Paul Tibbets, who piloted the Enola Gay over Hiroshima, Japan to drop the first atomic bomb, died today.
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live...11/01/tib.html
Paul Tibbets, who piloted the Enola Gay over Hiroshima, Japan to drop the first atomic bomb, died today.
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live...11/01/tib.html
John Lindsey
Oderint, dum metuant-Let them hate, so long as they fear.
So, what has been the response to his passing in Japan?
John Lindsey
Oderint, dum metuant-Let them hate, so long as they fear.
Very muted here, John. There is a short obituary on p.7 of Saturdays Daily Yomiuri, whch notes that Tibbets died "after six decades of staunchly defending the mission".
Of more local interest was a story published in Japanese and English papers on Nov 1. A study group here in Hiroshima has revealed that a nuclear attack on this city would kill or injure 832,000 people. The study was in response to a law requiring local governments to protect civilians in the event of a military contingency.
Peter Goldsbury,
Forum Administrator,
Hiroshima, Japan
One interesting response was that people were a little unhappy that he never said sorry, and that he was following orders.
I would never expect the man to apologize -- it was wartime, and he was following orders.
That said, I recall coming across his website a while back, and being a little, I dunno, saddened? disturbed?, that there was no mention at all of the casualties inflicted. There's a lot about "saving American lives", and a solitary picture of a devastated Hiroshima, but reading the site you get the impression that the bomb destroyed the city, American lives were saved by Japan's quick surrender, and no one was otherwise harmed.
I have no idea what it would be like to drop the first atomic bomb, and kill 70,000 people in a stroke. I can't imagine it felt good, and I'd expect Tibbets to deal with it just like any other soldier dealing with the horror of war -- focusing on his duty to his country.
Still, civilian men, women, and children were sacrificed to save those American soldiers' lives. It would have been nice for them to get a mention.
Josh Reyer
Swa sceal man don, žonne he ęt guše gengan ženceš longsumne lof, na ymb his lif cearaš. - The Beowulf Poet