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2007-11-01 -Obits-

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Posted by Glenmore 2007-11-01 14:05|| || Front Page|| [11130 views ] Top

#1 A True American Hero. Thanks for what you did, colonel. I'm probably alive because of it.

Posted by tu3031 2007-11-01 14:25|| 2007-11-01 14:25|| Front Page Top

#2 I had the privilege of hearing him recount the mission at a "roundtable" discussion in Columbus in 1990. Remarkably humble and matter-of-fact about his role in one of history's most important events.

Posted by Mike 2007-11-01 14:34|| 2007-11-01 14:34|| Front Page Top

#3 Rest in peace, Colonel Tibbets. A grateful nation bids you farewell. If Japan had the least shred of sense, they would mourn your passing as well. By your actions, you saved countless millions of Japanese lives from being wasted at the direction of their conscienceless wartime regime.

I believe that it was someone here at Rantburg who mentioned how the USA isto this very daystill issuing Purple Hearts minted during WWII in preparation for the massive losses America faced had we needed to invade the Japanese mainland.

No small debt is owed Colonel Tibbets for precluding timely issuance of those medals.

Posted by Zenster">Zenster 2007-11-01 14:44|| 2007-11-01 14:44|| Front Page Top

#4 I was lucky enough to tour the Smithsonian Aircraft Restoration facility while the EG was in there. Sad part was that although the engines and aircraft was to be restored to operational status, there was an agreement in place that the aircraft and engines would never be powered up. It would be sweet to hear those radials one more time!

Posted by USN,Ret. 2007-11-01 14:47|| 2007-11-01 14:47|| Front Page Top

#5 "I'm not proud that I kill 80,000 people..." but you saved so many thousands--HUNDREDS of thousands--more by doing so, Colonel!

Godspeed, Colonel!

Posted by Dar">Dar 2007-11-01 14:53|| 2007-11-01 14:53|| Front Page Top

#6 My Dad was on Okinawa when the bomb was dropped over Hiroshima. Then came Nagasaki. Then Japan surrendered. All of his 1st MARDIV buddies were greatly relieved, because they would not be facing the invasion of the Japanese home islands. There were literally miles of rows of equipment on Okinawa, getting ready for the invasion.

In the awful accounting of war, this terrible weapon in its own weird way, saved many Allied and Japanese lives. We also know now what these weapons will do to real live targets.

Paul Tibbets was a great American who was given a dirty job to do, and he did it to the best of his abilities. We owe you a great debt of gratitude, Paul.

My stepfather was an ordinance officer at Tinian for B-29 loads of conventional bombs and mines. He told me before he died that the area of the 509th Composite Group was the tightest off-limits area that he ever saw. They were serious about their security then.

Posted by Alaska Paul">Alaska Paul 2007-11-01 16:16|| 2007-11-01 16:16|| Front Page Top

#7 TU and AP

Im not going to go over the details of my dads story, but suffice it to say that given his assignment, he had little expectation of surviving the invasion, so Im in the same position. Whatever my intellectual take on the decision to nuke may be, my gut reaction cant be seperated from that.

Posted by Liberalhawk 2007-11-01 16:21|| 2007-11-01 16:21|| Front Page Top

#8 I feel that the Abombs saved Japan. Without it, not only would have an invasion killed thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Japanese, what was left of the infrastructure of Japan would have been ruined. We would not have had the motivation to rebuild it like we did for Germany to oppose a Soviet Union in Europe. Japan today would be a shadow of itself, broke and unimportant.
Instead, it is a thriving example of a Asian capitalist democracy. It is vibrant, talented and a important player on the world stage, without threatening its neighbors militarily. Japan owes its current life to the destructive power of the Abombs that forced its government to finally admit it could no longer force any settlement from the US.

Rest in Peace Mr. Tibbets. You did the world a huge favor.

Posted by DarthVader">DarthVader 2007-11-01 16:35|| 2007-11-01 16:35|| Front Page Top

#9 Estimates of US dead were 500,000-1,000,000 with an addition 1.5-3.0 million wounded. Using the Pacific battles as the model, that would give 4-8 million Japanese military dead and equal number of civilians. But that assumes Japanese civlians would comingled but not be armed (they were, even the children). So figure millions more armed dead Japanese.

By the time the atomic bombs were dropped, Kyushu (the first invasion landing) had 900,0000 Japanese soldiers (and growing), considerably more than the 600,000 estimated by US intel.

Posted by ed 2007-11-01 16:59|| 2007-11-01 16:59|| Front Page Top

#10 rest in Peace Paul T.

You saved perhaps a million Allied and Japanese lives on a tough demanding mission, possibly more.

My Father who just passed away on July 30, 2007 and 3 of my uncles made it through WW II due in good part to those famous Atomic Bomb missions..

****************************

Dittos RBees.. and I'm proud as hell of every one of our Moms and Pops who pitched in for Flag and Country!

Posted by Red Dawg">Red Dawg 2007-11-01 17:32|| 2007-11-01 17:32|| Front Page Top

#11 ed,

Point, your estimation & stats are more thought through and accurate because they are based on analysis rather than my off-the-cuff guesstimate.

Posted by Red Dawg">Red Dawg 2007-11-01 17:39|| 2007-11-01 17:39|| Front Page Top

#12 Comment, it's GENERAL Tibbets, he was promoted after the mision, also thanks General, my father was one of those (Army Leutenant) standing by to enter Japan. Instead he lived to come home and father Me.

Posted by Redneck Jim 2007-11-01 17:49|| 2007-11-01 17:49|| Front Page Top

#13 Second comment, at one time he lived a few blocks from me (Montgomery Alabama), gowing up we knew who he was, but didn't bother him any.

Dad had great respect for him. said "Leave him alone, he saved my life".

Posted by Redneck Jim 2007-11-01 17:53|| 2007-11-01 17:53|| Front Page Top

#14 it's GENERAL Tibbets

It's difficult to imagine a more well-deserved promotion in rank.

Posted by Zenster">Zenster 2007-11-01 19:03|| 2007-11-01 19:03|| Front Page Top

#15
The museum changed its plan and agreed to display the fuselage of the Enola Gay without commentary, context or analysis.

This, I respect.

Posted by Drive by lurker 2007-11-01 19:09|| 2007-11-01 19:09|| Front Page Top

#16 RIP General Tibbets.

Posted by Icerigger">Icerigger 2007-11-01 19:54|| 2007-11-01 19:54|| Front Page Top

#17 amen, RIP - my uncle, someone I always loved and admired, said he wouldn't have survived a Japan invasion, may he RIP as well, a truly honorable and hard-working man, Harold Johnson, Marine. If it saved only his life, IMHO, it was worth it, TY Paul Tibbets, American Hero

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2007-11-01 22:03|| 2007-11-01 22:03|| Front Page Top

#18 My grandfather and all 10 of his brothers served in the war. They were either tasked for the invasion (grandfather and a brother), recovering from wounds (including my favorite uncle who took a machine gun burst on Okinawa and would be in the hospital for the next 18 months) or expected to be shipped from Europe or stateside to fight in Japan. If the invasion did go ahead, there would have been a considerable pruning of my and many others' family trees.

Posted by ed 2007-11-01 23:15|| 2007-11-01 23:15|| Front Page Top

#19 I believe his grandson flys B-2s. A great American who saved many lives. Sad that he has no tombstone but shame on us that there is no memorial.

Posted by JAB 2007-11-01 23:59|| 2007-11-01 23:59|| Front Page Top

23:59 JAB
23:15 ed
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22:55 Icerigger
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