Paul Tibbets died.

[StukaJU87]

R.I.P. Mr. Tibbets. Thank you for your service to this great country.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071101/ap_on_re_us/obit_tibbets

[fett]

Yeah. I heard that and you are right. He must have had a real interesting retrospection. He was the pilot and he did his job. As did the crew. The men and women who fought WWII that defeated the Axis did what they needed and had to .

[charveljunkie]

R.I.P. Mr. Tibbets. Thank you for your service to this great country.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071101/...s/obit_tibbets

+1-He said he never lost any sleep over dropping the bomb-He was doing hid job!

[thetroy]

He said and did exactly what he believed. Much respect to anyone who can do that.

[finnman]

R.I.P. Mr Tibbets.

Enola gay, you should have stayed at home yesterday
Aha words cant describe the feeling and the way you lied

These games you play, theyre gonna end it more than tears someday
Aha enola gay, it shouldnt ever have to end this way

Its 8:15, and thats the time that its always been
We got your message on the radio, conditions normal and youre coming home

Enola gay, is mother proud of little boy today
Aha this kiss you give, its never ever gonna fade away

Enola gay, it shouldnt ever have to end this way
Aha enola gay, it shouldnt fade in our dreams away

Its 8:15, and thats the time that its always been
We got your message on the radio, conditions normal and youre coming home

Enola gay, is mother proud of little boy today
Aha this kiss you give, its never ever gonna fade away

[fett]

I guess that is one way of looking at it. But, the times dictated the action. The action saved hundred of thousands of lives. It's a complicated bit of history. He just did what a bomber pilot did.

[finnman]

No doubt Fett

The song by OMD just popped in my head when seeing the post.
Now it's stuck

[fett]

Just wait for another aftershock. That will take your mind off of it. And just think what the BiG ONE will do to the Bay Area.

[Axewielder]

I heard he didn't have a funeral or a gravestone made on account of the fear of protesters. This is the respect our war heroes get.

[Rsmacker]

A ripe old age that, 92. He did what he had to do, and like he said, prevented many many deaths if the Allies (OK, the Americans, because they would have taken the brunt of it) had been forced to invade and fight in Japan.
May he RIP.

One thing in that article link above pissed me off:


"In 1976, he was criticized for re-enacting the bombing during an appearance at a Harlingen, Texas, air show. As he flew a B-29 Superfortress over the show, a bomb set off on the runway below created a mushroom cloud. He said the display "was not intended to insult anybody," but the Japanese were outraged. The U.S. government later issued a formal apology."

WTF did the US Govt apologise for? A re-enactment??? when those Nip fuckers refuse to apologise for their aggression which kicked the Pacific war off, and for their inhuman treatment of civillians and P.O.Ws. Cheeky cunts! I bet they pissed themselves.

[lerxstcat]

A ripe old age that, 92. He did what he had to do, and like he said, prevented many many deaths if the Allies (OK, the Americans, because they would have taken the brunt of it) had been forced to invade and fight in Japan.
May he RIP.

One thing in that article link above pissed me off:


"In 1976, he was criticized for re-enacting the bombing during an appearance at a Harlingen, Texas, air show. As he flew a B-29 Superfortress over the show, a bomb set off on the runway below created a mushroom cloud. He said the display "was not intended to insult anybody," but the Japanese were outraged. The U.S. government later issued a formal apology."

WTF did the US Govt apologise for? A re-enactment??? when those Nip fuckers refuse to apologise for their aggression which kicked the Pacific war off, and for their inhuman treatment of civillians and P.O.Ws. Cheeky cunts! I bet they pissed themselves.

That was the Carter Administration in 1976, no surprise that it would apologize. Carter is a good man but had the wrong disposition to be a President.

No doubt that the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were horrific and I feel for those who died, most for those who died slowly.

