The Legacy of the Enola Gay

The devastation is beyond comprehension. As many as 200,000 people were killed. Many more were severely physically, emotionally, and psychologically wounded. Most often those wounds were permanent.

We will never know the true cost of those bombs. The potential of those killed was forever vanquished will remain a mystery. How many future innovators, leaders, artists, teachers, doctors, scientists, etc. were killed that day? How long would the ripple effect from their deaths last? How many orphans, widows and widowers, and others who would never be able to overcome their grief were made by those bombs?

Was the decision by President Truman the right one? I don’t know if anyone can say that for certain. The Japanese government had shown an absolute unwillingness to surrender despite having no chance left to win. Who knows how long the war would have gone on if he hadn’t made the choice he did.

I’ll never be too supportive nor critical of the decision, I’ll just be thankful I didn’t have to make it.

Please always remember the weapons that we have at our disposal are exponentially more powerful than the bombs dropped on Japan. Click on this link to a series of graphs published by business insider which shows how much more powerful the bombs we have today are.

https://www.businessinsider.com/this-chart-shows-the-terrifying-power-of-modern-nuclear-bombs-2012-6

Vote for future leaders who will understand that war is hell, and for many the consequences of war never end.

One story-

Years ago I was on the aisle seat of an airplane. I noticed on the flight attendant’s name tag said “Enola Gay.” That is the name of the plane which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. I thought that was in really poor taste, so I stopped her and asked.

“Excuse me ma’am…..is your name really Enola Gay?”

“Yes”

“Why did your parents name you that?”

“Well, my dad died in the war when my mom was pregnant with me. I was born two days after we dropped the bomb. My mom noticed that ‘Enola’ spelled backwards was ‘Alone’ and she knew that is how she was going to have to raise me….and she wanted people to know the price we had paid.”

Vote for peace and the leaders who will work for it, ….it is the much better path for all of us to travel together…..it is the much better path for all of us to travel together.

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