Enola Gay

Keiko Ogura: This is the west end. There was a hill. People rushed to the foot of this hill for fleeing from the city. And then you see the white area. That is the sea area. We are facing south, the southern area, here. Usually, we see Miyajima Island around here. This one, maybe. And […]

Kelly:  This is Cindy Kelly, Atomic Heritage Foundation. It is February 14, 2019. I am in Hiroshima, Japan. I have with me Dr. [Kenji] Shiga. Why don’t you start by saying your full name and spelling it? Shiga: Spelled S-h-i-g-a, Kenji, K-e-n-j-i. Kelly:  Great. Thank you. This is just a chance to learn more about […]

Alexandra Levy: I’m Alexandra Levy with the Atomic Heritage Foundation. It is September 13, 2018, and I’m here in Chantilly, Virginia with Nancy Nelson. My first question is to please say your name and spell it. Nancy Nelson: Nancy, N-a-n-c-y Nelson, N-e-l-s-o-n. I live in Riverside, California. My husband was Richard H. Nelson, the radio […]

Alexandra Levy: I’m Alexandra Levy with the Atomic Heritage Foundation. We’re here on September 13, 2018, in Chantilly, Virginia with Robert Krauss. My first question is to, please, say your name and to spell it. Bob Krauss:   Robert Krauss. R-O-B-E-R-T K-R-A-U-S-S. Levy: If you could tell us a little bit about your life and career, and your […]

Alexandra Levy: I’m Alexandra Levy with the Atomic Heritage Foundation. I’m here on September 13, 2018 in Chantilly, Virginia with Norris Jernigan. My first question is for you to please say your name and to spell it. Norris Jernigan: Okay. I’m Norris Jernigan. That’s N-O-R-R-I-S. Jernigan is J-E-R-N-I-G-A-N. You would be surprised how some people pronounce it. […]

Cindy Kelly: I’m Cindy Kelly. I am in Riverside, California. It is Tuesday, February 21, 2017. I have with me Nancy Nelson. I’d like her to say her name and spell it. Nancy Nelson: My name is Nancy Nelson, N-A-N-C-Y N-E-L-S-O-N. Kelly: Tell me a little bit about yourself, so we can put this in context. Nelson: Okay. I […]

Alexandra Levy: We are here on December 27th, 2016, in Florida, with Russell Gackenbach. My first question for you is to please say your name and spell it. Russell Gackenbach: My name is Russell E. Gackenbach. G-A-C-K-E-N-B-A-C-H. Levy: Please tell us your place and date of birth. Gackenbach: I was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, March 1923, on March 23. […]

Alexandra Levy: This is Alexandra Levy of the Atomic Heritage Foundation here in New Jersey on June 13, 2016, with Joseph Papalia. My first question is to please say your name and spell it. Joseph Papalia: Joseph Papalia, P-A-P-A-L-I-A. Levy: Can you tell us where and when you were born? Papalia: I was born August […]

Tom Ryan: In the early morning of August 6, 1945, three B-29 bombers departed from Tinian Island in the Pacific Ocean. Six hours later, they changed the course of history. A single atomic bomb dropped from the Enola Gay exploded over Hiroshima, Japan. In an instant, over four square miles of the city and an […]

Narrator: Apparently aloof from the rest of World War II, the solitary 509th, still unaware of its own purpose, carries on its puzzling training schedule. Their orders: practice runs to nearby islands. Then their own private missions to Japan, always above thirty thousand feet, always alone or in threes, always to drop just one bomb. Each […]