Paul Tibbetts and the Enola Gay

Tonight we heard on the news that Brig. Gen. Paul Tibbetts had died in Columbus, Ohio. He is perhaps best known for having commanded and flown the Enola Gay over Hiroshima, where the atomic bomb was dropped in 1945. He had requested that there be no ceremony and no information about anything regarding his death, apparently because of the protesters who still haunt his heroic flight. How sad. How sad that such an American patriot is not recognized for doing his duty in a time of war, a terrible, terrific job that bothered all of the flight members until their dying days. How sad that people today have not read their history, have not appreciated that President Truman made the horrific decision to drop the bombs based on Japan's refusal to surrender, recognizing how many lives, both American and Japanese, would be lost if the war continued and the United States would have been forced to invade Japan. How sad that people cannot recognize the courage involved in Tibbetts' and others' voluntary commitment to participate in the flight, and the countless lives that were saved as a result in the ending of that awful war. How sad that people cannot realize that aggression against the United States, for whatever cause that is imagined or real, will result in unimagined retaliation. That has been the case since 1775, and it still is the case today. I am sad for the family of Paul Tibbetts, and I am thankful for the members of the American military who defend our shores today. It will soon be Veterans' Day, but I am giving thanks early this year. Thank you, all of you. And special prayers for nephew Matthew in Iraq! We love you!