the Battle of the Lunga River went for the Japanese on Guadalcanal. The result is always bodies floating face down in the rhetorical water.
 
It is very interesting to see that so many members here at THR have
fathers and relatives that served in the south pacific and WWII We are all here because of them. To say that they were the " greatest generation that
ever lived " I think is an understatment. Just my thoughts.
 
Threatend with jail and a court marshall, my uncle never disclosed his role in the Pacific until the 1970's....he was a navigator on one of the two B-29 photographic planes that flew with the "Enola Gay" on it's trip to Hiroshima. At the time they didn't know what effect the bomb might have on the aircraft, all viewed the mission as a possible one way suicide trip....fortunately the planes survived and the mission brought an end to the war.
 
My dad was a farm worker here in Virginia, and hadn't been called up. He said that in July, 1945, he was told that he would be in the first call up, in January, 1946.

He always counted himself as one of those saved by "the bomb."

Thank you Col. Tibbets and rest of the WWII generation.
 
It was a race to develop the atomic bomb. Who could develop the bomb first. I am very glad the Germans didn't and couldn't do it first, if they had the events would have changed the world for the worst.
Thank you Gen. Tibbets. I am very grateful for the servicemen who sacrificed to put a stop to Germany. They were desperately trying to develop the Atomic Bomb and we were smart enough to gather some of the worlds greatest talent to get it done for liberty and not fascism
Neutrality isn't the answer when it comes to tyranny. The Japanese really screwed up when they bombed pearl harbor. They didn't think about the American industrial might to bring about more ships in a quick hurry. You can thank the Americans for the Panama Canal.
 
While WWII was indeed a harrowing experience overall, it continues to demonstrate what courageous people are capable of in times of dire need. The Atom Bomb was the 800lb gorilla that sat on the coffin of Japan's war-making ability while we drove the nails in. Millions would otherwise have died during the planned invasion.

WWII as a whole, will hopefully never be repeated. It was a total war, and total war is hell on everyone involved. But it will always serve as a testament to what America can do when its people are unified in purpose and motivated toward a single goal.
 
My dad was a farm worker here in Virginia, and hadn't been called up. He said that in July, 1945, he was told that he would be in the first call up, in January, 1946.

He always counted himself as one of those saved by "the bomb."
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A college and Army friend's father was on a cargo ship on the way to Japan when the bombs were dropped. There was no doubt in his mind that his father lived only because those bombs were dropped. I seem to recall from reading "Downfall" that the cargo and transport ships were primary targets for the kamikaze campaign planned for the invasion.
 
As a young man back working a summer job ( a very long time ago) I found myself making a delivery to the Air and Space Museum's Paul E Garber Restoration Facility in Silver Hill, MD. The Air and Space Museum is the premier Smithsonian Museum on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The Garber facility is where the Smithsonian restores the aircraft of which they come into possession. These aircraft often aren't much more than wrecks when then come into the system.

Ok, back to the story. I was afforded a 20 min quick walk through the WWII hangar by the foreman and felt like I was walking amongst the chariots of the gods. All too soon it was over. He and I were in the parking lot outside when he pointed to a wingless fuselage in the corner of the parking lot. The fuselage had no wheels, was tilted slightly and pretty much a wreck.

He told me it was the recently-acquired Enola Gay.

I walked over and put my hands on her just aft of the pilots side windows. I peered into the cockpit of history. I then ran my hands down the left side of the fuselage as I slowly walked aft. I felt rivets, seams, metal, and history. Then I came to the waist window. There was no glass so I stuck my head inside.

There two feet in front of me was the bomb rack over an open bombay door. Asphalt peered up through the floor, but 10 seconds later my mind had changed that to the partly cloudy landscape of Japan.

Most people don't get it, but I those two minutes left such the impression that I remember them so clearly and with awe as if they were yesterday.

Thanks,

John
 
I'm proud my father was in a P-38 group in New Guinea/Philippines who fought the Nips! Amen!!

Firefall
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How about you cull the racist crap and instead thank the tens of thousands of innocent civilians for getting nuked back to the stone age? Then again, you did capitalize "Nips," so I guess that's kind of polite.

Morality aside, it must be a burden to carry for Tibbets, as he both saved countless Allied lives and introduced the single most devastating weapon the world has ever seen. Hats off, as I might not be here if it weren't for the Bockscar crew.
 
