Posted on 11/01/2007 9:23:40 AM PDT by NCDragon
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Paul Tibbets, who piloted the B-29 bomber Enola Gay that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, died Thursday. He was 92 and insisted almost to his dying day that he had no regrets about the mission and slept just fine at night. Tibbets died at his Columbus home, said Gerry Newhouse, a longtime friend. He suffered from a variety of health problems and had been in decline for two months. Tibbets had requested no funeral and no headstone, fearing it would provide his detractors with a place to protest, Newhouse said. Tibbets' historic mission in the plane named for his mother marked the beginning of the end of World War II and eliminated the need for what military planners feared would have been an extraordinarily bloody invasion of Japan. It was the first use of a nuclear weapon in wartime.
(Excerpt) Read more at wral.com ...
You're exactly right. However, there will always be those, even those who weren't alive then, that see everything wrong with the bombs and nothing right.
Rest in Peace General,bravely doing your duty brought my three brothers and future husband all serving in the Pacific theater safely home.
The fact that he had to make that decision is a sad commentary on our country.
“Rest in Peace, Captain. You did G-d’s work and saved lives...”
Ditto!
What a shame - no funeral or headstone for a hero.
He IS a HERO.
What was he like?
I admire people who do the RIGHT thing. He did the right thing here.
#24
Some are determined to be stupid.
They’ve been brainwashed with LIBERALISM.
"I was glad to do it."
He saved many American and Japanese lives.
Cannot wait to see his piece tonight on the evening news with Brian Williams/sarc
“I consider it no sacrifice to die for my country. In my mind, we came here to thank God that men like these have lived rather than to regret that they have died.”
General George S. Patton
“You did the right thing. You know the Japanese attitude at that time, how fanatic they were, they’d die for the Emperor...Every man, woman, and child would have resisted that invasion with sticks and stones if necessary...Can you imagine what a slaughter it would be to invade Japan? It would have been terrible. The Japanese people know more about it than the American public will ever know.”
Japanese pilot Mitsuo Fuchida in a conversation with Paul Tibbets.
Taken from Flyboys by James Bradley
Rest in Peace, Paul. The job you did to end WWII brought decades of peace to the world.
You served your country and the world well by performing a job well done!!
My newspaper reporter daughter interviewed Gen. Tibbets. My business partner was his neighbor for a time when they both lived in Washington D.C.
They both speak of the man using the highest terms of praise.
He was an outstanding person of honor and integrity.
We will miss this patriot.
Damn. I was so happy to read a couple of months ago that he was still alive and giving speeches.
Sad.
God bless you for your service during and after the war, Sir.
Hopefully, that's no longer true. In the 90s, the Japanese government finally ended its silence on the issue and acknowledged their role in Pearl Harbor and ordered that the school text books be changed to reflect Japan's role in starting WWII with the sneak attack on Pearl.
But, you are correct. Prior to that time, they disavowed any knowledge of the origins of WWI or the attack on PH. It used to be a source of very . . . . er, "spirited" debates during Japanese English classes.
Every thanksgiving, my wife and I remember to offer explicit thanks to the efforts of the military, civilians, and scientists involved in WWII, in particular those involved in the noted atomic strikes (most have borne the memory of the experience with prolonged mental anguish and self-doubt).
Thank you again, Paul Tibbets. RIP
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.