Last Surviving Hiroshima Bomb Crew Member Dies
Click here for reuse options!The attack on Japan on 6 August 1945 killed an estimated 140,000 people.
Van Kirk said he had “no regrets” about the mission and defended its morality, saying it helped to end the Second World War.
His son, Tom Van Kirk, paid tribute to his father, who he said remained active until the end of his life.
“I know he was recognized as a war hero, but we just knew him as a great father”, he told AP.
Copyright 2014 Liberaland
By: Cheston Catalano
Cheston Catalano is a Kentucky-based journalist whose work has been featured in the Chattanooga Times Free Press and the Clarksville Leaf Chronicle. He is a long-time contributor to Liberaland.
12 responses to Last Surviving Hiroshima Bomb Crew Member Dies
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William July 30th, 2014 at 14:54
I did a paper on that flight. I also got to meet Paul Tibbets. There will always be arguments, but I still believe the mission shortened the war.
edmeyer_able July 30th, 2014 at 15:57
I agree,but I hope we would make a different decision if ever faced w/a similar situation today.
burqa August 8th, 2014 at 21:59
Really?
When the stakes were projected at 2 million U.S. casualties?
I knew Marines who would have led that invasion and am glad they never had to.
edmeyer_able August 8th, 2014 at 22:43
I didn’t say it was the wrong decision, at the time our leaders believed it to be their only option. What I want to believe is that we have evolved since then to find alternative ways to settle our differences.
fantagor July 30th, 2014 at 16:08
There was no need to drop the second bomb on Nagasaki. We did it to see what would happen, nothing more. If you don’t believe me, it was dropped supposedly because the Japanese government agree to every condition of surrender but for turning over the emperor. We dropped the bomb on Nagasaki, they surrendered unconditionally, and we let them keep the emperor.
burqa August 8th, 2014 at 21:57
There was indeed a need to drop the second bomb. They had not surrendered and also their top military guys who really held the power were still holding out and insisting they continue to fight.
I trust Truman’s judgement.
He didn’t drop the second one “just to see what would happen.”
William July 30th, 2014 at 14:54
I did a paper on that flight. I also got to meet Paul Tibbets. There will always be arguments, but I still believe the mission shortened the war.
edmeyer_able July 30th, 2014 at 15:57
I agree,but I hope we would make a different decision if ever faced w/a similar situation today.
burqa August 8th, 2014 at 21:59
Really?
When the stakes were projected at 2 million U.S. casualties?
I knew Marines who would have been in the initial waves of that invasion and am glad they never had to. Fighting the Japanese was brutal business and I’ll trade 140,000 Japanese for 2 million Americans any day of the week.
edmeyer_able August 8th, 2014 at 22:43
I didn’t say it was the wrong decision, at the time our leaders believed it to be their only option. What I want to believe is that we have evolved since then to find alternative ways to settle our differences.
fantagor July 30th, 2014 at 16:08
There was no need to drop the second bomb on Nagasaki. We did it to see what would happen, nothing more. If you don’t believe me, it was dropped supposedly because the Japanese government agree to every condition of surrender but for turning over the emperor. We dropped the bomb on Nagasaki, they surrendered unconditionally, and we let them keep the emperor.
burqa August 8th, 2014 at 21:57
There was indeed a need to drop the second bomb. They had not surrendered and also their top military guys who really held the power were still holding out and insisting they continue to fight.
I trust Truman’s judgement.
He didn’t drop the second one “just to see what would happen.”