![fate of the crew of the enola gay fate of the crew of the enola gay](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2018/08/06/TELEMMGLPICT000071775757_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqPkPWLXP_iG_X2Wo3V95CSiQqS8SC6KQxp1Hw8kfvvtg.jpeg)
Like many World War II veterans, VanKirk didn’t talk much about his service until much later in his life, when he spoke to school groups, his son said. “But if anyone has one, I want to have one more than my enemy.” “I personally think there shouldn’t be any atomic bombs in the world - I’d like to see them all abolished. And atomic weapons don’t settle anything,” he said. “The whole World War II experience shows that wars don’t settle anything. Most of the lives saved were Japanese,” VanKirk said. “I honestly believe the use of the atomic bomb saved lives in the long run. American prisoners are guarded by a Japanese soldier during a rest break on the trek from Bataan, April 1942. VanKirk told the AP he thought it was necessary because it shortened the war and eliminated the need for an Allied land invasion that could have cost more lives on both sides. Treated by their captors with a mixture of contempt and cruelty, American prisoners await their fate during the Bataan Death March. The B-29 Enola Gay has been undergoing a 1 million restoration so that the forward fuselage could be used as the centerpiece of an exhibit that the curators said would view the bombings in terms. Whether the United States should have used the atomic bomb has been debated endlessly. Six days after the Nagasaki bombing, Japan surrendered. The blast and its aftermath claimed 80,000 lives. Three days after Hiroshima, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. It seems a shame this film falls so short in these details.Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menu It seemed the director, the writers, and the actors had little or no knowledge about the Manhattan Project and especially the 509th mission details. The 509th Composite Group consisted of about two thousand men, so his personally choosing less than fifty of the two thousand was no big deal. All twelve crew members were honored by the US Government. ‘Enola Gay’ was the name of his mother, and had been painted at the nose as the guardian of the plane. Paul Tibetts, the captain, is at the center of the second row in a flying suit. A few of the men I remember he selected included his radio operator, bombardier, navigator, and two other enlisted men who actually flew with him on the mission. The crew of the Enola Gay, who returned to the Tinian Base, and the ground crew. In fact, Tibbets did indicate that he wanted to make personnel selections, but that was probably no more than thirty men he had commanded previously.
![fate of the crew of the enola gay fate of the crew of the enola gay](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2018/08/06/1777123_vert-93fc229e1378b4f5916f0127c311c3625bdbdd45-s1100-c50.jpg)
Tibbets was portrayed as saying he wanted to pick his own men rather than the ones selected by his superiors. Bob Lewis is portrayed as an old buddy of Paul Tibbets, yet I do not recall ever reading or seeing any documentation that would support such a relationship. This film gets the chronological timing wrong in several places and uses comic relief when none is required. Less than three hours before takeoff, the 30-year-old colonel and his crew sat down to a midnight breakfast at a Tinian Island mess hall nicknamed the 'Dogpatch Inn.' When the Enola Gay, named for Tibbets’ mother, roared down the runway in the predawn of Aug. Hey folks, I have read many books and have seen many films about the Manhattan Project and dropping the atomic bombs on Japan.