In the early-morning darkness of that historic day 75 years ago, Colonel Tibbets and his 11-man crew boarded the plane and began their preflight preparations. It was all leading to one day that would help end years of bloodshed and change the world forever. Even years before that, development of this revolutionary cargo began in secrecy under the direction of a physicist and an Army general in the mountains of Northern New Mexico. and his crew had practiced dropping dummy concrete bombs on targets in Wendover, Utah. And months before that, pilot Paul Tibbets Jr. Preparations on the tiny Pacific island-about 1,500 miles southeast of the plane’s intended target in Japan-had begun months before on April 3. Hours before the sun would rise over Tinian island on the morning of August 6, 1945, a B-29 airplane was positioned above a specially built bomb-loading pit, as crews readied the aircraft with cargo unlike anything the world had ever known. and others explain, delivering a 10,000-pound bomb to southern Japan was a years-long endeavor that required patience, practice, and precision. "Over the years, thousands of former soldiers and military family members have expressed a particularly touching and personal gratitude suggesting that they might not be alive today had it been necessary to resort to an invasion of the Japanese home islands to end the fighting.On August 6, 1945, the crew of the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb designed at Los Alamos on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
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The vast majority have expressed gratitude that the509th Composite group consisting of 1700 men, 15 B-29s and 6 C-54s were able to deliver the bombs that ended the war," comments Brigadier General Paul W. "In the past sixty years since Hiroshima I have received many letters from people all over the world. They have steadfastly taken that stance for the past six decades. The surviving members of the Enola Gay crew - Paul W Tibbets (pilot), Theodore J "Dutch" Van Kirk (navigator) and Morris R Jeppson (weapon test officer) - have repeatedly and humbly proclaimed that, "The use of the atomic weapon was a necessary moment in history. To spare the world a horrific invasion and to save American, allied, and Japanese lives was literally the only course of prudent action. The availability of those weapons in the American arsenal left President Truman no choice but to use them. The second atomic weapon was delivered over Nagasaki by the B-29 Superfortress Bocks Car three days later. Ignoring the obvious military situation, the Japanese Prime Minister Baron Kantaro Suzuki issued the Japanese refusal to surrender which included these words: "there is no other recourse but to ignore it entirely and resolutely fight for the successful conclusion of the war." The alternative," they said, "for Japan is prompt and utter destruction". Together with Great Britain's Churchill, and Russia's Stalin, the President of the United States urged the Japanese to "proclaim the unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces. President Truman made one last demand, one final appeal. The summer of 1945 was indeed an anxious one as allied and American forces gathered for the inevitable invasion of the Japanese homeland.
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This year, 2005, marks the sixtieth year since the end of World War II. On this occasion, the surviving members of the Enola Gay crew would like the opportunity to issue a joint statement. The surviving members of the Enola Gay crew say their mission was just