That doesn't change the fact that they were necessary to end the war with Japan without a land invasion that would probably have taken a million American lives and six million Japanese lives. It probably would also have resulted in a war lasting into 1946 or 1947, and an invasion and occupation of the northern half of Japan by the Soviet Union, resulting in a similar situation in Japan as that in Korea and Vietnam.

Also, horrible as the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was, it gave mankind a healthy respect and fear of using atomic weapons that might not otherwise have taken hold without a much more damaging exchange later on, like say an atomic war in Europe between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Imagine if an exchange of dozens of nuclear weapons happened in Europe before either side realized the true destructive force of atomic weapons, and a Europe ravaged by fallout.

It had to be done. It was terrible but we have no reason to be ashamed or to apologize.

[monk]

That doesn't change the fact that they were necessary to end the war with Japan without a land invasion that would probably have taken a million American lives and six million Japanese lives. It probably would also have resulted in a war lasting into 1946 or 1947, and an invasion and occupation of the northern half of Japan by the Soviet Union, resulting in a similar situation in Japan as that in Korea and Vietnam.

Necessary for who? What you say is just ad hoc speculations, at best. You admit yourself that Russia would have forced Japan to surrender anyhow. You wanted them to surrender on YOUR terms, that is all.

Also, horrible as the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was, it gave mankind a healthy respect and fear of using atomic weapons that might not otherwise have taken hold without a much more damaging exchange later on, like say an atomic war in Europe between NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Imagine if an exchange of dozens of nuclear weapons happened in Europe before either side realized the true destructive force of atomic weapons, and a Europe ravaged by fallout.

By the same reasoning, 9/11 was justified because it "made people realize the true destructive force of flying commercial airliners into huge buildings", or what? Mankind would have gotten a just as "healthy respect and fear" of atomic weapons if, for example, the Germans would have nuked London, Paris or maybe some of the larger American cities. Your opinion would still be the same, wouldn't it? I think not.

Germany, Britain, Japan, Russia and lot of other countries committed atrocity (to their own people or that of other nations) during WW2. By nuking Hiroshima/Nagasaki you made the choice to join that group.

It had to be done. It was terrible but we have no reason to be ashamed or to apologize.

I agree. No one should have to apologize for anything. You acted in a way you thought would be the best way to protect your own interests. So did Britain, Japan, Germany and every other country who was somewhat more or less involved in WW2 (even Sweden). For some, the consequences were dramatic and horrible, while others were more fortunate.

You do what you think is best for your own country, and you get to deal with the consequences of your actions. Stop trying to justify it on a higher level. You can not, and you do not have to do it.

[DrDoug]

My wife's uncle Mike was stationed in the Pacific, and his men and himself were ordered to load up for what was to be the invasion of the Japanese mainland. They were boarding the ship when they were ordered to stand down and await further orders.

Ten days later they dropped the first bomb. Mike told me that as ferocious as the Japanese were in the Pacific, nobody was looking forward to the invasion of the main island. They knew there were going to be many people killed, on both sides.

He firmly believed (he passed away last year) that if he had gone, he would have more than likely died there. I don't doubt it. People look back now and second guess the whole mess, but anyone who knows of Japan's record prior to and during WWII knows that they were more than willing to fight to the death, and to the last man if necessary.

I am sure that some in the military were willing to 'test' the bomb on a civilian population, but you also have to remember that after Pearl Harbor, we were out for blood with the Japanese. We wanted to get them back, and boy did we ever.

It happened, and all we can do is do everything we can to prevent it from happening again. Today, if a nuke goes off in anger, we are all screwed. There won't be much left to pick up and rebuild with afterward.

RIP Paul, you did your assigned job and did it to the best of your ability. I hope nobody ever has to do it again.

[Spivonious]

Didn't a lot more people die in the fire bombings anyway?

[Bengal]

Anyone interested in this should check out the excellent documentary "White Light/Black Rain". I saw it on HBO not too long ago. Great look into the aftermath of the bombings and how it effected the Japanese...

Re-enacting the dropping of the A-Bomb is about as insensitive and lame as it gets...