Paul Tibbets est décédé
Posted: Thu 01 Nov, 2007 20:12
Enola Gay Pilot, Paul Tibbets Dies
Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, Japan on Aug. 6, 1945 died at his home in Columbus, Ohio early Thursday. He was 92. Tibbets was a 30-year-old Lt. Col. when he was called on to plan and execute the world-changing mission, a mission he told Studs Terkel in a 2002 interview that could have been even more dramatic.
In that interview, Tibbets told Terkel that the original plan called for simultaneous drops on Europe and Japan to ensure surprise in both theaters. However, the war in Europe ended three months before the weapon was ready so efforts were concentrated on the still-resisting Japanese. Tibbets had been in ill health for a couple of months. At his request, there will be no funeral or grave marker, which he believed would become a rallying point for protesters. Tibbets never expressed regret over dropping the bomb, saying it was his duty. He asked that his ashes be spread over the English Channel, where he flew for part of his war service.
Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, Japan on Aug. 6, 1945 died at his home in Columbus, Ohio early Thursday. He was 92. Tibbets was a 30-year-old Lt. Col. when he was called on to plan and execute the world-changing mission, a mission he told Studs Terkel in a 2002 interview that could have been even more dramatic.
In that interview, Tibbets told Terkel that the original plan called for simultaneous drops on Europe and Japan to ensure surprise in both theaters. However, the war in Europe ended three months before the weapon was ready so efforts were concentrated on the still-resisting Japanese. Tibbets had been in ill health for a couple of months. At his request, there will be no funeral or grave marker, which he believed would become a rallying point for protesters. Tibbets never expressed regret over dropping the bomb, saying it was his duty. He asked that his ashes be spread over the English Channel, where he flew for part of his war service.
