The crews that flew the planes that dropped the atomic bombs were not regular bombing crews. Previous AMAs | Previous Roundtables Featuresįeature posts are posted weekly. May 25th | Panel AMA with /r/AskBibleScholars Please Subscribe to our Google Calendar for Upcoming AMAs and Events To nominate someone else as a Quality Contributor, message the mods. Our flaired users have detailed knowledge of their historical specialty and a proven record of excellent contributions to /r/AskHistorians. Please Read and Understand the Rules Before Contributing. Report Comments That Break Reddiquette or the Subreddit Rules.
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Van Kirk was the navigator of the B-29 Enola Gay. He was the last surviving member of the first air crew to release a nuclear weapon in combat (one of only 2 crews to ever have). Yesterday we lost one more, Major Theodore “Dutch” Van Kirk. According to the National WWII Museum, approximately 555 WWII veterans die every day. It is a sad, but unavoidable fact that every day we lose more and more of the “Greatest Generation”.