Brig. Gen. Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the Enola Gay during the Hiroshima bombing, rose to prominence in the United States at the close of the Second World War. Despite his public recognition, Tibbets expressed his wish to have no funeral or gravestone placed upon his burial place upon his passing.
Paul Tibbets enlists with the US Army Air Corps
Paul Tibbets was an abdominal surgeon before joining the US Army Air Corps (USAAC). Originally signed up for three years, he earned his pilot wings in 1938 and chose to continue active duty upon the outbreak of World War II. While renowned for his service in the Pacific Theater, Tibbets initially participated in bombing missions in North Africa and France. Notably, he served as Gen. George Patton‘s personal pilot from 1940-41.
In the autumn of 1943, Tibbets was called back to serve as a test pilot during the development of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. He discovered that, by removing armor plating and armaments, the bomber became 7,000 pounds lighter and performed better. After a year, he was assigned to retrain other pilots in the 17th Bombardment Operational Training Wing (Very Heavy).
In 1944, Tibbets was appointed to lead the 509th Composite Group, which was tasked with the training and deployment of atomic bombs from B-29s.
Bombing of Hiroshima
In May 1945, Paul Tibbets and his men were transferred to Tinian, where they ran traditional bombing raids against Japanese-controlled islands while training with atomic bomb prototypes. When the 509th were given the go ahead to bomb Japan, Tibbets took over as pilot of the bomber that would drop Little Boy, the name given to the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. He named the aircraft Enola Gay, after his mother.
Tibbets and his crew, as well as two observation aircraft, were sent on their mission and successfully dropped Little Boy on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. After the bombing, the pilot recalled that the Japanese city was shrouded in a mushroom cloud immediately after Little Boy detonated.
While some crew members flew again to drop the second atomic bomb, Fat Man, on Nagasaki, Tibbets did not. Regardless, he became the first man in history to use an atomic weapon against an enemy city.
Paul Tibbets returns home as a war hero
Paul Tibbets became a national hero when the war ended. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his time overseas, and was invited by President Harry Truman to visit the White House. He even re-enacted the bombing of Hiroshima at the Harlingen, Texas airshow in 1976. While the Japanese were not impressed with this, Tibbets said it “was not intended to insult anybody,” and the US government issued an apology.
In recent years, questions have been raised about the morality of using the atomic bombs, but Tibbets stood firm that it was the right thing to do. He wasn’t proud of killing so many people, but he was happy the plan put an end to the war. It was these anti-nuclear weapon and anti-war beliefs that influenced Tibbets decision for his final resting place.
Paul Tibbets’ final resting place
Paul Tibbets’ health was in decline for months prior to his death. During this time, he made it clear that he didn’t want to have a grave or funeral. He was concerned his plot would be used as a place of protest by those who were against America’s actions in Japan and/or against nuclear weapons. He was also concerned it would be desecrated.
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Instead of a formal grave, Tibbets asked that he be cremated and his ashes scattered over the English Channel. He chose that spot because he’d flown over it many times during the war. After his death on November 1, 2007, at the age of 92, his wishes were honored and his ashes scattered by his family.