Brig. General Paul Tibbets 1915-2007 (1 Viewer)

[ProStockJunkie]

ABC News: Pilot of Plane That Dropped A-Bomb Dies

Sign Up

Rest in Peace General.

General Tibbets was a dear friend of former Super Stock Champion, Paul Mayo, who passed away two weeks ago.

Paul Tibbets, the pilot and commander of the B-29 that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, died Thursday, a spokesman said. He was 92.
Paul Tibbets

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Paul Tibbets, who etched his mother's name Enola Gay into history on the nose of the B-29 bomber he flew to drop the atomic bomb over Hiroshima, has died. He was 92.

Tibbets died Thursday at his Columbus home after a two-month decline caused by a variety of health problems, said Gerry Newhouse, a longtime friend.

Throughout his life, Tibbets seemed more troubled by other people's objections to the bomb than by him having led the crew that killed tens of thousands of Japanese in a single stroke. The attack marked the beginning of the end of World War II.

Tibbets grew tired of criticism for delivering the first nuclear weapon used in wartime, telling family and friends that he wanted no funeral service or headstone because he feared a burial site would only give detractors a place to protest.

And he insisted he slept just fine, believing with certainty that using the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved more lives than they erased because they eliminated the need for a drawn-out invasion of Japan.

He was a student at the University of Cincinnati's medical school when he decided to withdraw in 1937 to enlist in the Army Air Corps.

Tibbets, a 30-year-old colonel at the time, and his crew of 13 dropped the five-ton "Little Boy" bomb over Hiroshima the morning of Aug. 6, 1945. The blast killed or injured at least 140,000.

Three days later, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, killing at least 60,000 people. Tibbets did not fly in that mission. The Japanese surrendered a few days later.

Tibbets retired from the Air Force as a brigadier general in 1966. He moved to Columbus, where he ran an air taxi service until he retired in 1985.

Tibbets again defended the bombing in 1995, when an outcry erupted over a planned 50th anniversary exhibit of the Enola Gay at the Smithsonian Institution.

ABC News: 'Enola Gay' Nuke Bomb Pilot Dies

ABC News: U.S. pilot who dropped Hiroshima bomb dies: report

Pilot Who Dropped First A-Bomb Dies - News Story - WNBC | New York

How sad, that because of people who are able to exercise their 'rights' but not respect, this man's family cannot mark his grave with a headstone.

Rest in Peace Eternally, General Tibbets

 

[.]

Rip

 

[ProStockJunkie]

Enola Gay and the bombing of Hiroshima in World War II(WWII)

Why Pilot of Enola Gay had no regrets
Nuclear special: Why the pilot of the Enola Gay has no regrets | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited

 

[DrRocket]

When I volunteered at the now-closed Planes of Fame museum in Minnesota, I had a chance to talk to and get to know many veterans of the Pacific war. One in particular a Navy Corsair pilot, was there from Iwo Jima through to the end. He then became part of the occupation force on the the Japanese islands after the war, flying patrols from former Japanese air bases.

After talking to Japanese military personel and civilians, and seeing with his own eyes the preparations the Japanese had made in anticipation of the invasion they knew was inevetible, there was no doubt in my friend's mind that if the allies had been forced to physically invade the island, it would have been a monumental blood bath on both sides.

He was there. He was not a man to tell lies or exaggerations.

I believe him.

RIP Col Tibbets.

 

[Larry]

Imagine he left this world knowing he would lie in an unmarked grave for purely political reasons.

That's really sad.

 

[willy]

Imagine he left this world knowing he would lie in an unmarked grave for purely political reasons.

That's really sad.

On the other hand.

He lived a good life..had no regrets..was at peace..and knew there would be no headstone.

Rest in Peace Brigadier General Tibbets.

 

[.]

David, I didn't know until he passed away that for a while he was raised in Cedar Rapids. Funny how I lived there for 31 years and didn't know that.

 

[ProStockJunkie]

Imagine he left this world knowing he would lie in an unmarked grave for purely political reasons.

That's really sad.

It is a sad commentary for a life well lived.

I believe it was also his wish to be cremated and have his ashes scattered over the English Channel, where he loved to fly. Still, it's troubling to me that there can be no commemoration on Earth to mark his birth and death.

May God bless you General. Hope you and Paul are hot rodding in Heaven.

 

[willy]

David, I didn't know until he passed away that for a while he was raised in Cedar Rapids. Funny how I lived there for 31 years and didn't know that.

Yea..I didn't either, Brent.

They had a nice article in the Gazette about him.

 

[Toejam]

Can you imagine what if the scenario of WWII played out today? Would the Media blame America for inciting the Japanese into attacking Pearl Harbor? Or would they maintain that Adolf Hitler was completely missunderstood, and that he only wanted what was best for his country? There's NO WAY in the world we would win WWII today, the media wouldn't allow us and too many politicians would cower under the pressure!

 

[Larry]

Can you imagine what if the scenario of WWII played out today? Would the Media blame America for inciting the Japanese into attacking Pearl Harbor? Or would they maintain that Adolf Hitler was completely missunderstood, and that he only wanted what was best for his country? There's NO WAY in the world we would win WWII today, the media wouldn't allow us and too many politicians would cower under the pressure!

Exactly ! All you have to do is read that North Vietnamese Generals book where he says the American left and the Media gave them the will to carry on and eventually win.
They knew they could not win militarily and the war would have ended a lot sooner except just like today we will defeat ourselves and not by the hands of an enemy.
After working twice , Somalia and Vietnam it has now become a proven tactic that works.
That makes us sliding down a slippery slope in the middle of a three prong assault .
Socially , Economically , and by incursions of millions across our borders with hardly a whimper .
I smell Rome Burning !
I watched the new movie American Gangster last night and several lines stuck with me.
One line a detective played by Russell Crowe dismayed that drugs were pouring in and they were not getting the upper hand said this.

They [ cops ]don't want to cut off the dope they [ cops ] are making too much money off it and it keeps hundreds of thousands of people employed.

That would explain how a drug cartels members aunt can land two border patrol agents in prison for ten and twelve years for wounding a runner by calling the district officer in Homeland Security.

I believe that civilian Homeland Security officer over that district in Texas who gets calls from cartel members aunts is still in charge.
They won't even move him to an area like the Canadian border.
We are no longer even keeping up the pretensions anymore.

No not ready to give up but DC is a cesspool and we are electing the same idiots over and over and both parties are guilty. " TERM LIMITS "

Those wishing to come here can now put on a backpack full of Drugs to pay a reduced price for the trip .
WE ARE LOSING OUR GRIP ON THIS COUNTRY WHILE WE SLEEP !
We are past the finger in the crack stopping the flow cause the Levy has a hole in it the size of the Queen Mary and the officers are helping scuttle it.