At the 50th anniversary of the atomic bomb, ntroversy surround the ntext which the Enola Gay was to be displayed.
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MOCKSVILLE MAN HELPED LIVER ATOMIC BOMB ON BOARD ENOLA GAY
After growg up there, Thomas Ferebee served on the Enola Gay flight crew and would ultimately bee the man who pulled the leaver to ploy “Ltle Boy” on Hiroshima on Aug. In 1945, roughly 100 days before Hiroshima, Ferebee would be asked to serve one of the most secretive missns of the war, as a member of the Enola Gay crew. “[The Enola Gay crew] ma no apologi for the job that they did, ” he said.
Tman, pulled the lever om the Enola Gay’s drop hatch and released “Ltle Boy” onto the unexpected cy below. The bombg and the Enola Gay crew were to return home and face qutns and cricism for their role the endg of the war. Enola Gay, the B-29bomber that was ed by the Uned Stat on Augt 6, 1945, to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, the first time the explosive vice had been ed on an enemy target.
Tman was rmed of the velopment while attendg the Potsdam Conference, and he turn told Soviet lear Joseph Stal that the Uned Stat had “a new weapon of unual stctive force.” On July 26 the Allied lears lled for Japan to unndnally surrenr or face “prompt and utter stctn.” After Japan ignored the mand, the cisn was ma to bomb Hiroshima.At approximately 2:45 am on Augt 6, 1945, Tibbets—who was now a full lonel—and a crew of 11 took off om Tian island rryg a uranium bomb that was known as “Ltle Boy.” The Enola Gay—Tibbets had a matenance man pat that name on the aircraft’s nose shortly before takeoff—was acpanied by var other plan. Tibbets flew the Enola Gay back to Tian, where he was award the Distguished Service Cross.
EXHIBG THE ENOLA GAY
Three days later the Enola Gay nducted weather rennaissance the lead-up to the bombg of Nagasaki, Japan.
Japan officially surrenred on September 2, 1945.The Enola Gay remaed service for several years before beg given to the Smhsonian Instutn on July 3, 1949. In 2003 the fully rtored Enola Gay was put on display at the NASM’s Steven F.
Many veterans had advoted for the display of the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortrs ed to drop the bombs, as a celebratn of Amerin triumph over Japan, but there were already ncerns that the Smhsonian was creatg a polilly rrect, revisnist terpretatn of the events. Harw rigned on May 2, 1995, jt days before he was schled to ttify Senate June 28, 1995, an exhibn, simply tled "Enola Gay, " opened at the Natnal Air and Space Mm.