On 5 August 1945, during preparation for the first atomic mission, Tibbets II assumed command of the aircraft and named it after his mother, Enola Gay Tibbets. That's one of the reasons why I wear this uniform, so people can have the right to voice differing opinions.'
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'We should not shy away from intellectually discussing this with people who are 180 degrees from your opinion.
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the invading of Japan was necessary to end the war. Speaking in a Veterans Day address in 2010, he said: 'In the latter days of World War II, the allies were left with a terrible dilemma. In a 2011 interview, he said that Tibbets Jnr often worried that the legacy of Hiroshima would have a negative impact on his grandson's career.īut he insists the pilot 'never lost one minute of sleep' over the bombing. The Brigadier General still wears a Rolex watch given to him by his grandfather, who died in 2007, aged 92. Tibbets also told fellow airmen his grandfather would be 'touched by your appreciation for his service and the service of those that he was with back in that time.' He added: 'He's counting on you, he's counting on us, today's generation of airmen, to continue as you do each and every day to raise the bar and set the standard and continue the great work that our nation relies on us to do.' On 15 August, six days after the bombing of Nagasaki, Japan announced its surrender to the Allies, signing the Instrument of Surrender on 2 September, officially ending World War Two. Within the first two to four months of the bombings, the acute effects killed 90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000–80,000 in Nagasaki, with roughly half of the deaths in each city occurring on the first day. The Japanese government ignored this ultimatum.Īmerican airmen then dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, followed with another over Nagasaki on 9 August. Together with the UK and the Republic of China, the United States called for the surrender of Japan, threatening the country with 'prompt and utter destruction'.
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The war in Europe ended when Nazi Germany surrendered on May 8, but the Pacific War continued. The two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date. The United States attacked the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with atomic bombs during the final stages of the Second World War in 1945.