SENTRY JOURNAL » Uncategorized » The last Enola Gay member “Dutch” Van Kirk remembers August 6, 1945

The last Enola Gay member “Dutch” Van Kirk remembers August 6, 1945

August 6th, 2012 | 10 Comments

An American B-29 Bomber named the Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on this day in 1945. “Approximately 80,000 people were killed as a direct result of the blast, and another 35,000 are injured. At least another 60,000 would be dead by the end of the year from the effects of the fallout.” Below is a video of the last Enola Gay member “Dutch’ Van Kirk recalling the events of the mission and that day. Take a few moments to check it out.

The world changed in an instant on that day. Some people today question the wisdom of America dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. I’m not one of them. Dropping the bombs on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki did bring an end to World War II and not only saved an untold number of American lives but also the lives of a great number of Japanese who were prepared to fight to the bitter end defending their nation. They displayed no willingness or desire to surrender until these two bombs were dropped on their cities. Funny how you never hear about the Japanese lives that were saved by the destruction of these two cities.

Liberty forever, freedom for all!

Written by John Carey

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Filed under: Uncategorized · Tags: 1945, atomic bomb, Enola Gay, Hiroshima, World War II

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Comments

Steve Dennis August 6, 2012 at 4:55 AM

That was a very compelling interview John, thanks for sharing it. Van Kirk summed it up when he said, “the bottom line is we saved alot of lives.” I agree with you and he, the Japanese were never going to surrender. They were taught that surrender was dishonerable and it was better to die in battle and that is what they were prepared to do.
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- John Carey August 6, 2012 at 10:19 PM
  
  We saved not only American lives but also Japanese lives. If we would have invaded Japan we would have had to take the each city at what I’m sure would have a massive loss of life on both sides. I have no problem with America’s decision to drop the bomb.
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Matt August 6, 2012 at 6:27 AM

You can now download the battleplans for “Operation Downfall,” which was the planned invasion of Japan. Additionally, the military ordered so many Purple Heart medals for the invasion’s casualties, that to this day, any injured serviceman is given a Purple Heart from that supply-and will for a long time to come. The bombs saved far more lives than they took.

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- John Carey August 6, 2012 at 10:21 PM
  
  Absolutely Matt. These people who criticized the United States for dropping the bomb have zero clue about the nature of warfare and how it would have play out with a full scale invasion of Japan.
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Infidel de Manahatta August 6, 2012 at 9:11 AM

The left love to say that dropping the bomb was cruel. But in fact it saved so many lives. Not just Americans. But hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Japanese would have died if we had to invade.
Infidel de Manahatta recently posted..Yankees Win; Hatin’ in the Bronx!

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- John Carey August 6, 2012 at 10:21 PM
  
  Indeed Manhattan.
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Jim at Conservatives on Fire August 6, 2012 at 12:51 PM

Thank you for this post, John. Too many people don’t understand the importance of that gay. Some are alive today that wouldn’t be otherwise.
Jim at Conservatives on Fire recently posted..The Conservative Resistance Is On The Path To Victory

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- Jim at Conservatives on Fire August 6, 2012 at 4:03 PM
  
  That should say “day” not gay.
  Jim at Conservatives on Fire recently posted..The Conservative Resistance Is On The Path To Victory
  
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  - John Carey August 6, 2012 at 10:23 PM
    
    Yes. A great number of Japanese lives were actually spared by the decision to drop the bombs. Japanese they went on to have children who rebuilt their nation.
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This day in history: The Enola Gay drops the bomb on Hiroshima « America's Watchtower August 6, 2012 at 7:57 PM

[...] is the anniversary of the beginning of the end of WWII in the Pacific theater. Please check out his post to see Enola Gay crew member “Dutch” Van Kirk’s account of the bombing of Hiroshima, [...]