Replies

Washington Order – 2-3
‘Superforts’ Give 3d Notice; P-38’s Hit Foe at Surabaya (Lawrence) – 3-4
No Place in Japan is Safe, Says Tokyo – 4
Invasion Success Feared by Japan – 5
Beneath the Brand of Mercy Was Japanese Contraband (photo) – 5
Foe’s Guns Found on Hospital Ship (Kluckhohn) – 5-6
Chinese Threaten to Bar Foe’s Path – 6
War News Summarized – 6
‘Thumper’ Stars at Plane Exhibit – 7
The ‘Thumper’ Resounded over Tokyo (photo) – 7
Americans Doubt Trials by Sept. 1 (Crider) – 8
Vanguard of British Army Arrives in Vienna (photo) – 8
The Veteran (Hurd) – 10
Chosen as Headmaster of Peekskill Academy – 10
Appleyard Team Leads Bridge Play (by Albert H. Morehead, first-time contributor) – 11
Day’s Communiques – 11
Yale is Urged to Stress Religion as Curb on Intellectual Anarchy (Fine) – 12

The News of the Week in Review
Architects for a New Germany and a New Europe (photo) – 13
Defeated Germany under Allied Control (map) – 14
Europe’s Future – 15-16
We Close In – 17
Fifteen News Questions – 18
A Month’s Bombardment of Japan (map) – 19
Sea and Air Assaults Pave Way for Invasion (by George E. Jones) – 20
“Nimitz’ Anti-Co-Prosperity Sphere” (cartoon) – 21
Palestine Issue Forced on Cabinet (by Sydney Gruson) – 23
Answers to Fifteen News Questions – 23
Code Defining War Crimes to Include Aggressive War (by Charles E. Egan) – 24
De Gaulle, Checked at Home, Wins New Prestige Abroad (by Harold Callender) – 25

The New York Times Book Review
The Lives of Winston Churchill, by John Davenport and Charles J.V. Murphy; The Dawn of Liberation: War Speeches by the Right Hon. Winston S. Churchill, compiled by Charles Eade (both reviewed by R.L. Duffus) – 26-28
Iwo Jima: Springboard to Final Victory, by Capt. Raymond Henri, U.S. M.C. (reviewed by Isaac Anderson, writing as I.A.) – 28
The Best Selling Books Here and Elsewhere – 29

Toland’s account of what the crew knew differs from Richard Rhodes account in “The Making of the Atomic Bomb.” Toland states the crew had been told three days earlier. Rhodes states that Tibbets did not tell the crew it was an atomic bomb until they were on the way to Hiroshima. The crew may have known it was a really big bomb of a new type, but had not been specifically told it was an atomic bomb.

According to Rhodes, while en route to Hiroshima, Tibbets was checking on the crew in the rear of the plane when the discussion turned to what they were carrying. One of the crewmen, tailgunner Robert Caron, guessed “a chemist’s nightmare,” then guessed “a physicist’s nightmare.” Tibbets resonded with “not exactly,” which after a moment’s reflection caused Caron to ask “Sir, are we splitting atoms today?” At that point Tibbets decided to tell the crew that they were carrying an atomic bomb, the first to be dropped from an airplane.

It’s not clear if the crew really understood what an atomic bomb was, how it worked or all of the research and engineering that went into building it. But they knew it was different from any other weapon ever created.

I tend to give more weight to Rhodes than Toland, for the reason that Rhodes’ book concentrated exclusively on the atomic bomb and his research was exhaustive. Toland, a fine historian, did not concentrate on one specific aspect of the war but rather the war against Japan as a whole. To the extent Toland wrote “The Rising Sun” with any specific focus, it was upon the doings of the Japanese in prosecuting the war. For those insights, his book is invaluable. But on this one point of when the crew of the Enola Gay were told it was an atomic bomb, I give the nod to Rhodes.

Observed 4 B-29s crash on take off, thought it might be a good idea to arm it in the air. Practiced all night in the bomb bay prior to take off getting bloody hands.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Sterling_Parsons

Involved with the development of the proximity fuse.

Was on the Indianapolis and gave McVay his orders:

You will sail at high speed to Tinian where your cargo will be taken off by others. You will not be told what the cargo is, but it is to be guarded even after the life of your vessel. If she goes down, save the cargo at all costs, in a lifeboat if necessary. And every day you save on your voyage will cut the length of the war by just that much.[63]

.......

It was Parsons and not Tibbetts, the pilot, who was in charge of the mission. He approved the choice of Hiroshima as the target, and gave the final approval for the bomb to be released.

......

However, on 4 December 1953, Parsons heard of President Dwight Eisenhower’s “blank wall” directive, blocking Oppenheimer from access to classified material. Parsons became visibly upset, and that night began experiencing severe chest pains.[82] The next morning, he went to Bethesda Naval Hospital, where he died while the doctors were still examining him.[83] He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery