#Hiroshima #atomicbomb #StraightFlush #ClaudeEatherly #anti-nuclearactivism
🌍 The Events Leading up to the Atomic Bomb Attack on Hiroshima
Before the devastating atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima, there were important events that took place behind the scenes. One such event was the flight of a B29 weather reconnaissance plane called Straight Flush over the city to determine if conditions were favorable for the attack. The pilot of this plane, Claude Eatherly, played a significant role in this part of the history.
🛩️ The Mission of Straight Flush
The Straight Flush was a crucial component of the mission to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Its primary role was to gather weather data to ensure that the conditions were suitable for the bomb to be dropped effectively. This reconnaissance mission was vital in ensuring the success of the overall operation.
👨✈️ Claude Eatherly: The Pilot of Straight Flush
Claude Eatherly was the pilot of the Straight Flush and played a pivotal role in the events leading up to the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima. Eatherly was deeply affected by the devastating aftermath of the bombing and expressed deep remorse for his involvement in the mission. His actions following the attack set him on a path of significant personal and public activism.
🌟 Eatherly’s Remorse and Psychiatric Hospitalization
Following the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima, Eatherly underwent a profound transformation. He was overcome with guilt and remorse for his role in the mission. This led to his psychiatric hospitalization as he struggled to come to terms with the devastating impact of the bombing on the people of Hiroshima. Eatherly’s experiences shed light on the profound psychological and emotional toll that such events can have on those involved.
🌍 Eatherly’s Anti-Nuclear Activism
Eatherly’s experiences during and after the mission propelled him into a life of anti-nuclear activism. He became a vocal advocate for peace and worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the devastating consequences of nuclear weapons. His activism had a significant impact on shaping public discourse around nuclear warfare and the importance of pursuing peace and disarmament.
🌐 The Legacy of Claude Eatherly
Claude Eatherly’s journey from being a pilot involved in the atomic bomb mission to becoming a passionate advocate for peace and disarmament highlights the complexities and moral dilemmas associated with warfare and its aftermath. His legacy serves as a reminder of the profound and lasting impact that such events can have on individuals and the world at large.
📝 In Conclusion
The events leading up to the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima involved significant individuals like Claude Eatherly, whose experiences and actions shaped the course of history. Eatherly’s transformation from remorseful pilot to dedicated activist highlights the human impact of warfare and the importance of pursuing peace. His story serves as a powerful reminder of the need to strive for a world free from the devastating consequences of nuclear weapons.
In conclusion, the mission of the Straight Flush and the role of Claude Eatherly in the events leading up to the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima offer valuable insights into the complexities of warfare, the human impact of such events, and the urgent need for peace and disarmament. As we reflect on this significant chapter in history, we are reminded of the importance of learning from the past to shape a better future for generations to come.
The psychological impact of possibly being responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths would be overwhelming, even in wartime
How can anyone be responsible for the deaths of untold thousands and NOT become mentally ill?
TIL we used B-29s as WX ISR
There is a part of the death that die fast and without realizing what is happening. But for many people an atomic attack is a slow painful death by radiation poison of the civil population.
The article Hiroshima by John Hersey is a good way to start to understand how it felt to be there. If Claude read such an article and gained such knowledge I can imagine his terrible sadness.
Really shows the character of some people
This guy hated himself for it after simply giving the conditional go ahead, while the man who piloted the Enola Gay on the Hiroshima mission, didn’t lose a minute of sleep after the fact.
WW2 nose art was fucking wild. It was either something very racist or a naked woman.
>Colonel Paul Tibbets, said in his autobiography “Flight of the Enola Gay” that he couldn’t understand why Eatherly felt so guilty. While Eatherly did command the weather B-29 that scouted Hiroshima about an hour ahead of Tibbet’s B-29 (which was carrying the “Little Boy” atomic bomb), “Buck” Eatherly had already turned back for their Tinian Island base by the time the bomb was dropped. To quote Tibbets: “Actually, Major Eatherly did not take part in the attack and did not see the bomb blast that was supposed to have haunted him through many sleepless nights.” Contrary to popular opinion, one of Eatherly’s Straight Flush crewmen has suggested that Eatherly was actually upset that the Hiroshima raid had not made him famous, and was only too eager to play to the journalists that came to get the story of the “distraught pilot”.
WEAK
The incendiary bombing was equally horrible. The racism and disregard for civilian life in WW2 was just mind blowing. What the Japanese did in Nanking, unit 731, and the Phillipines can also never be forgiven.
Too late, accept the consequences mang.
I know people don’t want to hear it, but the shock of dropping the nuclear bomb saved lives. By that time we had already MASSIVELY firebombed Japanese cities, killing anywhere from 400,000 to a million civilians. But, Japan had no plans to surrender.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_raids_on_Japan#Destruction_of_Japan's_main_cities
Without the shock of switching from firebombs to using nuclear weapons to cause, “…a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth”. We would have probably had to land and invade Japan. (Operation Downfall)
>…A study done for Stimson’s staff by William Shockley estimated that invading Japan would cost 1.7–4 million American casualties, including 400,000–800,000 fatalities, and five to ten million Japanese fatalities
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Downfall#Estimated_casualties
Note: I now sit back, waiting for the downvotes
I remember reading one of the survivor say he didn’t think much about the plane when it flew over the sky(the one that dropped the bomb) because he thought that’s just another came to spy on them since there were many enemy planes like that and it wouldn’t do anything so he didn’t panic to seek shelter.
Eatherly is an American hero and a true patriot.
That’s a normal human response.
People don’t understand the grandeur of just how devastating those attacks were now that they’ve been somewhat normalized with movies and games.
For example, 9/11 was about 1% the casualties. Imagine one hundred straight days of 9/11.
Women, children, the elderly, dogs, cats, horses, etc… Innocents. There was no distinction. Most of the deaths weren’t immediate or painless, either. Burning, poisoning, getting crushed by rubble far outnumbered those who died quickly.
We’re taught in school that the attacks were basically a necessary evil. We’re taught that bringing the war to an immediate close probably saved more lives than having it drag on another XYZ years.
There’s a reason they’ve never been used since.
There’s no justification for such indiscriminate decimation. If you use nuclear force you ARE the bad guy. At the end of the day, no conflict NEEDS to be resolved by indiscriminately killing babies, puppies, birds, etc…
Interesting to see all the people downvoting any question of whether the bombs should have been dropped.
Oppenheimer went from celebrating the “victory” against the Japanese, to within a month, lamenting that they had used the bombs “against an essentially defeated enemy.” ([link](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/17/opinion/kai-bird-oppenheimer-christopher-nolan.html#:~:text=Astonishingly%2C%20he%20had%20gone%20so,forthright%20dissents%20against%20the%20prevailing))
He basically spent the rest of his career advocating for international control of atomic weapons. Even while he was building the bomb, he frequently spoke about “ending all war”, and when he addressed a group of scientists at Los Alamos adovcating *not* using the bomb right before it was finished, he used that line again.
But, on the other hand, every Purple Heart handed out by the US since 1942 was minted in preparation of the US ground invasion of Japan. They made something like 1.25 million.
*American Prometheus* spends more than a chapter on the issue of whether the bombs should’ve been dropped, using quotes from people to explain their positions on it. It’s really worth a rea.
My grandfather was 1 of 8 Bomb Site Surveyors that went in after the war ended to take pictures of the aftermath. They almost didn’t go when their CO told them the war ended and to go home. They had to convince the chain of command to let them do the job they were trained to do.
The most striking image is one of a little girl in the middle of all the rubble.
The nuclear bombings of Japan were probably the single largest lives-saving event in the war.