Enola Gay Archive

Air Force Magazine Articles and Editorials

Revisionism Gone Wrong April 2004	Ten years ago this month, an Air Force Magazine article alerted the public to the Smithsonian's plans for the Enola Gay.
Enola Gay II December 2003
War Stories at Air and Space April 1994	At the Smithsonian, history grapples with cultural angst.
The Decision That Launched the Enola Gay April 1994	In April 1945, the new President learned the most closely held secret of the war.
“The Last Act” at Air and Space September 1994	The Enola Gay exhibit still lacks balance and still is emotionally charged, but the Smithsonian says the plans are final.
Museum Proposes to Change Enola Gay Exhibition October 1994	Memo for the Record
The Three Doctors and the Enola Gay November 1994	Under fire from Congress and public opinion, curators at the Air and Space Museum are making changes to their plan for exhibiting the famous B-29.
Editorial: Airplanes in the Mist December 1994	People come to the Air and Space Museum to see restored airplanes, not for counterculture pageants and spiels about the ozone layer.
Air and Space Museum Hit By Academic Backlash January 1995
Political Exhibit Crashes at the Smithsonian March 1995
Smithsonian Continues the Cleanup April 1995
Editorial: Japan’s Struggle With History May 1995	The truth is that imperial Japan started the war, waged it savagely, and refused to surrender until the bombs fell.
Air and Space Museum Director Resigns June 1995
Exhibit Blunders Force Smithsonian Probe July 1995
Presenting the Enola Gay August 1995
The Activists and the Enola Gay September 1995	The Smithsonian has cleaned up its act, but the cause lives on with those who claim we bamboozled the press, Congress, and the public.
The Revelations of Martin Harwit December 1996	The former director of the National Air and Space Museum has written a book about the Enola Gay controversy.

Verbatim

Too High a Risk?
"This issue is not about contractor 'A' or contractor 'B.' The issues is that we do not believe that it is prudent for up to 80 to 90 percent of the fighter fleet to be dependent on a single engine type, provided by one manufacturer. Being tied to one engine is too high an operational risk to take."
—Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), explaining why his House Armed Services Air and Land Forces Subcommittee had added funds to the 2010 defense budget to cover continued development of an alternate engine for the F-35, committee markup session, June 16, 2009.

Verbatim

You Betcha
"Your decision to terminate the acquisition of the C-17s, the F- 22s, the DDG-1000, and the Future Combat System vehicles—we have concerns that it may send the wrong signal to our friends and our potential aggressors that we are reducing our capability. It may also have a long-term impact on our defense industrial base. It may diminish our capacity to provide deterrents and reduce our strength that we provide to our allies. We hope that this is not the consequence, but some of us are concerned."
—Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), parting remarks to Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Michael Mullen, Joint Chiefs Chairman, during a Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing, June 9, 2009.