B29 Hiroshima/Nagasaki pilots question

[Versatile]

A buddy of mine says that one of the pilots that dropped the bombs committed suicide because he was distraught over his actions. I said not true. I said i knew where to find out! lol

[wendovertom]

Total and utter crap. Both Sweany and Tibbetts passed away of natural causes in the past few years. Neither ever expressed any regrets about dropping the bomb.

Tom P.
www.wendoverairbase.com

[b29flteng]

Not true. The crews lead normal productive lives. The only one still alive is "Dutch" VanKirk the navigator on the "ENOLA GAY" B-29. One pilot of the squadron, who flew a weather plane, did have problems with the law in his later years, but he had problems before he was even selected to be part of the 509th. I've met several of the crew members, including General Tibbets, and they were all normal folks.

[Ztex]

Tibbets, Lewis, Albury and Sweeney all died of natural causes...

[Dave Smith]

Perhaps this is where the story started. Eatherly was pilot of the weather ship prior to the Hiroshima mission but took no part in the actual bombing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Eatherly

[John Dupre]

I read a story about Claude Eatherly when I was very young and thought for years that he was there. It wasn't until I read more extensively that I learned the truth.

[Jerry O'Neill]

The story might have it's roots in Capt. Charles McVay's suicide in 1968. He was the tortured Capt. of the USS Indianapolis.
Jerry

[msoconno]

I saw Tibbets speak and met him and he was not sorry about Hiroshima. He just did what he told to do.

[Bill Greenwood]

This story has at least a partial truth. Here's what I know.

One of the pilots was from Texas. I recall about when I was in high school, being in Galveston, I think in a service station, and the owner was talking about one the B-29 pilots, supposed to be haunted by the bombings. I think this pilot was still alive then, but drinking heavily and troubled, may have been in a hospital. I don't recall much else about the story, but I do recall it happening. So this pilot, may have been Sweeney or Eatherly , did have this reputation way back then. I didn't know a lot about the history of the bombings then, or warbirds yet but I recall this.

So here is the other part of the story according to Paul Tibbets book which I have. This pilot had mental/and or drinking problems before the war, which continued after the war and worsened. Tibbets says this has nothing to do with guilt over the bombing. Despite the drinking or whatever it was, this man was an expert pilot and did his job.

I don't know if he left any diaries or letters or anything that would confirm this one way or the other, but it doesn't just come out of thin air, and it is not from the naval commander, either.

[John Beyl]

This story has at least a partial truth. Here's what I know.

One of the pilots was from Texas. I recall about when I was in high school, being in Galveston, I think in a service station, and the owner was talking about one the B-29 pilots, supposed to be haunted by the bombings. I think this pilot was still alive then, but drinking heavily and troubled, may have been in a hospital. I don't recall much else about the story, but I do recall it happening. So this pilot, may have been Sweeney or Eatherly , did have this reputation way back then. I didn't know a lot about the history of the bombings then, or warbirds yet but I recall this.

So here is the other part of the story according to Paul Tibbets book which I have. This pilot had mental/and or drinking problems before the war, which continued after the war and worsened. Tibbets says this has nothing to do with guilt over the bombing. Despite the drinking or whatever it was, this man was an expert pilot and did his job.

I don't know if he left any diaries or letters or anything that would confirm this one way or the other, but it doesn't just come out of thin air, and it is not from the naval commander, either.

The pilot in question is Claude Eatherly and was PIC of the weather plane launched prior to the first bombing raid, he was more than 225 miles away from the blast on his way back to Tinian when it occurred. A Tibbets put it Claude was a spirited pilot and trouble found him without much provocation. Carousing, drinking and fighting were all in a day’s play for him. This worsened after his discharge (Very nearly dishonorable) until he died in the early 70's as I recall.

Regards,
John

[JBoyle]

I'm sure we could come up a list of several thousand wartime pilots who had a drinking issue postwar...(Boyington and Robert Morgan, IIRC) and none had any thing to to with the atomic missions.

[Silverplate]

My wife and I have spent countless hours with Gen Tibbets touring with him and he was very normal and always expressed no regrets. Mike