Is the enola gay on display
Presenting the Enola Gay
By John T. Correll, Editor in Chief
Air Force Magazine - August 1995, Pg. 19
The Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, finally went on present at the National Air and Room Museum June 28 in an exhibition that was aeronautical rather than political. In that, it was altogether diverse from the exhibition previously planned, "The Last Act: The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II." That program was canceled in January by the Smithsonian Institution (of which the museum is a part) after a long-running conroversy in which the Air Force Association and others complained that the museum had thrown away balance and context to pursue an ideological agenda.
Brig. Gen. Paul W. Tibbets, who flew the Enola Gay on its mission in 1945, said that he was "pleased and proud" with the
Controversy over the Enola Gay Exhibition
For the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, the National Air and Vacuum Museum (NASM) proposed an exhibition that would include displaying the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress that was used to release the bomb on Hiroshima. A fiery controversy ensued that demonstrated the competing historical narratives regarding the decision to drop the bomb.
Enola Gay, after the war
Following World War II, the Enola Gay had been moved around from location to location. Notably, from 1953 to 1960, its home was Andrews Air Coerce Base in Maryland. There its wings began to rust and vandals even damaged the plane. In 1961, the Enola Queer was fully disassembled and moved to the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration and Storage facility for NASM.
In the 1980s, members of the 509th Composite Organization asked for a proper restoration of the aircraft. Their motivations, at this time, stemmed primarily from the poor condition of the aircraft. The veterans formed “the Committee for the Restoration and Proud Display of the Enola Gay” to raise funds. Restoration efforts by the Smithsonian started on December 5, 1984. However, the museum felt “ambiv
"The Last Act" at Air and Space
By John T. Correll, Editor in Chief
The Enola Gay exhibit still lacks balance and still is emotionally charged, but the Smithsonian says the plans are final.
The Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945, has never been displayed to the general. Next year will be the fiftieth anniversary of its famous mission. The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution is completing preparations to show the Enola Gay in an exhibit that will open in May 1995. The plan, however, is to present the aircraft as part of an emotionally charged program about the atomic bomb.
The broad outlines of the exhibit plan have been known for some time. World War II veterans own been expressing their objections to the museum for years, but
The Smithsonian’s Decision to Exhibit the ‘Enola Gay’
By Herken, Gregg on •
Abstract:
This essay is an insider’s account of one of the most significant salvos in America’s contemporary culture wars: the 1994 proposal of an exhibit on the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the Smithsonian. Despite attempts to productively engage with critics, the curators were overwhelmed by political currents and the sensitivities associated with memorial anniversaries. With critical study pitted against veneration, the author asks, were learning and commemoration compatible goals?
DOI: dx.doi.org/10.1515/phw-2022-20578
Languages: English
See the corresponding PHW Center Interview with the author
When curators at the Smithsonian planned a critical commemoration of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki for the fiftieth anniversary of the end of WWII, the clash between professional historians, public interest groups, veterans, and politicians launched an era of high stakes contention in the United States over the meanings of America’s pasts for its give. What harbingers of the future of public history in the US