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Feature Article on WWII. Topic: WAR
Written by Rich Wallace in
August, 1995
SIDNEY AIRMEN PLAYED ROLE IN DECISIVE BOMBING OF JAPAN...Pg 2 |
| On the other side of the
world, Harry Placke and Warren "Gene" Long were neck-deep in the war. After
finishing high school in 1941, Placke enlisted the day after Pearl Harbor, also as an
aviation cadet. Placke's expertise flying the B-17 landed him a job as an instructor for
over a year. Itching to get into combat, Placke got his break when candidates were sought
to fly the new B-29. He was accepted into the program, and became an airplane commander,
or pilot of a B-29. Gene Long did not enter the service until 1943, but he quickly
completed training, and was at Saipan as the bombardier on a B-29 by December, 1944. By
early 1945 Placke was at Tinian Island in the Pacific. Both Long and Placke participated
in numerous bombing missions over Japan until the end of the war. Lt. Long survived
several near disasters, including the crash landing of his plane on a return run from
Tokyo on February 25th. Back in New Mexico, Jim Brecount was waiting for his opportunity.
As the level of activity increased
at Kirtland Air Force Base and Los Alamos, all the men knew something was up. The word was
put out that a new weapon would be tested. The B-29 crews would be needed for
"observation flights" after the testing. Brecount later recalled: "Of
course, we knew nothing about the nature of the weapon or its radiation characteristics.
That information was classified top secret."
The first detonation of an atomic
weapon, known as the Trinity blast, occurred on July 16, 1945. The observation flights
began immediately. Lt. Brecount's logs show a total of nine flights over the days that
followed. The flights were uneventful, or so the men thought. Brecount and the rest of his
crew would remain there until the end of the war, disappointed they had missed out on the
action, but glad they would be going home alive.
At the same time Lt. Brecount was in
the air observing the testing of this strange new weapon, Lt. Placke was at Tinian Island.
Now, however, something was different. A new group of B-29 bombers, called the 509th
Composite Group, had arrived. "We knew something was up," Placke recalls.
"They were engaged in special training. However, none of us had any idea about the
atomic bomb."
Col. Paul Tibbets, the air commander
of the Enola Gay, recalls those hectic days leading up to August 6th. "Our
men were the subject of taunts and jibes. We had our own quarters, and seemed to be living
a bit high, thanks to the priorities that brought speedy response to our every
requisition. It was an understandable case of jealousy."
As Brecount, Placke and Long along
with millions of others committed to the war effort continued to do their jobs, decision
time approached in Washington. As President Truman contemplated his decision, Pentagon
planners were hard at work on Operation Downfall, the code name for the final plans to
invade Japan. The first phase of the operation alone called for an amphibious operation
utilizing over 1.5 million men, including the entire Marine Corps. General Douglas
MacArthur estimated there would be one million U.S. casualties by the fall of 1946. The
President approved plans for the invasion on July 24th.
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