Paul Tibbets: Well, that was Miami, Florida. If you want to go kill yourself, go ahead, I don't give a damn" Then Mom just quietly said, "Paul, if you want to go fly airplanes, you're going to be all right." And that was that. When I told them I was going to leave college and go fly planes in the army air corps, my dad said, "Well, I've sent you through school, bought you automobiles, given you money to run around with the girls, but from here on, you're on your own. She was Enola Gay Haggard before she married my dad, and my dad never supported me with the flying - he hated airplanes and motorcycles. Studs Terkel: And the Enola Gay was named after.
And that particular moment changed the whole world around.
But once upon a time, you flew a plane called the Enola Gay over the city of Hiroshima, in Japan, on a Sunday morning - Augand a bomb fell. I noticed as we sat in that restaurant, people passed by. Now we've had a nice lunch, you and I and your companion. Paul Tibbets: Hey, you've got to correct that. Me and Paul Tibbets, 89 years old, brigadier-general retired, in his home town of Columbus, Ohio, where he has lived for many years. Studs Terkel: We're seated here, two old gaffers. Here's a bit of American history yet to reach the history books - an interview by Studs Terkel with Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the B-29 that dropped the first atom bomb. Subject: Pilot of Enola Gay Interview by Studs Terkel (My brother served in the army Jan 41 to Jan 46, most of that time as one of the best air corps navigators).anyway, I think this article should be saved and passed on down through the generations that follow us, and thanks to Steve Albright for bringing this article to my attention. Some to whom I'm sending this served in WW II, many others were just kids at the time, but well we remember hearing or worrying about our older siblings, aunts, uncles, or neighbor's kids who were in the service somewhere around the globe. This is a long read, but it pretty much summarizes one of the most important events in world history.