Brig-General Paul Tibbets

I was sad to learn recently of the death of this fine officer. Known to us all as the man who led the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima, he was a consummate professional airman whose dedication to his craft, his service and his country sets a fine example, not just to Americans, but to us all. That men of this calibre can be found when their country needs them, permits others to sleep sound in their beds. Our gratitude to him should know no bounds.

 

I agree.

He said he didn't like what happened with dropping the A-bomb but didn't have any regrets either.

 

Why should he? By dropping that A-bomb and helping bring the war to a swift end, he saved a lot of lives on both sides.

 

I believe he sad that right after the bomb exploded

 

Given that he didn't know what the blast would look like, such a reaction is understandable. Even today, a nuclear mushroom cloud is an awesome and frightening sight; think of what it was like for men seeing the second such detonation in history (the first being the test firing in New Mexico, of course).

 

The only article I read in the paper regarding his death was that the Japanese survivors of hiroshima were upset that he never said 'sorry'...

Whether he should have is debatable, but i was disappointed that no mention was made of the terrible burden it would have been, and the fact that he beared it for his country... He deserves alot of respect

 

Its okay to be upset about being damaged for life by radiation, but by dropping the bomb Tibbets saved thousands if not millions of Japanese lives as well as American soldiers.

 

Why do you belive it? Do you have a source for that quote? I have read much about it but don't recall it furthermore it would be out of character for him.

 

IMO one apologizes when they have made an error or done something wrong. Since that wasn't the case and wasn't how he felt there would be no reason to apologize. On the other hand the Japanese have not been quick to apologize to the relatives and families of the millions of people whose deaths they were dircetly responsible for. Not in an act that ended the killing ,as with Tibbets, but in beginning a war of aggression.

 

I agree entirely

 

Apparently, their history cirriculum on ww2 is rather limited. Most people there have never heard of Iwo Jima, or Saipan or really much else about their country in ww2.

 

This is a good example of understatement

Unless I have been lied to, the Japanese curriculum on WW2 is something along the lines of:

"There was this big war, which we were kinda involved in, and we did not exactly win, but it wasn't our fault because they nuked us."

And that's about it.

 

Well no one likes to remember defeats. They didn't exactly cover the American War of Independence in my school. No instead they bored the socks off me with the Industrial Revolution (snore!)

On the subject of the late Brig-General Paul Tibbets call me a cynic but I would guess that his first words after the bomb went off were something a long the lines of:
WOW!
or
Holly s**t!

But as I said I'm a cynic.

 

One disadvantage of dropping the bomb on Japan, as opposed to invasion, was that it allowed them to play 'the victim' in the post-war environment... Despite the atrocious behaviour of many Japanese soldiers...

Many who criticize the use of the bombs forget that it was Japan who attacked first and Japan who tortured civilians and POW's... The USA was right to stop them from doing this as quickly (and thus bloodlessly) as possible IMHO... To not drop the bomb would have simply condemned many more to die at the hands of the Japanese, most likey including those who perished in the atomic blasts

Furthermore Japan still refuses to apologise for the sex-slavery 'services' she provided for her soldiers...

 

Japan's attitude towards WW2 and her role in it constitutes the biggest flaw in her national psyche. Unlike Germany, the Japanese have never admitted that they did anything wrong, let alone shown any remorse for it, save on the individual level. I once saw a documentary on the History Channel, and one of Japan's surviving naval aviators said flat out that he couldn't understand why his countrymen got so upset about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, since Japan would have done exactly the same thing to American cities had they developed the A-bomb, and they did try to, along with biological and chemical weapons.

 

I suppose there is some truth in the idea that Japan, like China, is too pragmatic to present any of its own actions as a mistake or an atrocity. If it furthered their national interests, it was not and will never be a mistake to them. On the other hand, other countries are naturally to blame when things go wrong...

It's quite strange that some Japanese would wish for an apology from the man who flew the first atomic bomb into their territory but are not heard claiming similar apologies from the pilots who firebombed their more important cities, inflicting far greater civilian casualties.

 

Anyone know what Tibbets said before dropping the bomb? If he had any redneck in him it was probably something like "Hey y'all, watch this!".

 

On an episode of the simpsons where they went to China they walked by tien amin square and there was a sign that read "Nothing Happened"

 

天安門, or Tiananmen, or Gate of Heavenly Peace. Thank you, carry on...

 

Don't give them any ideas, Roel.