Tibbetts has passed on

[Japanese_Spirit]

I respect Tibbits. He did his duty and that should not be held accountable. If people wish to take it out on someone, take it out on the hierachy themselves. They made the decision, Tibbits only did what he was commanded to do.

Also, the atomic bomb probably might have even saved lives in the long run, too. If it had never been used on Japan, both the U.S and Soviets were constructing more bombs together anyway, so there would have been more of a possibility to "use them" without knowing the consequences. Such as in the Cold War, perhaps it would have turned hotter had the bombs not been used over Japan?

Just my 2pence.

RIP Tibbits and Art!

[crsutton]

I'm not losing any sleep over this...
 
I can't imagine that the dead in wartime really care how they died.

[pauk]

ORIGINAL: crsutton

I'm not losing any sleep over this...

I can't imagine that the dead in wartime really care how they died.

hmmm, but maybe their sons and doughters cared about being exposed to radiation, leuchemy....

[hvymtl13]

Well the discussion of the A bombs connected with General Tibbetts is really a mute point. The orders were to drop the bomb. And if not Tibbitts then another pilot would have done his duty and followed orders and dropped the bomb. Which was the case in the other A-bomb. To point the incident at Tibbitts or the other air crew involved is just plain silly. Maybe another thread discussing the decision process of a Soldier deciding what is and isn't an lawful order might be in order..  Or perhaps one discussing Presidential authority to order such an attack in the first place. It is regretful that this thread seems to be venturing outside the lines of it's intended purpose.

[AW1Steve]

[:)] Japan had a major problem in the fact that they couldn't surrender , no matter how they might need to or want to. The "bomb" , gave them an honorable way to save face. How could any one fight such a super weapon? It could be argued that it wasn't the US military that beat Japan , it was this ungodly weapon. I don't buy it , but I bet a good many Japanese did. It saved many , many lives , allied and Japanese , far more than it took.
 
 
 In the late 90's , while working for the US Navy memorial in DC , I had the honor and privialge of interviewing a number of veterans of the Asiatic fleet (including some from Houston). After their heroic fight the survivors became "guests of the Emporer" for the next several years. One spry old fellow that I interviewed , told me despite being a prisoner building "that bridge in Thailand" and being slave labor in Manchuria , he felt bad that we dropped "those two bombs on Japan". This surprised me , then he added "whish we'd dropped twenty of them". [:D]

[ctangus]

I'll try to get this back on topic: one thing that often gets overlooked in the fame/notoriety over dropping the first A-bomb is that Tibbets had a distinguished career in Europe & the Med. He was a squadron CO in both the 8th & 12th Air Forces, piloting B-17s. I think he held some staff positions as well. He was entrusted with VIP flights - flying Clark & Eisenhower around at one point.

In early '44 Hap Arnold asked for the best bomber pilot in the Med to help iron out difficulties with the B-29 project. Jimmy Doolittle sent him Paul Tibbets.

He also served another 20+ years in the Air Force and retired as a Brigadier General.

RIP.

[decaro]

ORIGINAL: ctangus

... In early '44 Hap Arnold asked for the best bomber pilot in the Med to help iron out difficulties with the B-29 project. Jimmy Doolittle sent him Paul Tibbets.

He also served another 20+ years in the Air Force and retired as a Brigadier General.

RIP.

I believe Tibbits was a B-29 test pilot, which made him the best choice to pilot this aircraft for the first A-bomb drop.

I recall in the Washington Post obit that Tibbits always loved flying; when he was younger he dropped Baby Ruth candy bars from the sky over a race track as a promotion.

From candy bars to the A-bomb; who would ever have guessed it?

[MineSweeper]

The man was ordered to do a job and he did it....the Atom Bomb attack saved Millions of lives(most importanley allied lives) Japan did the sneak attack on PH and we acted and destroyed Japan....end of story

[Dino]

ORIGINAL: MineSweeper

The man was ordered to do a job and he did it....

Amen!!!

the Atom Bomb attack saved Millions of lives(most importanley allied lives) Japan did the sneak attack on PH and we acted and destroyed Japan....end of story

Historian and former Naval officer Martin Sherwin has summarized the situation, stating, "The choice in the summer of 1945 was not between a conventional invasion or a nuclear war. It was a choice between various forms of diplomacy and warfare."


Echoing the concern of Assistant Sec. of War John McCloy and Deputy Director of the Office of Naval Intelligence Captain Ellis Zacharias that the Allies became overly dependent on military means, Leon Sigal writes, "At worst, withholding force might have prolonged the war for a while at a time when little combat was taking place; it would not have altered the final result. Yet restraint could have significantly reduced the gratuitous suffering on both sides, especially for noncombatants."


"it wasn't necessary to hit them with that awful thing."

Dwight Eisenhower

[decaro]

ORIGINAL: Dino

"it wasn't necessary to hit them with that awful thing."
Dwight Eisenhower [/i]

Eisenhower said this in an interview in 1963 after the effects of atomic radiation were understood. Hindsight is always 20:20.

For the record, Eisenhower wasn't the only high-ranking American officer who either objected or had second thoughts re the A-bomb:

" ... Among the many other top World War II leaders who are on record as stating that the bomb was unnecessary are the commanding general of the U.S. Army Air Forces, Henry H. ''Hap'' Arnold; Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet; Adm. William F. Halsey Jr., commander of the U.S. Third Fleet; and the famous ''hawk'' who commanded the 21st Bomber Command, Maj. Gen. Curtis E. LeMay. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George C. Marshall privately proposed that the bombs be dropped first on a military target such as a large naval base -- then, if that didn't work, that civilians be warned to leave before a city were targeted" (Miami Hearld, 2003).

But it was never their call: it was Truman's decision. The relevant (hypothetical) question is: If FDR had lived longer, would he have approved dropping the bomb?

(Note: FDR already approved uranium research in 1939 after he met w/Albert Einstein to discuss a letter the scientist wrote him the previous August; in 1942 FDR approved what eventually became the Manhattan Project)

[pauk]

ORIGINAL: Dino

ORIGINAL: MineSweeper

The man was ordered to do a job and he did it....

Amen!!!

hm... lot of folks was ordered to do the job in the WW II[8|]....