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National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

Robert H. Shumard served as a sergeant in the 393rd Bombardment Squadron. He worked as an assistant engineer, aiding the other crew engineers with keeping the planes running during bombing missions. Shumard was the assistant engineer aboard the Enola Gay which dropped the Little Boy atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

Before the bombing mission in August, Shumard and the rest of the 509th Composite Group trained at the airfield in Wendover, Utah. Unlike most bombardment squadrons, the 509th trained for their mission for 15 months before entering combat.  Shumard served in the military through the end of 1945 when he was discharged. He later went on to give an interview about his experiences on the Enola Gay, which can be found in the Related Resources section below.

Robert Shumard continued to serve his country through the Air Force Reserves after his retirement from the Armed Forces. He moved to Detroit, Michigan where he worked as the Sales Manager for the Sampson Company of Detroit, a plumbing and heating supplies wholesaler. 

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