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Leonard A. Godfrey Jr.

Navigator on The Great ArtisteNagasaki Mission

Tinian IslandWendover, UT
509th Composite GroupManhattan Project VeteranMilitary VeteranNagasaki Mission
Bockscar Original (C-13) Crew

Leonard A. Godfrey Jr. served as a member of the 393rd Bombardment Squadron of the 509th Composite Group. He retired with the rank of second lieutenant. Godfrey trained in Wendover, Utah with the 509th, before leaving for Tinian Island. He was a member of the original Bockscar crew. On August 9, 1945, Godfrey participated in the mission to Nagasaki. He flew in the Great Artiste, rather than Bockscar, because a complication with the flight equipment caused Colonel Tibbets to switch the crews of each plane. The Great Artiste served as instrument support plane on the flight to Nagasaki. Godfrey acted as the plane’s navigator. 

After the war, Godfrey retired from the military and went on to get master’s degrees from Boston University and Harvard University. He became a teacher and coach in Concord, Massachusetts. 

Leonard A. Godfrey Jr.’s Timeline
1920 Sep 16th Born in North Adams, Massachusetts

1945 Aug 9th Flew in the Great Artiste to Nagasaki.

2011 Oct 27th Died in Littleton, Massachusetts

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