Books. Bikes. Boomsticks.
“I only regret that I have but one face to palm for my country.”
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
And then there were none...
Mr. Theodore "Dutch" VanKirk, the last surviving crew member of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress "Enola Gay" on 6 August 1945, has passed away in a Stone Mountain, Georgia retirement home.
Saw him speak 3 years ago, he was an amazing speaker.
He was very hard-of-hearing, but that was the only evidence of his age.
He certainly changed a lot of minds/ideas on the college campus where I saw him - most of whom came (and some attacked) with no idea of what the situation was in WWII, but they sure knew it was America's fault.
For those who want to know what the Allies and the Japanese dodged, by dropping those two bombs, read this book:
The Japanese high command was willing to accept an estimated 20 MILLION of their people dead, or more, in the attempt to keep us off their islands. Our costs would have probably been over 1M, minimum, if we had invaded.
Lots of data that was not looked at, after they surrendered. Chilling.
Some years ago, I saw that Paul Tibbets was going to be at the local airport during a fly-in of warbirds. He'd be signing copies of his book. It was a great honor to shake his hand and get his autograph on his book.
Darned if I know where that book is now, though. <>
Drat.
ReplyDeleteSaw him speak 3 years ago, he was an amazing speaker.
He was very hard-of-hearing, but that was the only evidence of his age.
He certainly changed a lot of minds/ideas on the college campus where I saw him - most of whom came (and some attacked) with no idea of what the situation was in WWII, but they sure knew it was America's fault.
A fraternity brother emailed me the same link this morning. He simply stated
ReplyDelete"Old guys got it done back in the day."
It's truly humbling, to think of what those guys did. Words fail me, every time.
ReplyDeleteFor those who want to know what the Allies and the Japanese dodged, by dropping those two bombs, read this book:
ReplyDeleteThe Japanese high command was willing to accept an estimated 20 MILLION of their people dead, or more, in the attempt to keep us off their islands. Our costs would have probably been over 1M, minimum, if we had invaded.
Lots of data that was not looked at, after they surrendered. Chilling.
Hell to Pay, by D M Giangreco
Some years ago, I saw that Paul Tibbets was going to be at the local airport during a fly-in of warbirds. He'd be signing copies of his book. It was a great honor to shake his hand and get his autograph on his book.
ReplyDeleteDarned if I know where that book is now, though. <>