last survivor of Enola Gay crew

by pila Wed Jul 30, 2014 1:13 pm

The navigator of the B-29 Enola Gay has died, at 93. Theodore "Dutch" VanKirk was the last crew member of the B-29 that bombed Hiroshima in 1945.

Like the rest of that crew, he belongs to the ages now....

by bigredlaguna Wed Jul 30, 2014 11:59 pm

It was a 1-2 knockout punch combo that convinced Japan to surrender. I hope people remember that without those bombing missions, the war would have went on, and on, and on, with many more lives lost on both sides.

by Oldschool454 Thu Jul 31, 2014 12:01 am

Sad to hear....

by 77mali Thu Jul 31, 2014 7:07 am

bigredlaguna wrote:It was a 1-2 knockout punch combo that convinced Japan to surrender. I hope people remember that without those bombing missions, the war would have went on, and on, and on, with many more lives lost on both sides.

Absolutely! Japan would have never surrendered. My father-in-law was in the navy in the Pacific theater, he fought at Iwo, Saipan, Okinawa, etc. He always said that if it wasn't for the missions of Hiroshima & Nagasaki- they would have been fighting on the Japanese mainland into the 50's. People nowadays say that this was a war crime but it was a different time then and I don't think those who would say this about America have any clue about the evil (and REAL war crimes) committed by the Japanese in the Pacific or the Nazi's in Europe & Africa.

by LS_Quest Thu Jul 31, 2014 3:54 pm

Got to see the Enola Gay a few years ago at the National Air and Space Museum outside DC. There has been some controversy as to whether it belongs in a museum or be destroyed and forgoten.

by pila Thu Jul 31, 2014 11:26 pm

It's easy for the current population of goody-two-shoes people to stir things up about those bombs and those airplanes. SCREW THEM ! They were not around in those days ,to see all the gold stars in folks' windows when their sons were killed in action..I was...and many neighbor's sons were in that group.

And everything was rationed....I mean EVERYTHING was rationed..food, gas & tires for the cars, etc

The last thing I'm concerned with is insulting our former enemies, since those generations are long gone now...

sorry about the rant...that's just my opinion ( and I'm stickin' to it Smile

)

by 74chick Wed Aug 06, 2014 6:10 pm

There has been some controversy as to whether it belongs in a museum or be destroyed and forgoten.

Over my dead body! I volunteer at Plans of Fame every year just to make sure things like that don't happen.

I got to her her not that long ago in ID (I think) at the FAA center.

by 77mali Wed Aug 06, 2014 6:23 pm

There is a mindset out there of certain people, **Cough** Commies, **Cough** Progressive Liberal's**, that want things like this forgotten so they can re-write history to advance their political agenda.

It's up to us not to let it happen. I also say over my dead body. I find myself saying that a lot these days.

by pila Thu Aug 07, 2014 4:51 pm

I'm waiting for some idiot to say we need to do away with the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor too, which would be the same thing.....

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