B-29 ENOLA GAY BECAME FAMOUS TODAY

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Joe Gopan
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B-29 ENOLA GAY BECAME FAMOUS TODAY

Post by Joe Gopan » Wed Aug 06, 2014 5:08 am

69 years ago today, August 6, 1945, the Enola Gay dropped the A-Bomb on Hiroshima, and convinced a savage and fanatic enemy to surrender.
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Re: B-29 ENOLA GAY BECAME FAMOUS TODAY

Post by motto » Wed Aug 06, 2014 9:54 am

There was a recent report that the last surviving crew member from the Enola Gay had just passed away.
He was the navigator, Theodore (Dutch) Van Kirk who passed away at Stone Mountain, Georgia on Monday 28th July aged 93.
They did what needed to be done. R.I.P. Soldier.

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Re: B-29 ENOLA GAY BECAME FAMOUS TODAY

Post by Hammerhead » Wed Sep 03, 2014 4:31 pm

My Dad's division was slated for the invasion of Japan scheduled for 1946. With the casualties expected, he and a lot of other GI's and Marines probably would have become KIA's and WIA's. I can tell you he NEVER expressed any regret about our country dropping the atomic bombs and ending the war!
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Re: B-29 ENOLA GAY BECAME FAMOUS TODAY

Post by Joe Gopan » Mon Aug 06, 2018 3:30 am

It was 73 years ago today.
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Fushigi Ojisan
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Re: B-29 ENOLA GAY BECAME FAMOUS TODAY

Post by Fushigi Ojisan » Mon Aug 06, 2018 9:10 am

Hammerhead wrote:My Dad's division was slated for the invasion of Japan scheduled for 1946. With the casualties expected, he and a lot of other GI's and Marines probably would have become KIA's and WIA's. I can tell you he NEVER expressed any regret about our country dropping the atomic bombs and ending the war!
My father as well. His unit was to rehab every DUKW they could find in southern Germany and accompany them to the Pacific.

One year at Udvar-hazy I saw protesters outside, the Japanese guests I was escorting had no idea why they were there

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Re: B-29 ENOLA GAY BECAME FAMOUS TODAY

Post by Mark Jesic » Mon Aug 06, 2018 11:26 am

The Enola Gay became famous again here in the U.K. in the Eighties, when a pop group sang about her. I understand the Enola Gay is in a museum ? Is this correct ?

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Re: B-29 ENOLA GAY BECAME FAMOUS TODAY

Post by Joe Gopan » Mon Aug 06, 2018 2:01 pm

Enola Gay is restored and on display at the Edvar Hazy portion of the Smithsonion. Do a web search, it is impressive.
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Re: B-29 ENOLA GAY BECAME FAMOUS TODAY

Post by 1942GPW » Mon Aug 06, 2018 2:09 pm

I saw it at the Paul E. Garber facility in the early 90’s while it was being restored. They had us run our hands along its skin to test polishes for eventual display. My dad was also part of the Japan invasion fleet in 1945. He said it took forever to get home since so many ships were stacked up waiting for the big day. Good thing the invasion never happened, it would have been massively costly to both sides.
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Re: B-29 ENOLA GAY BECAME FAMOUS TODAY

Post by ng19delta » Wed Aug 08, 2018 7:21 am

Ben Dover wrote:
Mon Aug 06, 2018 2:01 pm
Enola Gay is restored and on display at the Edvar Hazy portion of the Smithsonion. Do a web search, it is impressive.
"Udvar-Hazy"

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Re: B-29 ENOLA GAY BECAME FAMOUS TODAY

Post by 1942GPW » Mon Sep 03, 2018 6:56 pm

It was being restored at the Paul E. Garver facility in the 1990s. Most of the restoration work was moved to the Udvar-Hazy facility sometime later. Silver Hill, as the Garver facility was also know as, was really cool. It was the Smithsonian’s storage facility and restoration shop back then. There was an unbelievable amount of unrestored German and Japanese rocket and jet aircraft!

https://airandspace.si.edu/about/histor ... r-facility
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Re: B-29 ENOLA GAY BECAME FAMOUS TODAY

Post by Joe Gopan » Tue Aug 06, 2019 7:19 pm

HIROSHIMA plus 74 Years.
2011 MVPA PIONEER AWARD - MVPA #1064
HONOR GRAD-WHEELED VEHICLE MECHANIC SCHOOL 1960 - US ARMY ORDNANCE SCHOOL(MACHINIST) ABERDEEN PG 1962 - O-1 BIRD DOG CREWCHIEF - 300,000+TROUBLE FREE M-38A1 MILES
LIFE MEMBER AM LEGION-40/8-DAV
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COL. BRUNO BROOKS (ARMY MOTORS) IS MY HERO

Joe Gopan
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Re: B-29 ENOLA GAY BECAME FAMOUS TODAY

Post by Joe Gopan » Thu Aug 06, 2020 4:30 pm

We mustn't forget Hiroshima plus 75 years.
2011 MVPA PIONEER AWARD - MVPA #1064
HONOR GRAD-WHEELED VEHICLE MECHANIC SCHOOL 1960 - US ARMY ORDNANCE SCHOOL(MACHINIST) ABERDEEN PG 1962 - O-1 BIRD DOG CREWCHIEF - 300,000+TROUBLE FREE M-38A1 MILES
LIFE MEMBER AM LEGION-40/8-DAV
7 MIL SPEC MAINTAINED MV'S
COL. BRUNO BROOKS (ARMY MOTORS) IS MY HERO


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