What happened to pilot Major Charles Sweeney
after he dropped Fat Man on Nagasaki?
Did he think he could turn the B-29 Silverplate bomber,
Bockscar, around in the wild blue yonder, then fly back
on empty to Tinian, largest airbase in the world,
on empty to Tinian, largest airbase in the world,
as if nothing had happened? After all, he'd practiced
13 trial runs, and 3 dress rehearsals. Shame to waste all that....
13 trial runs, and 3 dress rehearsals. Shame to waste all that....
The Great Artiste wasn't ready, so he swapped planes.
Ground crew warned him the reserve fuel pump was bad.
The mission was moved up two days because of a typhoon.
Nearing the 11th hour, mad Sweeney circled three times
looking for a gap in the clouds, but he was low on fuel,
so his original target, Kokura, with its venerable castles
obscured by clouds, was spared to live another day.
A fuel pump sealed the fate of Japan's window to the world.
Nagasaki, home of M. Butterfly, became the hired wife, Plan B.
obscured by clouds, was spared to live another day.
A fuel pump sealed the fate of Japan's window to the world.
Nagasaki, home of M. Butterfly, became the hired wife, Plan B.
Tapping the fuel gauge, Sweeney ignored orders. Flying blind,
he could've aborted, but he bombed Nagasaki anyway,
when it appeared through a curtain of clouds like a mirage.
he could've aborted, but he bombed Nagasaki anyway,
when it appeared through a curtain of clouds like a mirage.
Looking over his shoulder, the pilot who leveled Nagasaki,
saw an iridescent lightning-infused cloud rising
faster than Hiroshima, more intense, more angry,
at once breathtaking and ominous.
faster than Hiroshima, more intense, more angry,
at once breathtaking and ominous.
Unable to reach Iwo Jima, he crash-landed
on Yontan Field, in Okinawa, both engines, dead.
The plane hovered on the edge of the cliff like a tired gull.
An officer shouted, You fucked up, didn't you, Chuck?
Another said We had the wrong guy flying the plane.
Even Enola Gay's pilot Paul Tibbets went a little mad.
Even Enola Gay's pilot Paul Tibbets went a little mad.
But Sweeney, who commanded the last atomic mission,
maintained to his dying day that he'd made the right decision.
I took no pride or pleasure in the brutality of war,
I took no pride or pleasure in the brutality of war,
whether suffered by my people or those of another nation.
Every life is precious. But I felt no remorse or guilt
that I had bombed the city where I stood.
Did we also drop evacuation leaflets, like paper doves,
or was that another story of a story told after the fact?
After Tokyo, Hiroshima, then Nagasaki. Emperor Hirohito said:
We must now bear the unbearable and endure the unendurable.
A hundred thousand gone. According to the Manhattan Project,
it was a smashing success. But Shiva was unleashed,
and a hundred thousand more burned from within.
The voices of the hibakusha sang a silent aria of grief.
Oppenheimer invoked Vishnu:
I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.
After Tokyo, Hiroshima, then Nagasaki. Emperor Hirohito said:
We must now bear the unbearable and endure the unendurable.
A hundred thousand gone. According to the Manhattan Project,
it was a smashing success. But Shiva was unleashed,
and a hundred thousand more burned from within.
The voices of the hibakusha sang a silent aria of grief.
Oppenheimer invoked Vishnu:
I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.
No matter that the Japanese, already defeated,
had surrendered, de facto. But we taught them
a lesson, not once, not twice, but three times
for Pearl Harbor. And we taught them again.
Again and again.
7/23/19
Published in the 2022 fall issue of
War, Literature, & the Arts anthology (online)
Dept. of English & Fine Arts,
United States Air Force Academy, Colorado
sources:
Atomic Heritage Foundation, Tinian, Hiroshima & Nagasaki planes & crews
Japan Surrenders and World War II Ends: June 1945-September 1945, and p2
The Story of World War II
The first atomic mission was executed perfectly—Air Force Magazine
Charles Sweeney obit NYTimes, & Wiki
While clearing out junk mail, I fell down a rabbit hole of time when I answered a Trivia Genius question: What city did the United States drop an atomic bomb on three days after Hiroshima? I did not expect to go there, but I did, and now it's done. At least the first draft.... See, a cousin worked on the Manhattan Project, such strange hauntings.
Atomic Heritage Foundation, Tinian, Hiroshima & Nagasaki planes & crews
Japan Surrenders and World War II Ends: June 1945-September 1945, and p2
The Story of World War II
The first atomic mission was executed perfectly—Air Force Magazine
Charles Sweeney obit NYTimes, & Wiki
While clearing out junk mail, I fell down a rabbit hole of time when I answered a Trivia Genius question: What city did the United States drop an atomic bomb on three days after Hiroshima? I did not expect to go there, but I did, and now it's done. At least the first draft.... See, a cousin worked on the Manhattan Project, such strange hauntings.
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