From the NYT: Brig. Gen. Paul W. Tibbets Jr., the commander and pilot of the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in the final days of World War II, died today at his home in Columbus, Ohio. He was 92.
This is a sad passing, indeed. SO many of the Greatest Generation leave us each and every day. If your parents or your grandparents are members of the generation that won The Big One you NEED to give them a big hug today, tomorrow, and every day they continue to grace us with their presence.
RIP, General Tibbets.
(DOE photo)
A hero for sure, even in the PC World which would have us believe the dropping of the A-Bomb was wrong....wasn't then, and if down the road it has to be done to save the republic, it won't be at that time.
ReplyDeleteSalute General Tibbets, rest in peace.
I'd heard a couple of different times that we are losing WW2 vets at a rate of a thousand a day now. That is so regrettable. The last of mine died almost a decade ago.
ReplyDeleteI posted on him, too.
ReplyDeleteHe was my hero.
Farewell and Walk with God, sir.
Even the youngest soldiers who caught the tail end of WWII would be pushing 80 now. They were a Great Generation.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad's 80th birthday is in December. He and his twin brother joined the navy at age 17 and waited off shore for the possible invasion to begin. I can't even imagine it. Thanks, General Tibbetts. I might not be here if it were not for you. As for my dad, I thank him all the time and I am so glad I turned a sharp "right" while he is still around to know it. (Thanks, Buck)
ReplyDeleteAgree with all y'all. My Dad's been gone since the mid-80s, and he was my link to The Greatest Generation.
ReplyDeleteAnd Bec... your comment is especially pertinent. There's no telling how many of us Boomers (and, in my case, near-Boomers) wouldn't be here if we had been forced to invade Japan. But that's another story altogether, ain't it? I'm glad, personally, that General Tibbets and all those thousands like him stepped up and did what they HAD to do.
A professional in every sense of the word who held a position in history that would have overwhelmed a lesser individual. Rest in Peace good sir...
ReplyDelete- SJS
He sounded like an awesome guy, just doing his job. It's interesting to think of him immortalizing his mother's name in such a profound way - profound in that it's both terrible and wonderful all at the same time. Bless him.
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