O/T - RIP Paul Tibbets

I too met Paul Tibbets, he was a "Colonel" in the Confederate Air Force and traveled alot with the B-29 Enola Gay when it was based in Harlingen Texas.."Colonel" Tex Hill just p***ed away, of P-40 Flying Tigers fame..We lose approx. 1000 veterans a day to old age..We cannot Thank these men and women enough for their sacrifices to ensure our freedoms..My Father, Bill Stratton, 83 yrs.old..B-17 and B-24 Pilot..still kickin..Thanks Pop

 

Could speak about Paul Tibbets for quite a while...and it would be all good....was fortunate to work for him for a short time. It nearly got me killed a few times, but they were shooting at dam near every one in that neck of the woods then.

R.I.P.

Mark

 

My Dad served in Patton's 3rd so he was on the other side of the continent. Without the men of the Enola Gay and Tibbets, the Pacific War could have lasted for years and involved the men of the European Front. Those bombs dropped may have ended many lives but more importantly save tens of thousands of American lives. It was a time of war and the saying is "all's fair in love and war" Shows true in this case. Really chaps my a$$ that the headline on AOL yestrday said "WWII Pilot Dies, Killed 80,000, has no regrets." Kind of puts a negative spin on him. I see that they have rewritten AOL's headlines this morning though. Guess I shouldn't be surprised by any of the media.
If your at Bonneville take the time to drive thru the Air Base at Wendover. Remarkably well perserved Even some the the paint is still on the roof of some of the hangers. There is an unguided tour that you can take. Worth the time to thank God while your there.

 

Amen to that. A friend that's into airplanes told me there's only a few of Jimmie Doolittle's raiders left also. All great heros.

 

Now I know I need to get to Bonneville.
What are the dates for Speedweek for '08?

I forwarded the link to my father.
Mr Tibbets sounds like one heck of a guy.

 

R.i.p.

 

I salute you Paul Tibbets - you are a true American HERO.

God rest your soul. He is now in a better place.

Paco (a humbled American)

 

FAB32 and I were talking about WW2 just last night and how many young Americans gave their lives. RIP Mr. Tibbets and thank you for your service to our country.

 

RIP Col. Tibbets....I was always fascinated by this man, his devotion to duty and his views and experiences in the postwar era.

Rat

 

I met Paul and his wife at a book signing in 2000 at the National Business Aircraft ***ociation annual convention. We spoke briefly, but had the opportunity to thank the man who saved the world. To this day, it means a great deal to me. Ride on Mr. Tibbets.

 

Dad was on Luzon, scheduled also for Japan. My thanks to Mr. Tibbets. I always make it a point to explain the alternative course had not the bomb been dropped. It's amazing how otherwise intelligent people can't grasp this.
I did not know Tex Hill had p***ed. Godspeed to two American heroes.

 

Tibbets & his generation are true heroes, the iron they flew built by patriots stateside, & the missions they performed were paramount to protect & preserve our freedom. There cannot be enough gra***ude to the greatest generation...

I'm currently at an airshow & they flew B-17, B-25, C-47, P-51, P-47, F-4U, F-6F, P-39 & other great warbirds from WWII today - incredible.

 

For those who don't know: The invasion of Japan as planned was colossal and faced huge difficulties. 2 steps--southern main island 1946, nothern 1947. Very narrow shore backed by mountains, poor route off of the beaches, no way to empoy our superiority in armor until after a breakout. Japanese expected to fight ferociously to the last drop of blood as they had done everywhere else. Teenage girls being trained to fight with spears.
Projections of deaths on both sides, especially Japanese civilians, were huge.
They were out of everything except for what they were saving just for the invasion, and civilians were already getting into malnutrition, but they were expected to fight no matter what as they had before. After that--there were still large, intact Japanese armies on the Chinese mainland...
My father's pre-invasion work was already involved in detail mapping of Naval artillery support on the beach, and in Europe US, British, and Indian armies were re-equipping and preparing to re-deploy toward Japan.

 

Didn't know we lost Tex too. Got to thank him, at least. Tibbits was a great airman, and saved MILLIONS of lives. Thank God for men (and women now), who can and will do the kind of things so many of our dads and uncles and brothers did so long ago. And thanks to you guys and gals who are doing it now We all stand on the shoulders of giants.

 

Impossible to add anything significant to whats already been posted. I'll just add my admiration and thanks for what General Tibbits did and include a thank you to all of our World War patriots and the ones who carry the tradition of selfless service to those who oppose us yet today. God Bless you all.

Frank