[SlickWillard]

Tibbets has his own web site, http://www.theenolagay.com.

Just think, when he was a boy, in the early years of the twentieth century, automobiles were not entirely common devices. He grew up to fly propeller-driven aircraft, then jet aircraft, and somewhere along the way, he found time to drop the nuclear bomb that ended the greatest war in the history of mankind. Now, in his twilight years, he has one of the spiffier web sites on the internet.

I wonder if we will live to see the sorts of breathtaking changes in human history that were witnessed by General Tibbets and his contemporaries. So far, the little changes have been more remarkable, such the appearance of language nazis, who expropriate words like "Gay," and render them unfit for civil conversation.

Oh well, things could be worse.

[SlickWillard]

WWII history bump.

[Coop]

Because they're gonna strike again, I'll put money on it. And it's going to be damned dramatic. But they're gonna do it in their own sweet time. We've got to get into a position where we can kill the bastards. None of this business of taking them to court, the hell with that. I wouldn't waste five seconds on them.

Wise words from a wise man.

[ArcLight]

Sensational stuff. Thanks for posting!

[fourdeuce82d]

"Tibbets has his own web site"

yup- just sent him an email thanking him for his service.

[EternalVigilance]

A very interesting read...thanks.

[rightwing2]

General Tibbets doesn't demonstrate much regard for the lives of the 140,000 innocent men, women, and children who lost their lives as the result of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Need I remind everyone that several hundred US POWs were knowingly atomized by their fellow countryman in Hiroshima and Nagasaki or that Hiroshima was the center of Christianity in Japan? The bottom line is that the dropping of the atomic bombs were both immoral and unnecessary to produce her surrender and end the war. Here are some relevant excerpts to add to the debate from my senior paper from over a decade ago. Oh, how I wish that we had a God-fearing, principled Joint Chiefs Chairman today like Admiral Leahy.

In the words of Admiral King, “Japan was finished long before either one of the two atomic bombs were dropped.” King believed that the defeat of Japan could be accomplished by sea and airpower alone without the necessity of invading the Japanese home islands. (The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb, p. 65) General Eisenhower, and USAAF Generals Arnold and Spaatz agreed with this assessment.

Admiral William D. Leahy, Chief of the Chiefs of Staff stated that he believed the use of the atomic bombs against Japan was of “no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender because of the effective sea blockade and the successful bombing with conventional weapons.” Leahy also stated that in his opinion, “War is not to be waged on women and children” and added that the deliberate use of the atomic bomb against Japanese civilians was “barbarous.” (The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb, p. 65)

This was the judgment of Admiral Leahy, the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. armed services, on the use of the atomic bombs on Japan. Leahy also believed that certain other proposals for defeating Japan with chemicals and bacteria disseminated from the air were also morally repugnant. These proposals included using anthrax to kill the people or defoliants to kill the Japanese rice crops to starve the people into submission.

However, the Allied demand to the Japanese for 'unconditional surrender' was the biggest obstacle to securing the peace and served only to prolong the war and the great destruction, devastation, and loss of life, which accompanied it. This demand served to harden the Japanese will to resist until the bitter end and severely weakened the power of those who advocated peace in Japan just as it had done in Germany. The War Department under Secretary Henry Stimson believed that there would have been much to gain by renouncing this policy of accepting nothing less than the 'unconditional surrender' of Japan. Intelligence experts believed that Japan might surrender at anytime "depending upon the conditions of surrender" the allies might offer (Morton 1990, 505).

It was clear to intelligence experts that to have any chance at all for acceptance, these conditions would have to include retention of the Emperor. Joseph C. Grew, Acting Secretary of State, proposed to the President late in May 1945 that he issue a proclamation to the Japanese urging them to surrender and assuring them that they could keep their emperor (Morton 1990, 507). Truman, while not opposing the idea, did not act on it either. (Hiroshima, p. 36) Even after the dropping of the two atomic bombs, the Japanese Cabinet agreed to surrender with the condition that the position of the Emperor not be prejudiced, a condition that was subsequently accepted by the US so upon historical reflection it seems clear that the dropping of the atomic bombs accomplished absolutely nothing.

Beginning in September 1944, the Japanese government began quietly searching for a way to peace beginning with an approach to the Swedish Minister in Tokyo to sound out the Allies on terms of peace. Both this and another overture in March 1945 came to nought. The Swedish Minister did learn that those who advocated peace in Japan regarded the Allied demand for unconditional surrender as their greatest obstacle. The new government led by Admiral Suzuki that came to power in April 1945 had an unspoken mandate from the Emperor to end the war as quickly as possible.

The German surrender in May 1945 produced a crisis in the Japanese government and led to a decision to seek Soviet mediation. The first such approach on June 3 to Jacob Malik, the Soviet Ambassador, produced no results. At the end of June, the Japanese approached the Soviet government directly through Ambassador Sato in Moscow, asking that it mediate with the allies to bring about an end to the Far Eastern war. However, the Russians, already intent on war with Japan to increase their power in the region, delayed their answer until mid-July when Stalin and Molotov left for Potsdam. The Japanese government had accepted defeat and was desperately searching for a way out.

