The Enola Gay - 1506 Words

One of the biggest controversies of the 20th century was caused by one little plane, the Enola Gay. The Enola Gay was a B-29 Superfortress bomber that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. August 6, 1945 was a historic day. Lives were lost and it was the start of the very end of World War ll. The use of this very destructive weapon could be seen as inhumane, but it was a decision that had to be made. Americans and people from other countries today have their own opinion of our war ending tactic. What is important to think about is that sometimes tough decisions have to be made for the greater good of everyone. The use of the Enola Gay was justified in that it was used for the greater good of saving thousands of lives, but also helping to†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"The committee concluded that the bomb should be used to end the war as soon as possible; that it should be dropped on a military-urban target so as to demonstrate its full force; and that a demonstration or warnin g should not be made beforehand, lest the bomb lose its shock value.† (McDougall np) The United States had two options really and they were either invade Japanese mainland or use the atomic bomb. â€Å"The Japanese navy had ceased to exist and Japan s military losses were staggering, but instead of surrendering the Japanese army decided to fight on. U.S. military leaders then calculated what losses could be expected if U.S. troops invaded the Japanese mainland. Based on earlier battles, they expected the casualties to be horrendous.† (Hiroshima 77) In war, lives being lost is unavoidable, however President Truman knew that if the bomb was not dropped the amount of casualties would be too many from the invasion. The crew members of the Enola Gay have a story that only they can tell. They were the people the dropped the first atomic bomb. Since the dropping of the bomb is such a controversial topic, many people probably wonder how the people that went through with this wa r-ending tactic feel about it. The crew felt that the use of the bomb was definitely justified, but a few were disappointed that it had to come to that point even though