Almeida, Navigator Says 'Easy Mission' of Enola Gay Led to End of WWII. My True Course: Dutch Van Kirk, Northumberland to Hiroshima. Atomic Bomb Crewman Dies of Leukemia at 46, Los Angeles Times, April 26. Theodore (Dutch) Van Kirk, the navigator and last surviving crew member of the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in the last days of World War II, died on Monday at his home in Stone Mountain, Ga. Tom VanKirk says his 93-year-old father died at the retirement home where he. Dietz, Suzanne Simon Van Kirk, Theodore Jerome (2012). The navigator for the Enola Gay spoke about his experience guiding the aircraft that dropped the first atomic bomb.↑ "Last surviving Enola Gay crewman dies in Stone Mountain".6, 1945, guided the Enola Gay over Hiroshima to drop the first nuclear bomb in the history of warfare, died Monday at an assisted living facility. Theodore (Dutch) Van Kirk, the navigator and last surviving crew member of the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in the last days of World War II, died on Monday at his home in Stone Mountain, Ga. Theodore Dutch Van Kirk, a navigator who on Aug. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Theodore Van Kirk, 93, Enola Gay Navigator, Dies".Van Kirk was the last surviving member of the. His decorations include the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross and 15 Air Medals. He was best known as the navigator of the Enola Gay when they dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. bomber that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945. Van Kirk completed his military service in August 1946 with the rank of major. TOKYO, Japan - Photo taken in 2007 shows Theodore Van Kirk, the navigator of the Enola Gay, the U.S.
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His skill and professionalism ensured the Enola Gay arrived at the drop point a mere 15 seconds after the initially planned time, quite the accomplishment given technological and logistical limitations during World War II.
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6, 1945, the Enola Gay, crewed by Van Kirk, Tibbets and 10 others, dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima Van Kirk, a captain at the time, was only 24 years old. The group was the predecessor to the 509th Bomb Wing, which is stationed here.īefore the mission over Japan, Tibbets told Van Kirk the group had been chosen for a top-secret bombing mission that might end the war. Theodore Dutch Van Kirk, a navigator who on Aug. Paul Tibbets, the commander of the 509th CG. Theodore Dutch Van Kirk, navigator on Enola Gay, dies at 93. Theodore Van Kirk was a vital member of a historic unit, the unit from which the 509th Bomb Wing was born, and his contributions to American military history and to Allied victory in World War II will forever be remembered."Ī veteran of 58 World War II combat missions, Van Kirk was selected to be a member of the 509th Composite Group by Col. "Whiteman (Air Force Base) and the nation have lost a great patriot," said Brig. Longtime Novato resident Theodore Dutch Van Kirk, a navigator who guided the Enola Gay bomber over Hiroshima during World War II to drop the first nuclear bomb in the history of warfare, died.
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The navigator on the famous B-29 Superfortress that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II, died July 28 in Stone Mountain, Georgia.