The blast and its aftereffects killed 140,000 in Hiroshima. Upstairs, on the second floor, in Gallery 206, was an exhibit titled Legend, Memory, and the Great War in the Air. purposefully stripped of the explanations, elaborations, and contextualizations that attended the other exhibits. War is hell indeed, and the pain inflicted on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was no greater than that suffered by countless millions during the six years from 1939 to 1945. But Theodore Dutch VanKirk also said it made him wary of war - and that he would like to. That may be because the Enola Gay alone had been Hiroshima and American Memory Figure 4 The crew of the Hiroshima mission. However, these persons would do well to remember Sherman’s words. To this day, some critics condemn President Truman’s decision to use nuclear weapons. The Enola Gay carried the weapon, nicknamed 'Little Boy.' It weighed nearly 10,000 pounds and could produce an explosive force equal to an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 tons of TNT. Today the Enola Gay is on display in a hangar at Washington Dulles international Airport. Officials did put the aircraft’s fuselage on display in 1995 several protesters were later arrested for throwing red paint, ash, and blood on the display.ĭespite the controversy, the planes restoration continued. Controversy led to the event’s cancellation. However, both the American Legion and the Air Force Association objected to elements of the planned exhibit, saying that they focused too much attention on the death and damage caused by the bombing. In 1995, the Smithsonian planned to display the aircraft in observance of the 50th anniversary of World War II’s end. Restoration of the Enola Gay began on December 5, 1984. His aircraft was transferred to an airbase in Roswell, New Mexico.Īfter the war, it was sent to Davis-Moncton Air Force Base in Arizona, and from there to various locations until 1961, when the Smithsonian took possession of its dismantled components. Colonel Tibbets landed his plane on a base at Tinian after a total of 12 hours and 13 minutes in flight, receiving the Distinguished Service Cross soon thereafter. The Enola Gay and its two companion aircraft returned safely from their mission.