Probably going to get moved - but - 75 years ago

AdamsQuailHunter

Col. Paul Tibbits Jr. was the pilot in command of the over-loaded B-29 "Enola Gay".

Best - AQH

SW0320

I have an autographed book from Dutch Van Kirk the navigator.  He wrote a book about the history of the flight wing the Enola Gay was part of.  He was at a local gun show selling the book.

bpost

In world history that bomb will be etched into time and never be forgotten.  Its use and impact upon the world is as important as the written word.

chiefr

When I went to school Col Tibbets was lauded as a hero. His mission was key in preventing the loss of many thousands of lives if we were to invade the main island.

Today, with education taught mostly by DEMOCRAT ideologues, his mission is portrayed as one of pure evil.

laylandad

I spent six months on the island of Tinian in 02. That is where I learned of the significance of the island during WWII. There is a lot of history there and I tried to soak up as much as I could. The island is literally littered with relics. I picked up countless 50 cal bullets that were fired, many fired cases, and even found remains in some caves. The jungle has nearly reclaimed the airfields now but there are some historical markers for the bomb pits and Japanese communication building.

ROY222

They still had unused WWII made Purple Heart medals that were issued during the Gulf War.  That shows the impact on lives saved.

yoshmyster

Even in a pandemic and a big kaboom in Beirut that was videoed we're reminded it's that time of the year. I suppose 75 years is a marker. I wonder if I'll be here for the 100th?

SoreShoulder

I like to remind people around this time of year.

People speak of the lives of Allied servicemen which were saved by the bomb but it is likely that far more lives than that were saved in the territories which Japan occupied.  Their armies were likely confiscating food for themselves and the homeland even as production had plummeted.  It may have been possible to ship food across the Sea of Japan by small wooden boat even after Japan's shipping fleet was largely destroyed.  The non-farmers in Japanese-occupied Asia could not hope to earn much money for food because the economy had likely collapsed.  Pictures of the Battle Of Manila in 1944 show unusually thin civilians.  

Japan also had nuclear and biological weapons programs (Unit 731) and at least two functioning means of delivering a weapon to the mainland US.  They had stratospheric fire balloons which might have been possible to scale up to carry heavier weapons.  One of the balloons reached the outskirts of Detroit.  They also had two subs (I-400 class)  which could each carry and launch three bombers with a 9,000lb gross weight, each capable of carrying a torpedo or 1,870 lbs of bombs, and two other subs which could carry and launch two such planes.  The Little Boy bomb weighed nearly 10,000lb but it is conceivable that with rocket technology, a simple suicide aircraft or missile could have been developed in place of the bombers which could carry a similar bomb had Japan developed one, and which could have been launched from the I-400s.  There was no telling how much nuclear technology or material they had obtained from the Germans, but it was definite that the two nations did heavily exchange technology and high value materials.  A recently revealed classified fact is that Germany was found to have been quite advanced in the refinement of Uranium.   

yoshmyster

I wondered if the Emperor didn't surrender after two how many more would've been dropped? I forget where I heard it but the story was there were like 3 more ready to go or close to. Also again I forget where but the weather condition made Hiroshima a area of opportunity. Either case two and done. Too much red tape now to drop nukes again. Going on 20 years out in the sand box. It amazes me that there are still meat for the grinder after 20 years. Maybe with this COVID there might be a shortage?