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106 of 112 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Who knew about who doesn't matter." General Tibbets, May 23, 2000
That one comment has been a common thread through all of the books I have read regarding the men and women involved in World War II. The General was chastising the Author for suggesting that his Father was less important as a Major in the war than General Tibbets. This was not the first lesson that would be taught, and I thought it was great the Author included so many instances when the General took him to task. It was always instructive and formed a series of reference points for the Author that taught him more than he ever expected to learn about his own Father.The Enola Gay, her crew, and the bomb she dropped remain for some/many an issue left unresolved. Fifty years allows for a great deal of second-guessing and revisionist history. If after reading this book the decision to drop the bomb on Hiroshima is still questionable to you, read "Flags Of Our Fathers". If after you absorb the lives that Iwo Jima, a tiny island consumed I do not believe there is a credible argument that the dropping of the first Atom Bomb was anything other than correct. Not conditionally correct, but absolutely correct for the United States and Japan. There is a conversation in the book between General Tibbets and Shoji Tabuchi. Mr. Tabuchi was carried by his Mother on her back, while she pushed his Brother in a carriage away from their home that was near Hiroshima after the bombing. Mr. Tabuchi's Father said this about the Bombing, "had the war continued all would have died, the end of the war spared the lives of men women and children all over Japan". Why is it The Smithsonian Air And Space Museum had so much trouble a few years ago when presenting what had happened during World War II. I went back and checked some of the comments they proposed to display with the plane. I came to the conclusion those involved were either pathetically ignorant, historical revisionists, or simply dullards. General Tibbets responded to the Author as follows when asked about those who make disparaging comments about him, his crew, or the mission, "Those people never had their balls on that cold, hard anvil," he said. "They can say anything they want." I think that makes the point clear enough even for a museum director. You will meet 2 men who were part of the crew on The Enola Gay, Major Dutch Van Kirk who was the Navigator and, Colonel Tom Ferebee the Bombardier. You will read of the General's meeting with Mitsuo Fuchida the man who led the air attack on Pearl Harbor. He was a guest at the General's home. "Talk about it? That would be like talking about the air we breathed." This was the General's response when asked why he and his generation did not talk about patriotism and their affection for their Country. He continued, "We grew up knowing that it was expected of us-to love this Country and to treat it with loyalty and respect." The General did a great service for the Author Mr. Bob Greene. The Author in turn shares his experience, which we all can benefit from. We in this instance means those of us who were not there, we who have never fired a shot in anger, been shot at, or placed our lives at risk, or into the hands of another. We, the group that benefited from those that have been called "The Greatest Generation" by Tom Brokaw. My thanks go to all the men and women who have ever served this Country, there are 2 men in particular I wish to thank, my Father who at 17 joined the Navy in 1943 and served as a Petty Officer First Class, and my Father in law, Wilfred Ecklin who left the Air Force after a career as a pilot and with the rank of Major, he is now deceased. So what are you and your Family doing this Monday May 29, 2000?
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by Bob Greene
by Bob Greene
by Bob Greene
by Bob Greene
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