Theodore Van Kirk, 93, Enola Gay Navigator, Dies

[Baz]

Captain Van Kirk, left, who was known as Dutch, with Col. Paul W. Tibbets Jr., center, and Maj. Thomas W. Ferebee in 1945 after they flew the Enola Gay to Hiroshima to drop an atomic bomb.

Theodore (Dutch) Van Kirk, the navigator and last surviving crew member of the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in the last days of World War II, died on Monday at his home in Stone Mountain, Ga. He was 93.

His son Thomas confirmed the death.

In the predawn hours of Aug. 6, 1945, the Enola Gay, piloted by Col. Paul W. Tibbets Jr. and carrying a crew of 12, took off from Tinian in the Mariana Islands with a uranium bomb built under extraordinary secrecy in the vast Manhattan Project.

Captain Van Kirk spread out his navigation charts on a small table behind Colonel Tibbets’s seat. From that spot, at the end of a long tunnel atop the bomb bays, he took the plane’s bearings, using a hand-held sextant to guide with the stars.

When the Enola Gay reached Iwo Jima as the sun rose, it began an ascent to 31,000 feet. At 8:15 a.m. Japan time, it reached Hiroshima, a city of 250,000 and the site of an important army headquarters.

The bombardier, Maj. Thomas W. Ferebee, said, “I got it,” announcing that the Enola Gay was over his aiming point, the T-shaped Aioi Bridge. Captain Van Kirk, who had also familiarized himself with Hiroshima’s landmarks, leaned over Major Ferebee’s shoulder and confirmed he was correct. His navigating skills had brought the Enola Gay to its target only a few seconds behind schedule at the conclusion of a six-and-a-half-hour flight.

Rest of story here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/30/us/30vankirk.html?rref=us&module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Politics&action=click&region=FixedRight&pgtype=article

RIP Captain Van Kirk.....

[BE911SC]

Ended the war and saved countless thousands of lives on both sides.

But that's not the preferred narrative.

[Nostril Cheese]

All of these men had to live with an incredible burden on their souls.

In the interviews I've seen with Tibbets, the man seemed incredibly angry and resentful.

The bombing was justified in the context of the times and the mindset of the Japanese people.

May these men and all those lost as a result of the war be at peace.

[afterburn 549]

RIP
A soldier is a soldier .
Most do not understand the import of that.
They do as they have to do.
If there ever was a righteous war it was WW11 .
Many a hero disappears into history with out notoriety or even mention.
They all deserve a something . Not scorn. Not blamed.
The Second WW had many a hero , even Actors signed on.
If God has a pardon system, who would not pardon those stopping of Hitler?

[aap1966]

The Enola Gay crew saved (net) lives.

RIP

[joe payne]

Enola Gay, is Mother proud of Little Boy today, This kiss you give is never ever gonna fade away..OMD

[Joe Bob]

How many lives were killed in the fire bombings?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Originally Posted by Nostril Cheese

All of these men had to live with an incredible burden on their souls.

In the interviews I've seen with Tibbets, the man seemed incredibly angry and resentful.

The bombing was justified in the context of the times and the mindset of the Japanese people.

May these men and all those lost as a result of the war be at peace.

Agreed and I don't really blame him. There's a good two-part series I recently downloaded on the Apple TV called "Hiroshima" that features a number of interviews from people involved in the atomic bombing from different perspectives including Tibbets, van Kirk, several Japanese survivors, etc. It was done by BBC - highly recommended for anyone interested in the event that changed the world forever more - perhaps even more than ww2 itself did...

[Iciclehead]

Ok guys, I have a Japanese wife, been to Hiroshima twice, spoke to Japanese residents about it.

Their view is that it was war, the US did what it had to do, the whole war was an abomination as all wars are and Hiroshima was not the most deaths caused, that would be the Tokyo fire bombings.

It is always a bit poignant to see Americans at Peace Memorial, they seem somewhat embarrassed and a little quiet....when in fact, they ought to be saying, we aren't proud of it, but we were able to end the worst war in modern times as economically as possible in terms of human lives.

I wish I could find the book "Lighter than a Feather" which I read in my youth. It covers the scenario of the US failing to use the A bomb and invading. That would have been far worse for everybody.

Dennis

PS - just checked Amazon, looks like the book is back

[Jon B]

Originally Posted by Iciclehead

...It covers the scenario of the US failing to use the A bomb and invading.
That would have been far worse for everybody.

Operation Downfall - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Ferraripete]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

RIP
A soldier is a soldier .
Most do not understand the import of that.
They do as they have to do.
If there ever was a righteous war it was WW11 .
Many a hero disappears into history with out notoriety or even mention.
They all deserve a something . Not scorn. Not blamed.
The Second WW had many a hero , even Actors signed on.
If God has a pardon system, who would not pardon those stopping of Hitler?

I see this as you do. still a sad event.

r.i.p. dutch.

[Nostril Cheese]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Agreed and I don't really blame him. There's a good two-part series I recently downloaded on the Apple TV called "Hiroshima" that features a number of interviews from people involved in the atomic bombing from different perspectives including Tibbets, van Kirk, several Japanese survivors, etc. It was done by BBC - highly recommended for anyone interested in the event that changed the world forever more - perhaps even more than ww2 itself did...

I've seen it as well. Very well done documentary.

[rfuerst911sc]

Local news covered his death and I thought they did a good job of just explaining the mission and honoring his service. During the funeral procession many many people pulled over to the side of the road to honor him as the hearse drove by. A fitting display of honor in my opinion.