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In a series of personal appear–
ances across the United States
and Canada, Garner Ted Arm–
strong brings to the public
time/y, hard-hitting messages.
In this special article, we give
our Plain Truth readers one of
these dramatic messages
which thousands have heard
in person.
by
Garner Ted A rmstrong
PLAIN TRUTH December 1973
A UGUST 6 ,
1945. A B-29, its 4
of the fact that Detroit was a half
./""\.. Wright-Cyclone engines
game ahead ofthe Washington Sen-
tuming over, with Colonel
ators.
Tibbits at the controls and Captain
That same moming, over a quar-
Lewis bis copilot, took off at 2:27
ter of a million peop1e awakened to
a.m. from the island ofTinian in the
their daily chores after a very rest-
Pacific.
less night's sleep in Hiroshima, Ja-
As the bomber,
Enola Gay,
taxied
pan. The Japanese were preparing
down to the end of the runway -
for what they thought was the last
the longest one in existence at that
onslaught of the Allied armies. They
time - that big aircraft, weighing
ful1y expected the American in-
over 120,000 pounds and carrying
vaders to attack the main island of
one 5,000-pound bomb, called
Litt/e
Honshu, Japan, and they were bus-
Boy,
looked just like any other B-29
ily building revetment s and
taking off on a night raid.
trenches.
This mission appeared no differ-
That morning, people got up,
ent from any other except that so
stretched, and tried to rub the grit
much preparation had gone into it.
out of their eyes. They had only
For long, hard months at Wendover
slept sporadically, since at least 5
Air Force Base in Utah, the 509th
air-raid wamings had sounded that
Special Bomber Command had
night because of massive bomber
been practicing with huge dummy
formations droning overhead. The
bombs, making a sharp, diving turn
people always wondered why the
of 155 degrees after bomb release.
bombers didn't bomb Hiroshima.
Scientists had calculated that the
They were both pleased and appre-
exact trajectory that would place the
hensive. Hiroshima had not yet
airplane the furthest possible dis-
been bombed - not in the entire
tance away from the explosion was
course of the war.
a sharp bank of 155 degrees.
As those people went about their
After they were safely airbome
business early that morning, they
and the after-take-off check had
didn't know that boring toward
been completed, Co1one1 Tibbits
them was a single B-29 carrying the
carne on the intercom with a so1emn
power to destroy a who1e city. That
announcement that this was a spe-
airplane had staggered along at a
cial mission. Their destination was
9,000-foot altitude for over 2 hours
either Nagasaki or Hiroshima,
1
S
to bum off fue! and then had
and they were going to drop the
begun its climb to 33,000 feet,
biggest bomb that had ever
escorted by two other surveil-
been made in the bistory of the
lance and observation aircraft.
world.
About half way toward Hiro-
On August 6, 1945, it
TH1S
shima, Deke Parsons, a
was 97° and humid in
special technician added
Nashville, Tennessee. It
to the crew of
Enola Gay
was 92°, wet and warm in
to handle
Little Boy,
be-
New Orleans. In New
gan his duty of checking
York City, the musical
THE
the many systems inside
Oklahoma!
was playing on
the bomb, including open-
Broadway. American
ing the forward com-
baseball fans were aware
partments and inserting 8
'
•
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