Howard Galusha worked on aircraft maintenance for the 509th Composite Group, 393rd Bombardment Squadron in Wendover, Utah and on Tinian Island in the South Pacific. Galusha was called up for basic training at Buckley Field and sent to school to be an electrical specialist on B-29’s. When that training was over, his squad, the 393rd Heavy Bombardment Squadron, was separated from the rest of the group and were sent to Wendover, Utah for training for the atomic missions. Specialists there trained them to go on bomb runs.
Galusha and his unit were sent to Tinian Island in the Marianas Group. One of the twelve airplanes he was assigned to there was the Enola Gay. Galusha conducted maintenance on the planes and flew in them all to detect any problems. He was on guard duty the night before the Enola Gay dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. There were two big bomb bays in each B-29. He slept on a cot under one of the bomb bays on the plane next to the Enola Gay. The next morning, August 6, 1945, the crew left for the mission.
After the war ended Tinian was still active, but without bomb missions or needing to do any repairs, they played pinochle in the barracks. Galusha was on Tinian until November 1, 1945.