[chimera]

One of the few stories my Dad would relate to me about his experiences during the war was of being at a base camp in Germany and hearing the news of the Bomb being dropped. He knew, as did every man there, that the war was going to end shortly, and they would be spared the hell of invading Japan, for which they were awaiting orders. Instead, he went home, married the girl he loved, raised his family, and was a productive, honest, hardworking citizen who will always be my hero. Paul Tibbets helped save the lives of countless men like my Dad. For that, and many other things, he deserves our thanks and honor.

[BallyBill]

Thank You Sir for being unapologetic for the mission which more than likely allowed my father to return from his mission in Guam and to civilian life and marry my mother.

[steveegg]

May the weather be CAVU, sir.

Thanks for the ping.

[Tolkien]

RIP. He helped end WWII.

[Larry Lucido]

God bless and keep you, Colonel Tibbets.

[Mr. Jazzy]

Rest in peace, Eagle.

Farewell to a true American HERO.

[hoagy62]

According to the end of the book, “Enola Gay”, he has arranged for his ashes to be scattered in the sky.

Apropos.

RIP, General Tibbets.

[Southack]

RIP, General Tibbets. You did your job well, and you understood the threats to America, both foreign and domestic.

You’re also a great writer! What a book! http://www.enolagay.org/

[null and void]

Earlier thread here

Your thread has more detail.

[tanuki]

There is a meme going around the current opinion industry that Japan was preparing to surrender when the Americans and the bomb pre-empted them. Speaking from direct family experience, from ground level things didn’t look that great.

August ‘45 in Omuta, Japan saw everyone in my maternal grandparents’ neighborhood, including my tubercular grandfather and midwife grandmother, training with bamboo spears to meet American tanks. My mother and her siblings were up in the hills, gaunt from malnutrition and being eaten alive by parasites. My father (wouldn’t talk about it, but probably) was training to be a kamikaze at the grand old age of fifteen. So much ground was being dug up and concrete was being poured that you can wander what looks like pristine wilderness and come upon fortifications.

To sum up, Japan in ‘45 was not a society ready to quit. It was a society ready to die. Think North Korea. The bombs were dropped at the end of summer. There wasn’t going to be a fall harvest that year and the winter would have been murder.

The US could have put off all action for just a year and out of a population of around 90 million, at least 10 percent would have died. The majority would have been children under the age of 12 followed by the elderly. And that says nothing for how many Chinese (remember them?), Koreans and other Asians would have died as the Japanese war machine continued to strangle their infrastructures in the pursuit of a horrific conflict.

The sudden end of the war, however it was achieved, was a deliverance for millions of Asian children. It is a shining example of the maxim that the most humane thing to do in a conflict situation is to end it. So on behalf of many people on earth who wouldn’t be here but for your courage, dedication and loyalty, I salute you General Tibbets, your colleague General Sweeney and all the members of the 544th Bombardment Group.

Okay, I’ve had my say. Flame away, folks! BTW, I’m here because my Dad volunteered for the Korean War USAF. Strange world, isn’t it? I’ll be remembering him and Generals Tibbets and Sweeney tonight at my church’s All Saints Mass.

[The Great RJ]

Col. Tibbets probably did more to end WW-II than any other individual and by his actions undoubtedly saved millions of both military and Japanese civilian lives.

[skinkinthegrass]

RIP, Col.

[mojito]

Thank you for your service and your courage, General Tibbets. By your actions you saved a generation of young Americans. RIP.

[pepperdog]

I have never understood why he wasn’t GENERAL Tibbets, he should have been!

[SevenofNine]

I got question guys maybe Miltary freepers tell me this he name the plane after HIS OWN MOTHER

That cold

[CDB]

RIP, Colonel Tibbits.

There’s an excellent interview of him in the old (ca 1960s) BBC TV series, “The World at War.” He did his duty, and saved millions of lives. Americans AND Japanese.

My dad was on MacArthur’s G-3 staff that planned the invasion of Japan that never came about. Not only might our fathers have perished, but many of us post-war “baby-boomers” wouldn’t be here, either.

[dfwgator]

Farewell to a great Florida Gator and a great American.

[bandleader]

I heard on the radio that he requested no funeral or headstone so that his burial site would not become a site where protests could be staged.WHAT A MAN,and WHAT A GREAT AMERICAN!!

[exit82]

Paul Tibbetts, Jr., you are a great American.

His actions, and all those involved in the atomic bomb effort in WW2, saved hundreds of thousands of GIs and millions of Japanese lives, and helped force Japan to surrender before they self annihilated themselves.

We were fortunate to have men of his caliber, in countless numbers, in a generation that required to make a stand for freedom against monstrous evil.

In our time, may we be found as worthy.

[RightWingConspirator]

While a second lieutenant at Turner AFB, GA 1964-1966 I worked for Colonel Tom Ferebee, the bombardier on the Enola Gay. The liberal media tried to float the lie that the crews that dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki all went nuts. Tom was as sane as anyone I have ever known. He was a great man to work for because he would support you 100% if you willing to give your 100%. He had no tolerance for BS and a couple of officers in my chain of command learned that the hard way.