Following the war, the United States Strategic Bombing Survey was commissioned to assess the effectiveness of the strategic bombing campaign on the outcome of the war. They concluded that Japan would have surrendered by the end of the year, and in all probability by November 1, 1945, "even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped, even if Russia had not entered the war, and even if no invasion had been planned or contemplated.” (Takaki, Ronald, Hiroshima—Why America Dropped the Bomb, (Little Brown and Company, Limited: New York, 1995), 32)

[Ace's Dad]

Just want to add a small story: When the Enola Gay was being restored at Garber, the Smithsonion facility, my son, the future commercial pilot (Ace) reached in and touched the aircraft, much to the dismay of a couple of old ladies. He touched history, and believe me the B-29 could withstand the soft touch of kid in awe of what he saw! Regards, Avery

DTOM!

[SkyPilot]

JAPANESE MEDICAL EXPERIMENTS REVEALED

Tokyo, 31 August 1945 ...Stars and Stripes

Horrific details of atrocities carried out by Japanese doctors are emerging as Allied PoWs are released. Prisoners have been subjected to vivisection. Others have been used as human guinea-pigs and injected with acid, inoculated with fatal diseases, or frozen at minus six degrees Fahrenheit (-20 C).

Eight U.S. airman shot down after B-29 raids in May died in vivisection experiments carried out by Professor Fukujior at Kyushu University. One PoWs stomach was removed, and an artery cut to see how long it was before he died.

Many of the atrocities have been at Japan's top-secret bacteriological warfare unit 731 at Harblin, in Manchuria. Prisoners were inoculated with anthrax, typhoid and cholera to test germ potency. Others have been boiled or dehydrated to death. Experiments included prolonged exposure to X-rays and prisoners subjected to a pressure chamber where the blood was forced out of their skin as they died in agony.

PoWs fear that 731's commander, Shiro Ishii, will escape prosecution in return for turning over germ warfare data to the U.S. Two released U.S. doctors also revealed today how they were made to prepare lethal acid-based solutions for Japanese doctors to inject into U.S. PoWs at a Tokyo hospital.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Thanks for posting this.

[gcruse]

Bockscar?

[Dog Gone]

Is it too late to send Tibbets on another mission?

---

Hiroshima Mayor Criticizes U.S.

---

Story Filed: Tuesday, August 06, 2002 12:51 PM EDT

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) -- The mayor of Hiroshima criticized the United States for unilaterally pursuing its own interests and urged a worldwide ban on weapons of mass destruction, as thousands gathered Tuesday to mark the 57th anniversary of the world's first atomic bomb attack.

In the annual ceremony at Peace Memorial Park, Tadatoshi Akiba suggested that Washington's policies in the post-Sept. 11 world were misguided.

``The United States government has no right to force Pax Americana on the rest of us, or to unilaterally determine the fate of the world,'' Akiba said. He also urged President Bush to visit Hiroshima to see ``with his own eyes what nuclear weapons hold in store.''

At 8:15 a.m. -- the minute on Aug. 6, 1945, when the bomb exploded after being dropped from a U.S. B-29 warplane -- a bell tolled and more than 45,000 survivors, residents and dignitaries from around the world bowed their heads for 60 seconds of silence to remember the victims.

The bomb killed about 140,000 people and sickened hundreds of thousands more in Hiroshima, 430 miles southwest of Tokyo. Three days later, a U.S. bomber dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, killing 70,000 people. Japan surrendered Aug. 15, 1945, ending World War II.

In his remarks, Akiba criticized what he called the prevailing international philosophy of '``I'll show you' and 'I'm stronger than you are,''' particularly in Afghanistan and the Middle East.

Akiba called on countries to scrap weapons of mass destruction, even as nuclear-armed India and Pakistan remained on war footing in the hotly contested region of Kashmir.

``The probability that nuclear weapons will be used again and the danger of nuclear war are increasing,'' Akiba said. ``Since the terrorist attack against the American people on Sept. 11 last year, the danger has become more striking.''

---

By the way, I have a photo of the Enola Gay autographed by Tibbets. I display it proudly.

[swarthyguy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/728194/posts

[hattend]

bttt

[billbears]

WWII bump. Good read

[Fred Mertz]

Fascinating interview. Thanks for posting it.

[Paradox]

Moral of the story... Americans are amongst the kindest, gentlest people on earth. They are loathe to get involved in conflicts, and very slow to react. America, you might say, is something of a well armed wimp... except... and this is a big exception....If you push them, really push them, history has shown that they are capable of unleashing destruction heretofore only beknownst by Creation. The power of the gods with the fury of Demons.

To put it succinctly, don't F*CK with the USA.

[Bikers4Bush]

Excellent read.

[Gritty]

Great article!

Thanks for posting it.

[Redleg Duke]

There was a third bomb afterall.

[Khurkris]

This is a rare treat. Thanks for posting this interview.