Comments on: My Mother the Bomb http://www.ratdiary.com/2007/11/03/my-mother-the-bomb/ Homo homini rodentius est Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:20:21 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Sprague D http://www.ratdiary.com/2007/11/03/my-mother-the-bomb/#comment-4338 Sprague D Fri, 16 Nov 2007 01:52:11 +0000 http://www.ratdiary.com/2007/11/03/my-mother-the-bomb/#comment-4338 Paul, You are exactly right, they chose Tibbets because he was unlikely to question the mission. That the mission itself was questionable is another matter. It's not just second-guessing now, from our safe vantage more than half a century away. Russia was on the verge of declaring war on Japan (and declared just days after Hiroshima). Facing invasion on two fronts, Japan was licked by the time the bomb was dropped (whether they knew it or not). The bomb missions appear to be test cases for the technology more than necessary conditions for ending the war and -- if true -- make them even more horrific. Paul,

You are exactly right, they chose Tibbets because he was unlikely to question the mission. That the mission itself was questionable is another matter.

It’s not just second-guessing now, from our safe vantage more than half a century away. Russia was on the verge of declaring war on Japan (and declared just days after Hiroshima). Facing invasion on two fronts, Japan was licked by the time the bomb was dropped (whether they knew it or not). The bomb missions appear to be test cases for the technology more than necessary conditions for ending the war and — if true — make them even more horrific.

]]> By: Paul M. http://www.ratdiary.com/2007/11/03/my-mother-the-bomb/#comment-4314 Paul M. Tue, 13 Nov 2007 01:02:19 +0000 http://www.ratdiary.com/2007/11/03/my-mother-the-bomb/#comment-4314 During WWII, my father was an Army transportation clerk stationed in Colorado for the duration of his service. In the summer of '45 he was told to expect orders to ship out to the west coast in preparation for the invasion of the Japanese home islands. He fully expected that he was about to get his turn in combat. Instead, Japan surrendered following the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and my father was soon discharged back into civilian life. Sometimes I wonder if he would have survived the invasion and if my sisters and I would have even been born. I wonder how many of my friends and cousins would be here now too. Would the world be a better place had we not used the atomic bomb? From my perspective, that is a very debatable proposition. About Col. Tibbets demeanor: he was a son-of-a-bitch because his commanding officers knew better than to assign the job to someone who might be too sensitive or emotional; it’s how they do things in the military. They chose well. Anyway, let's get back to the second-guessing. We’ve got the luxury of doing so now. During WWII, my father was an Army transportation clerk stationed in Colorado for the duration of his service. In the summer of ‘45 he was told to expect orders to ship out to the west coast in preparation for the invasion of the Japanese home islands. He fully expected that he was about to get his turn in combat. Instead, Japan surrendered following the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and my father was soon discharged back into civilian life. Sometimes I wonder if he would have survived the invasion and if my sisters and I would have even been born. I wonder how many of my friends and cousins would be here now too. Would the world be a better place had we not used the atomic bomb? From my perspective, that is a very debatable proposition.

About Col. Tibbets demeanor: he was a son-of-a-bitch because his commanding officers knew better than to assign the job to someone who might be too sensitive or emotional; it’s how they do things in the military. They chose well.

Anyway, let’s get back to the second-guessing. We’ve got the luxury of doing so now.

]]> By: Sprague D http://www.ratdiary.com/2007/11/03/my-mother-the-bomb/#comment-4292 Sprague D Tue, 06 Nov 2007 00:58:55 +0000 http://www.ratdiary.com/2007/11/03/my-mother-the-bomb/#comment-4292 Aatom, You're being kind -- Tibbets sounded like a crude sonofabitch... with a well-named plane. Your dad, on the other hand, sounds like many of the men who spend a few years doing extraordinarily brutal work and then spend many more years trying to fit into the narrative of a "normal" life. That they so often succeed is nothing short of a miracle. Aatom,

You’re being kind — Tibbets sounded like a crude sonofabitch… with a well-named plane.

Your dad, on the other hand, sounds like many of the men who spend a few years doing extraordinarily brutal work and then spend many more years trying to fit into the narrative of a “normal” life. That they so often succeed is nothing short of a miracle.

]]> By: Aatom http://www.ratdiary.com/2007/11/03/my-mother-the-bomb/#comment-4291 Aatom Mon, 05 Nov 2007 21:26:16 +0000 http://www.ratdiary.com/2007/11/03/my-mother-the-bomb/#comment-4291 Not really a stellar example of military pride or humility, was he? My own father, a Lt. Colonel in the Air Force during Vietnam, piloted the planes that marked targets for the bombers. I always thought that must have a strange toll on your psyche, to know that you were responsible for the death of people but not directly being the one that dropped the bombs. He doesn't say much about those experiences, either out of a private grief or a noble humility I'll never know. I suspect a bit of both. Not really a stellar example of military pride or humility, was he? My own father, a Lt. Colonel in the Air Force during Vietnam, piloted the planes that marked targets for the bombers. I always thought that must have a strange toll on your psyche, to know that you were responsible for the death of people but not directly being the one that dropped the bombs. He doesn’t say much about those experiences, either out of a private grief or a noble humility I’ll never know. I suspect a bit of both.

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