We should all raise a glass tonight in memory of General Paul Tibbets.

One man who didn't allow social issues to cloud his judgement when it came to protecting our country

Blue skies General

Me too.

http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/a ... tml#196498

Here Here !

Uncommon valor and unquestionable dedication to service for his country.

Rest in peace old pilot, America thanks you for it's future...

Rest in peace old pilot, America thanks you for it's future...

The rest of the world should thank him as well.

My heartfelt thanks to the man and his accomplishments.

A couple of years ago my son had a teacher that said it was a mistake to drop the bomb on Japan. He then asked the students to write an alternate history. Here is the one I helped him write.

*******
November, 2007 – The Steven F. Udvay Hazy Center opens. A long line of people file silently past a large leaded glass case containing the crumpled radioactive nose section of a B-29. If you look carefully, you can see the words “Enola Gay” on one side. The plaque on the case reads “In Memory of the Brave Crew that Tried to End the War with Japan.”

It is May, 1947 and the bloody war with Japan is over. Following the unsuccessful Pacific atoll test to demonstrate to the Japanese Government the power of the atomic bomb, the Enola Gay is sent to Hiroshima with the second and last atomic bomb in hopes of ending the war. An onboard electrical fire forces the heavy bomber to fly at a lower altitude where antiaircraft fire scores a lucky shot and brings the plane down. After the invasion of Japan, costing almost a million American lives and uncounted Japanese military and civilian casualties, the nose section of the Enola Gay is found and sent back to a very different United States.

Reeling from the tremendous human cost of the invasion of Japan, America withdraws from the world stage. The city of Berlin falls to the Soviet Union after being starved into submission. Without the support of America, the allies are too weak to resist the advance of communism. An attempt to form NATO fails and the U.N. never solidifies into a viable organization. Western Europe lies under the heel of Stalin.

Too late, America responds to the challenge and rebuilds its armed forces. The world lays divided between the Americas and the Soviet Union and China.

Now read the plaque again. Its says “The Enola Gay – The Bomber that Ended the War with Japan by Dropping an Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima”

*******

Good essay.

I recently watched a series of episodes on the Discovery Military Channel (what used to be the Discovery Wings channel) on the war against Japan in the Pacific. According to their figures, the planned invasion of the Japanese mainland, that would have occured if the Truman administration had not made the decision to send Tibbits out with the bomb, would have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of US soldiers.

Another aspect of history that has been over-shadowed by our dropping the A-bomb is how incredibly and unrelentingly brutal the Japanese were to the indiginous people of the islands they invaded and to captured Allied soldiers. Horrific accounts of mutilations and torture.

Tibbits' mission was the necessary and correct decision for the time in which it occured. The precision in which he carried out such a secretive mission speaks volumes for his abilities.

Joe.

Did he turn it in and if so the teacher said? The Grade?

My son was a good student and he received an "A" in the course. He never got any feedback on the essay nor was it returned with a grade. It is tough to read into that but, at the very least, the teacher was broad minded enough not to let it affect his grading.

I think the essay helped my son though. It went a ways towards teaching him (A) the value of other peoples contributions like Paul Tibbets made and (B) there are alternatives to calling someone an idiot.

I think that in between selective assigned reading in school (for example, blacklisting Uncle Tom's Cabin), the need to be PC, and after-the-fact history revisions-- kids nowadays get a very different spin on life than we did "back in the day". I'm sure we got our share of spin-doctoring-- remember the cold war and the "evil empire", "better dead than red", "kill a commie for mommie", etc. But nothing like today. Look at the anti-gun & anti-hunting attitudes on kids TV show, just for one example. Or the bombing was wrong lesson in Strider's kid's class.

Eric

RobBurson wrote:http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/992-full.html#196498

The whole interview is at:

http://www.avweb.com/news/profiles/Paul ... 499-1.html

It's fascinating, and very well done. Thanks for the link.

zero.one.victor wrote: "kill a commie for mommie"

That's awesome!

I am not much of a drinker, but I could tip one glass for Tibbets.

I take a fair amount of flack over the bombing here at work because I have one of Tibbet's signed photos with him standing in front of the Enola Gay hanging here in my work area.

Gives me opportunities to keep the "Truman Doctrine" perspective alive.

Nice to see there are others who understand the history of the time, and appreciate his contribution.

I might even have a second glass just to stiffen up my obstinate stance for original history in the context of it's time.

"kill a commie for mommie" reminds me of a song by Tom Lehrer that was loosely based on a WWII song called So Long Momma, I'm Off to Yokohama:

So long, mom,
I'm off to drop the bomb,
So don't wait up for me.
But while you swelter
Down there in your shelter
You can see me
On your TV.

While we're attacking frontally
Watch Brinkally and Huntally
Describing contrapuntally
The cities we have lost.
No need for you to miss a minute of the agonizing holocaust. Yeah!

Little Johnny Jones, he was a US pilot,
And no shrinking violet was he.
He was mighty proud when World War III was declared.
He wasn't scared, no siree!

And this is what he said on
His way to Armageddon:

So long, mom,
I'm off to drop the bomb,
So don't wait up for me.
But though I may roam,
I'll come back to my home
Although it may be
A pile of debris.

Remember, mommy,
I'm off to get a commie,
So send me a salami
And try to smile somehow.
I'll look for you when the war is over,
An hour and a half from now!


This is not meant as any disrespect for Gen. Tibbits here at all. On the contrary, I'm grateful that he and so many others did their duty.

CAVU

I knew a WWII Marine vet that is dead now. He made two anphibious landing including Iwo Jima. He was in the Philepeens and was training for the land assault on mainland Japan.

Ships were off loading all kinds of stuff along with lot and lots of lumber. They asked what the f#@# the lumber was for and were informed that it was for 1/2 million coffins and they were not planing on building them for the enemy.

He told me that if he could have had the opportunity to meet those air crews that dropped the big one he would have kneeled at there feet.

Spent some time on a Fast Attack Submarine and had the privilege of serving with Chief Torpedoman Brown. He was Chief of the Boat. He was also a WWII vet that did four war patrols. My privilege to have served with him. Get a lump in my throat just thinking about that.

Tim

We are losing the WWII generation to age and they are not replaceable.

They have values and integrity that is hard to find today.

A few years ago I watched a local TV program on cable. They were interviewing WWII pilots. The first two were bomber pilots. One in the Pacific and the other in the Atlantic theater. The last was a fighter pilot in the atlantic theater. He started in North Africa flying P-40s , flew the P-47, and ended up flying the P51 with 18 kills at age 23 . I asked him, " I diddn't know you were an Ace", his reply was, "you diddn't ask me". His name was Major Hershal Green. A true gentleman, and typical of these great men. "It was just part of the job" attitude of great Americans. God Bless you "Herkey" for what you did. You won the war. I am so lucky to have known this great and humble man. Rest in peace Herkey. These men are the last of the great generation.


Idaho SuperCub