On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The bomb, nicknamed "Little Boy", exploded with the force of 15,000 tons of TNT and killed an estimated 140,000 people. The city was devastated, and the effects of the bomb are still felt today.
The decision to drop the atomic bomb was made by President Harry S. Truman after Japan refused to surrender following the Potsdam Declaration. The bomb was dropped from the B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, which was piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets.
Tibbets was born in Quincy, Illinois, in 1915. He joined the United States Army Air Force in 1941 and quickly rose through the ranks. In 1944, he was assigned to the 509th Composite Group, which was tasked with dropping the atomic bomb.
Tibbets and his crew flew to Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. They dropped the bomb at 8:15 AM, and then flew back to their base in Tinian.
Tibbets was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his role in the bombing of Hiroshima. He was later promoted to brigadier general and served in the Air Force until his retirement in 1966.
Tibbets died in 2007 at the age of 92. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.