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Title: Last surviving Hiroshima bomb crew member dies
Source:
BBC
URL Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-28548475
Published: Jul 29, 2014
Author: BBC
Post Date: 2014-07-30 01:54:29 by X-15
Keywords: None
Views: 532
Comments: 20
The last surviving member of the US air crew that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima has died in Georgia aged 93. Theodore Van Kirk, also known as "Dutch", was 24 when he became the navigator of the Enola Gay, the aircraft which dropped the bomb. The attack on Japan on 6 August 1945 killed an estimated 140,000 people. Van Kirk said he had "no regrets" about the mission and defended its morality, saying it helped to end the Second World War. His son, Tom Van Kirk, paid tribute to his father, who he said remained active until the end of his life. "I know he was recognized as a war hero, but we just knew him as a great father", he told AP. Mr Van Kirk died of natural causes at the retirement home where he lived, his son said. He had been the last surviving member of the Enola Gay crew since 2010 when Morris Jeppson, the assistant weaponeer, died. His funeral is expected to take place next week in Pennsylvania. The bomb, nicknamed "Little Boy", was the first nuclear weapon used in warfare. The only other instance came three days later when the crew of the Bockscar dropped the "Fat Man" bomb on another Japanese city, Nagasaki, killing an estimated 80,000. 
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#1. To: All (#0)
Wars are to be won, not lost. Of all the countries of the world, involved in WWII, the people of Japan came out of it as winners. Thanks to the US and MacArthur in particular, Japan was remoulded into a better people. It took the A-bombs and MacArthur in particular to do it. In Korea, MacArthur wanted to use A-bombs to stop the Korean war. American hand wringers said no. The result, 35,000 young Americans died in a war we LOST. Many of them were my friends. Who instigated the Korean war...THE DAMNED RUSSIANS DID... When it looked as if the UN was winning, Russia threw in the hapless Chinese, a million of them died. Twenty five thousand of them froze to death. When it was over, who stood aside with no losses? Mother Russia. The Russian jews won again.
Use of the atomic bomb in the Korean war would've been pointless in the long run Cyni. Eisenhower integrated Central High.
#5. To: Prefrontal Vortex (#4)
A-bombs brought WWII to an abrupt and unexpected halt. MacArthur wanted to do the same in Korea. Our dead numbered 36,000, several were my friends. Did they deserve to die? Judging is above me. I can tell you this, from 1950 til 1953, we had numerous A-bombs at the ready and we would have dropped them on Russia without hesitation. Not China, not North Korea, but Russia. The truce settled nothing, the seeds of WWIII are still there. We have 25,000 grunts in South Korea. With land war, what do we do? Write them off? One day that decision will have to be made.
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#2. To: X-15, Russophiles (#1)
#4. To: Cynicom (#2)
(Edited)
Replies to Comment # 4. Use of the atomic bomb in the Korean war would've been pointless in the long run Cyni.
End Trace Mode for Comment # 4.