Indianapolis survivors coming to Tinian

A group from the USS Indianapolis Survivors Association has confirmed that they will attend next year’s 60th World War II commemorative events on Tinian, joining the three living members of the crew that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

According to Don Farrell of the Tinian Turning Point Committee, they have received a commitment from members of the association that they will be attending the events on the island.

Farrell said that Gen. Paul W. Tibbets Jr., pilot of the Enola Gay, and the two living members of his crew, navigator Dutch van Kirk and weaponeer Morris Jepson have already agreed to attend.

“This will be the first time the two surviving crews will meet, and it will take place on Tinian next Aug. 6,” said Farrell.

The USS Indianapolis carried the heart of the atomic bomb called “Little Boy” from Port Chicago, San Francisco, to Tinian in record time, arriving on the island on July 26, 1945. The crate containing the fissionable material was unloaded and carried to the bomb assembly area at North Field. It was loaded onto the Enola Gay and dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945.

The heart of the second bomb, Fat Man, arrived from San Francisco aboard a C-54 Green Hornet, and was dropped on Nagasaki by the crew of the Boch’s Car on Aug. 9.

The war ended days later, preventing the Allied invasion of Japan and saving millions of lives, Farrell said, adding that those interested in the role of the Indianapolis and its sinking not far from Guam by a Japanese submarine (making it the last major naval casualty of World War II) can find more information on the Internet.

Farrell explained that the commemorative events being planned is not intended to celebrate the dropping of the atomic bombs but the fact that these events led to the end of World War II.

“We’re…celebrating the fact that they [dropping of the bombs] caused the ending of the war. The invasion of Japan was supposed to begin Nov. 15. An expected 3 million men were supposed to fight for the conquest of Japan. Russia had entered the war on Aug. 9, on the same day that the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Had the Russians invaded Japan, the same thing would have happened to Japan as what happened to Germany—Japan would have been divided between the Russian and American sector. So when we say we’re celebrating, we’re celebrating the salvation of Japan itself,” he said.

Tinian Mayor Francisco M. Borja established the Turning Point Committee, appointing Philip Mendiola-Long as its chair. Long has appointed—with the advice and consent of the mayor—other individuals of various backgrounds to the committee. The committee can be reached at mayortiq@gtepacifica.net.

Farrell said the purpose of the committee is two-fold: The first is to conduct a commemorative event for the 60th anniversary of the missions to Hiroshima and Nagasaki from Tinian, which ended the Pacific war. The second is to raise funds for the construction of a Tinian Museum that will house artifacts from World War II in the Pacific, “paying particular attention to Tinian’s role in the war, with emphasis on the island’s commitment to peace and nuclear non-proliferation.” He said the museum is to be constructed around a restored B-29 in its rotunda.

Farrell said the committee is now in discussions with Jerry Facey and other members of the Saipan 60th Anniversary Committee on the mechanisms to coordinate next year’s event on Tinian.

“The single largest logistic problem is the lack of hotel space on Tinian. The Tinian Dynasty Hotel is already fully booked for veterans, dignitaries and international media. The great majority of the visitors will have to be housed in hotels on Saipan and then transported daily to the events that will take place on Tinian from Aug. 5 to 10,” he said.

Those seeking further information should contact Long directly at the Mayor’s e-mail address.