Bill Watson wrote:
Just for the record Mr Henriques, I consider myself pretty far out on
the left side political and social thinking. At the same time, I
totally honor Mr Tibbets. I even think a lot of you. Do we have to
politicize EVERYTHING?

Mr Oppenheimer arguably had more to do with dropping the big one - check
out what the far right did to him... and that actually happened.

Christ! Politics! Let's fly.

Dudley Henriques wrote:
Mortimer Schnerd, RN wrote:
Bill Watson wrote:
He has been recorded more than once answering that question. He's
always answered it the same way. To his credit, I doubt whether that's
true. Perhaps best reflected in his request for no funeral or grave
marker... though it can be interpreted in several ways.


I wondered about that too. He is eligible for a military burial at
Arlington National Cemetery... and there ain't so such thing as a
protest there. He'd be in excellent company and he'd be safe for
posterity.



Tibbets received many letters after the war and all through his life
from Japanese citizens thanking him for helping to save what would
have been millions of their lives as well the American lives saved by
forcing the surrender.
He never had trouble sleeping and always understood the role he played
in ending the war.
About his grave request; Tibbets always has understood and has had to
deal with the extreme left all through his life. He was well aware of
the ingenuity and inventiveness of some of these people. To my
knowledge he has always believed that no matter where he was buried,
the location would be a prime target for these people.
As for Arlington; interning him there would only have served to feed
the extreme left who would again have used the very location of the
internment as cannon fodder for keeping his name alive for use in the
anti-war movement.
The word I have gotten through my sources is that Tibbets simply
wanted to not be used after his death in any way the location of his
remains would have provided. He had quite enough of that in life, and
simply wanted not to be used in any ongoing controversy.

Personally, I think he did the right thing, although it's puzzling to
me why, considering his goals, he simply didn't choose cremation. It's
not too much a stretch however, to surmise that feeling the way he did
about all of it, that he chose to take even the "fire" relationship
out of the equation for the extreme left.

Not quite sure what you are addressing here, but I'm assuming you
believe I have politicized something that need not have been politicized?
Anyway, I'm happy that you "even like me" whatever the "even" might
represent :-))

--
Dudley Henriques