If you have ever read Col Tibbets' thoughts on his role in WWII you know that he is totally comfortable with his role. If you want to introduce 'morality' into this discussion let's revist the atrocities committed by the Japanese against every other race before and during WWII. They haven't been in much of a position to commit similar acts since August 1945.
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If anyone is interested I have a copy of the After Action Report from 1945. It is signed by Paul Tibbets. It is on 8 1/2 X 14 paper. I can't scan, and post it, but if anyone wants a copy, and has a fax I will be glad to get it to you.
 
If the allies had to invade Japan, Russia would have probably been very involved.
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Involved only politically. The soviets would likely have only claimed "rightful" territories after the war . It is highly doubtful they would have actively participated in an wartime invasion of Japan. The Soviets had lost more than 40 million people in their war with Hitler. Only 1 in 10 soldiers survived.

It's interesting that in the beginning a war with Japan was never considered by the soviets because of a two-front conflict and the risk to the soviet armaments factories in the east. But FDR offered to share with Stalin post-war the technology of a secret bomb if he would atttack Japan. Stalin refused to attack for the aforementioned reasons but also because he was skeptical such a bomb was even possible. Stalin did eventually declare war on Japan but only after the bombs were dropped. Apparently he hoped the US would still make good on their promise to share the secret. :rolleyes:
 
If you have ever read Col Tibbets' thoughts on his role in WWII you know that he is totally comfortable with his role. If you want to introduce 'morality' into this discussion let's revist the atrocities committed by the Japanese against every other race before and during WWII. They haven't been in much of a position to commit similar acts since August 1945.
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Yeah, I know he's comfortable in it, and no, I'd rather not introduce the moral consequences of it all in this thread, as stated earlier. Again, I'm living like a king in America due in no small part to the bombings, so let's just cut off the argument with a comment of "awful, tragic, inhumane, and ultimately a means to peace."

1 old 0311, that's pretty dope. Too bad you can't scan it- you have a piece of history on your hands, and I'm sure the majority of THR (myself included) would like to see it.
 
I should add my thanks as well.

My maternal grandfather was preparing for the invasion of Japan with the 4th Marine Division and my paternal grandfather was awaiting orders in Germany to be transferred to the PTO. I would still be here as my parents were born in '39, but I'm really glad I knew my grandfathers, they were both shooters and decent, solid men. I knew my grandfathers because of men like Tibbets.

Col. Tibbets, I know you never met Oren Cassius Page of Sullivan County, Indiana or Herschel S. Freeman of Bloomington, Indiana but thanks for doing what you did for them.:)
 
I keep this print in my office to remind me of a whole generation's sacrifices. "The Return of the Red Gremlin" Col. Tibbets and several of the "Enola Gay" crew signed this print in a limited edition. The story is here
http://home.att.net/~sallyann4/secret-mission.html

If you haven't read up on the Manhattan Project, it is a fascinating read. We were babes in the woods...as bad as the Apollo Project.
 

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When the Germans surrendered in WWll, my Dad who was in southern Germany at the time was sent, along with his whole infantry battalion, to southern Italy to start training for the invasion of Japan. If those bombs had not been dropped, I am sure I would never have seen him again. It was estimated by the War Department that upwards of 500,000 American troops would have been killed if we had invaded Japan.
God Bless those who were killed by the bombs. Thank you God for those allied soldiers who lived because of the bombing. God Bless Harry Truman, Col Tibbets, and all those that were involved in making the bombing happen.
 
This thread is off topic, and is bound to end badly.

Calling people "slant eyed devils" "nips" "japs" is not what we do on the High Road. Take that stuff elsewhere. There are plenty of forums for that kind of thing. Use a search engine.

While I hold Col. Tibbets and his crew in the highest of esteem, I also lived, and was homeported in Yokosuka Japan, flew out of Atsugi Japan, have many Japanese friends still, and the last time I checked Japan had been an American ally for over 50 years.

Remember the mission, remember the courage, and salute the crew for making history and bringing a war to it's end, but do not use their place in history as a vehicle for continued racism.
 
HEY ALL, The war is over and has been for a long time, lets keep the generalizations and racial name calling out of THR.
This is important history, whether you agree that we should have dropped the bombs or not, it happened.
I seem to remember that many of the guys in the crews who flew these mission had problems due to guilt.

My hat's off to them for their bravery.
 
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