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Here's why the pilot of Enola Gay had no regrets about dropping the first atom bomb
Task & Purpose ^ | Aug 6, 2022 | Tom Porter

Posted on 08/07/2022 6:13:37 AM PDT by where's_the_Outrage?

Early in the morning of August 6, 1945, a U.S. Air Force B29 bomber, the Enola Gay, took off from the its base in Tinian, near Guam, and headed for the city of Hiroshima in southern Japan.

It was carrying a 9,700 top-secret bomb named Little Boy. Its pilot was Col. Paul W. Tibbets Jr., who led a crew of 12 men on a mission that would change the history of the world.......

Pilot Tibbetts Jr and other crew members believed to the end of their lives that the bomb was necessary — and they say that it ultimately saved lives.

In a 2002 interview, Tibbetts told writer Studs Terkel: "I knew we did the right thing because when I knew we'd be doing that I thought, yes, we're going to kill a lot of people, but by God we're going to save a lot of lives. We won't have to invade [Japan]."......

He said: "You're gonna kill innocent people at the same time, but we've never fought a damn war anywhere in the world where they didn't kill innocent people.

"If the newspapers would just cut out the s--t: 'You've killed so many civilians.' That's their tough luck for being there," he said.

(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...


TOPICS: History; Military/Veterans; Society
KEYWORDS: atombomb; enolagay; hiroshima; japan
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Yes it was devastating:

Hiroshima, before and after the 'Little Boy' Atomic Bomb dropped on 6th  August 1945 : r/interestingasfuck

But are they better off now?

The fastest city to decline in poverty - 9GAG

1 posted on 08/07/2022 6:13:37 AM PDT by where's_the_Outrage?
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

The pilot had no regrets because he was not a sissified, fem-boy.


2 posted on 08/07/2022 6:17:53 AM PDT by Erik Latranyi (We are being manipulated by forces that most do not see)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

2403 military and 68 civilians were killed in the unprovoked cowardly sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.

They sowed the wind.


3 posted on 08/07/2022 6:21:37 AM PDT by V_TWIN (America...so great even the people that hate it refuse to leave)
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To: V_TWIN

In my younger militant(leftist) days I thought it was about race. After living in Japan it made perfect sense. Just look at what they did to the Chinese. They’re lucky we stuck around.


4 posted on 08/07/2022 6:25:46 AM PDT by DIRTYSECRET
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

If it saves JUST ONE LIFE …..?
I thing it saved over a million lives.
In fact, it probably kept Japan from getting taken over by the Soviet Union.
Of course, back then the Soviet Union (i.e., Russia) was evil. And the USA was better in moral terms.
Hiroshima vs Detroit. That is a powerful comparison.


5 posted on 08/07/2022 6:29:54 AM PDT by Honest Nigerian
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

Enola Gay

So the LGBTQRSTLMNOP+++ community is not entirely innocent.


6 posted on 08/07/2022 6:31:29 AM PDT by GrandJediMasterYoda (As long as Hillary Clinton remains free, the USA will never have equal justice under the law)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

I like that the church is still standing. Amazing


7 posted on 08/07/2022 6:32:05 AM PDT by GrandJediMasterYoda (As long as Hillary Clinton remains free, the USA will never have equal justice under the law)
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To: Honest Nigerian

T’was Ever Thus!


8 posted on 08/07/2022 6:32:35 AM PDT by chopperk
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

Why are dots there? It should clearly say DEMOCRATS: Worse than nukes! It’s the truth!


9 posted on 08/07/2022 6:33:11 AM PDT by GrandJediMasterYoda (As long as Hillary Clinton remains free, the USA will never have equal justice under the law)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

I met Paul Tibbetts at his book signing at the WWII Museum’s opening of the Pacific Wing. I told him how my mother survived the Hiroshima bombing, moved to America and raised a family. We had come full circle, me telling him this as U.S. Navy chief. He was truly speechless. He signed a copy of his book to my mother. It was a very emotional moment.


10 posted on 08/07/2022 6:33:32 AM PDT by ViLaLuz (2 Chronicles 7:14)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

A few years back, it became very fashionable to suggest that atomic weapons were used against Japan rather than Germany in WWII due to racism. My review came to the conclusion that the decision was based on something more practical. It was easier to guarantee that an experimental bomb would reach its target if dropped over Japan than if used against Germany. The concern was that if the bomb never detonated, it could be recovered and reverse engineered, and the Germans were far more likely to do that than the Japanese. Since atomic weapons had never before been used in war, no one really knew how effective, or deadly, they would be.


11 posted on 08/07/2022 6:34:03 AM PDT by Dr. Franklin ("A republic, if you can keep it." )
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To: GrandJediMasterYoda

Minus the roof.


12 posted on 08/07/2022 6:35:09 AM PDT by sauropod (Unbelief has nothing to say. Chance favors the prepared mind.)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?
But yet, it may have saved one million American lives. Given the fanatical resistance on Iwo Jima and Okinawa, there were real fears of a bloodbath on both sides if the invasion had gone through.
13 posted on 08/07/2022 6:36:23 AM PDT by RayChuang88 (FairTax: America's Economic Cure)
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To: V_TWIN

Thank God for Harry S. Truman. There was no wokeness in his administration.


14 posted on 08/07/2022 6:36:29 AM PDT by chopperk
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To: Dr. Franklin

By August 1945 the war against Germany was over!


15 posted on 08/07/2022 6:37:55 AM PDT by AZJeep
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To: where's_the_Outrage?
My Dad was training in Hawaii for the invasion of Japan when the first bomb dropped.

After Saipan and Iwo Jima, he thought atomic bombs were a really cool idea!

16 posted on 08/07/2022 6:38:17 AM PDT by zeestephen
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To: DIRTYSECRET
In my younger militant(leftist) days I thought it was about race. After living in Japan it made perfect sense. Just look at what they did to the Chinese. They’re lucky we stuck around.

See my post at 11 .
17 posted on 08/07/2022 6:38:49 AM PDT by Dr. Franklin ("A republic, if you can keep it." )
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

It was devastating but both bombs were very small compared to what we have today. I think it was 200,000 people total died from both bombs. Compare than to the Nazis killing 6 million Jews or Communism killing 100 million or the coming deaths when the Biden occupation starts WW3 with Russia and China.


18 posted on 08/07/2022 6:39:19 AM PDT by GrandJediMasterYoda (As long as Hillary Clinton remains free, the USA will never have equal justice under the law)
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To: ViLaLuz

Wow! I haven’t known of anyone with such a personal connection to the Hiroshima bomb.

I am sorry your mother was so affected by that,


19 posted on 08/07/2022 6:40:05 AM PDT by ConservativeMind (Trump: Befuddling Democrats, Republicans, and the Media for the benefit of the US and all mankind.)
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To: Dr. Franklin

It was even simpler than that. The timeline of development, test, and preparation for bomb-ready deployment did not fit the progression of the war in Germany. Essentially VE day happened before the US was ready for such.


20 posted on 08/07/2022 6:40:50 AM PDT by Gaffer (Infidel, and proud of it!)
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