This account, by International Historical Research Associates, is fascinating. Hopefully, these two atomic bombs will be the only ones ever used in war.
Today, August 6, 2015, marks 70 years since the first atomic weapon was used during World War II. Whether or not an atomic bomb should have been used is still up for debate, but that’s not the purpose of this post. The stories of those that were near Hiroshima at the time aren’t very well known. Crews that were flying missions that day were limited and specifically directed to stay at least 50 miles away from Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Kokura, although they weren’t told why. Later on, the news about the atomic bomb broke. Reactions ranged from disbelief that such a thing was possible to hope that the war would soon be over. We have three eyewitness accounts from men of the 43rd Bomb Group, who were stationed on the island of Ie Shima and flying daily missions over Japan.
8/6-8/7/45 Account from Dick Wood, member of the 63rd Bomb…
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John Knifton 
The researchers at IHRA are amazing. I haven’t seen an article I didn’t learn from and find interesting.
Absolutely correct. They always find a different angle to interest the reader.
Since Fifth Air Force’s actions are not well known, it’s (oddly) easier to present those angles. 🙂
You are too kind!
I speak the truth.
What an incredible sight it must have been. What a day too, possibly the most remarkable day in world history.
Don’t forget “scary” !!
It’s too bad that GoPros didn’t exist at the time. Seeing and hearing their reactions (not to mention seeing the mushroom cloud from their vantage point) would have been very interesting.
Definitely!
I’ll second your intro. If they are not, none of us will be left to comment
Trump and Putin. What a pair!
Thank you for the reblog! We are fortunate that these men recorded such events and let us share some of their experiences.
My pleasure. Hopefully, some aviation fans over here will enjoy the brave deeds of the Fifth Air Force.