NMC students meet with Enola Gay crew

Just before coming over to the CNMI, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Paul Tibbets was unsure about how his visit would be received. After all, it would be the first time he would be coming to the islands after nearly 60 years since he and his crew took off on that fateful sortie on August 6, 1945 aboard the Enola Gay. By Tuesday this week, any trepidations he may have had should already have dissipated, blown away by the enthusiastic cheers and applause that he and his remaining crew, weaponeer Morris Jeppson and navigator Theodore “Dutch” Van Kirk, got.

Feted and honored like the war heroes that they are, the three seemed more like celebrities than veterans, their days packed with several activities lined up this week for the 60th anniversary of the Battles of Saipan and Tinian.

One stop for the group that drew a large crowd of students, teachers, and staff was at the Northern Marianas College Student Center Tuesday morning, when the three sat down with students for a roundtable discussion.

Befitting their celebrity status, student Ian Moses started off the roundtable discussion not with a question but a request for Tibbets’ autograph. The retired pilot graciously gave his autograph but only after the discussions.

Heather Calderwood, a film student, asked Tibbets: “What do you expect to get from here?” He replied: “I guess what I’m seeing now, faces with smiles, with friendship. That’s what I expect from my visit here.”

Jeppson’s wife, Molly, who was seated with the students during the discussion, agreed with Tibbets, saying later that their visit “is a great opportunity for the students to ask questions on the war, and to hear it from the people who played a big part of it.”

When somebody asked about the situation of the three’s families back home during the war, Molly said: “I wasn’t his [Morris Jeppson’s] wife at the time, but I knew that the wives of these men all wanted the war to end. It was hard for everyone.”

Student Jeanette Kikaru asked Tibbets about what he felt about the nuclear bombs also killing Japanese children, to which the retired pilot replied, “I was not fighting children, I was fighting a sumarai. I had to get rid of anything that comes in my way.”

NMC’s Current Issues student Rima asked the men how their lives changed as a result of the war. “I don’t want to be facetious. I have no comparison. I haven’t been hurt,” said Tibbets. (By Cassie DLG Fejeran)