Furthermore, there are approximately a dozen signed letters or notes, many of which clarify historical details. Tibbets was just 29 years old at the time. Highlights include a picture of the Memphis Belle nose art signed by the pilot and co-pilot, three different photos of the Memphis Belle and crew with 5 or 6 signatures, a photograph of the Enola Gay signed by the navigator and radio man, and Jack Kidd’s essay, “Better to Prevent Wars than Fight Them”. 6, Tibbets and his flight crew dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, thus leading to the end of the war. There is an approximate average of 5 signatures per person, details are available on request.
“Dutch” Van Kirk (Navigator Enola Gay, on photo). Snyder Jr., Kermit Stevens, Paul Tognetti. * 303rd BG (“Might in Flight”, including members from Chick’s Crew and airmen featured on Keith Ferris’s wall mural): Clifford Bachman, Casimir Bielski Jr., Anthony J. * 100th BG (“The Bloody Hundredth”): Henry Cervantes, Gale W. Morgan, Jim Verinis, Harold Loch, Bob Hanson, John Quinlan, Casimer Nastal.
Participants are from the following bomber groups: 91st BG (the crew of the Memphis Belle): Robert K. Greg Dortch’s letters to these veterans and their replies are preserved along with the signatures. Housed alphabetically within each Bomber Group number in a large three-ring binder. Chaplain Downey prayed with the 12-man crew of the Enola Gay on Tinian Island just before they took off on their mission to drop Little Boy on Hiroshima.
