House Affirms Pryce’s Resolution to Fight Pediatric Cancer

November 1, 2007

Pryce Statement on the Passing of Brigadier General Paul W. Tibbets, Jr.

In Honor of Brigadier General Paul W. Tibbets, Jr.
Honorable Deborah Pryce (Extension of Remarks)
Honorable Deborah Pryce
Member of Congress
15th Congressional District, Ohio

In the United States House of Representatives
This First Day of November, 2007

Madam Speaker, It is with a heavy heart that I rise today to honor the life and courage of the pilot of the Enola Gay, Brigadier General Paul W. Tibbets, Jr., for his heroism and service to our great nation. General Tibbets passed away today at the age of 92 in Columbus, Ohio, a city he called home for more than thirty years.

General Tibbets will forever be known for his role in piloting the Enola Gay's historic flight of August 6, 1945. No one can presume to understand the pressures Brig. Gen. Tibbets must have felt when confronted with the enormity of this mission. Having thoroughly distinguished himself by leading the first American Flying Fortress raids over occupied Europe, as well as the first bombardment missions over North Africa, it was his successful completion of the flight of the Enola Gay that would inextricably alter the course of human history.

To fully appreciate General Tibbets’ accomplishments, one must understand that Paul Tibbets was not simply the pilot of the Enola Gay, but that he played a pivotal role in every facet of this critical mission, from inception to completion. He organized, selected and trained his entire crew. He significantly altered the design of the aircraft to allow the plane to fly beyond the range of anti-aircraft fire. And, perhaps most importantly, he was one of a select few entrusted with the full understanding of the implications and magnitude of our mission on August 6th, 1945.

In the sixty years that have followed, General Tibbets' legacy has been unfortunately clouded by political and philosophical debates over the consequences of dropping the bomb on Hiroshima, and of the nuclear arms race that ensued. As a pilot and patriot, General Tibbets dutifully performed his mission without passion or prejudice, and irrespective of the destructive cargo his plane stored. While academics can debate the numbers, clearly hundreds of thousands of lives – both American and Japanese – were spared by the attack on Hiroshima, and a devastating world war was ended. General Tibbets’ place in history is secure, and his mission must never be obfuscated through revisionist history – he is, without qualification, an American hero.

In a rare speech on the subject in 1994, General Tibbets stated, "I am an airman, a pilot. In 1945, I was wearing the uniform of the US Army [Air Forces] following the orders of our Commander in Chief. I was, to the best of my ability, doing what I could to bring the war to a victorious conclusion - just as millions of people were doing here at home and around the world. We had a mission. Quite simply, bring about the end of World War II. I feel I was fortunate to have been chosen to command that organization and to lead them into combat. To my knowledge, no other officer has since been accorded the scope of responsibilities placed on my shoulders at that time."

General Tibbets served out his life as an exemplary American…a patriot, a veteran, a loving husband of more than 50 years, and a national hero whose indelible imprint on history should be forever honored and revered.

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