Paul Tibbets

[L.Adamson]

Originally Posted by CFI1513840

Although not politically correct (I doubt that General Tibbets was concerned about political correctness), this statement has to be taken in the context of a man fighting for the survival of his country in a global conflict, and applied to a situation that he saw as much of a threat as he faced in WW-2. Every rational person decries the loss of innocent life in times of conflict, whether it happens at the World Trade center, or on the battlefield. Winston Churchill had to make such a decision when he allowed the German bombing of Coventry during WW-2, rather then tip his hand on possession of Enigma. In that case, the innocent victims were his own people. General Tibbets was simply asserting a reality that modern day, politically correct apologists are loathe to admit, war does sometimes take innocent lives, but that in itself is not a good enough reason to concede defeat.

Very good, thankyou...

L.Adamson

[Dave62]

Paul Tibbets did not set policy....he carried out what others planned. Thank you Paul...and all of those like you who fought and fight to keep us free.

Swift Dave

[JimmyBob]

It is true that Paul Tibbets never set policy, and only carried out the orders of others.

He also 'never lost a night's sleep' over the mission he led, and participated in a reenactment of the event, complete with a 'little mushroom cloud'.

My father-in-law fought in the Phillipines in WW-II with the US Army. If you get enough drink into him, he will admit to having killed more than one of the enemy. He wound up getting shot and critically injured and almost died. It was only when he got into his 80's that he would talk about his wartime experiences, and when he did you could see the horror in his eyes. The taking of those soldiers lives was a burden that he carried for all of his life, even though it was something he absolutely had to do.

Paul Tibbets did what he was ordered to do. But I like to think that most people, if they had dropped a weapon that killed tens of thousands of people, would have missed a night or two of sleep. Or perhaps passed on the feel-good anniversary events.

Tibbets didn't, and I think this is a measure of the man.

[PCHunt]

Some people are Warriors, some people are not.

IMHO: We owe our country's existence to our Warriors. That means from 1776 until today.

One Man's Opinion.

[woxofswa]

A little known historical nugget.
Wendover Nevada on the Utah/Nevada border, right near Bonneville Salt Flats, was where Tibbets and his crew trained for their mission. It is now a civilian airport. I haven't been there in 20 or so years, but it used to be that if you talked to one of the locals at the airport they would take you to the hanger where you could read messages written on the wall by Tibbets and his crew as they were leaving on their mission. I don't remember the messages, but vividly remember the strange feeling that came over me standing there and thinking about what they must have been thinking as they signed the wall right before leaving on their mission. They were then in the absolute middle of nowhere, but yet they had to have known that they were about to change the whole world forever.

[videobobk]

Originally Posted by PCHunt

Some people are Warriors, some people are not.

IMHO: We owe our country's existence to our Warriors. That means from 1776 until today.

One Man's Opinion.

Perhaps the best quote I have seen recently was on "Quicksilver" at the Gathering of Mustangs and Legends: "The bare metal on this P-51D is polished. Look closely into the metal. You will see for whom our veterans fought." Don't know how it could be better said. Paul was one of the best.

Bob Kelly