"Oelewapper" wrote:
Enola Gay draws protesters, atomic bomb survivors
Tuesday, December 16, 2003 Posted: 11:21 AM
EST (1621 GMT)



Two views of the Enola Gay, which dropped
the first wartime atomic
bomb over Hiroshima, Japan.

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CHANTILLY, Virginia (AP) -- A small group of
protesters briefly disrupted
the official opening of the National Air and
Space Museum's new annex at
Dulles International Airport, spilling a red
liquid supposed to resemble
blood near the Enola Gay exhibit and throwing
an object that dented the
airplane.

Two men were arrested after security broke up
the demonstration on Monday.
Thomas K. Siemer, 73, of Columbus, Ohio, was
charged with felony destruction
of property and loitering, while Gregory Wright
of Hagerstown, Maryland
faced a misdemeanor loitering charge.

Several elderly atomic bomb survivors from Japan
also expressed dismay that
information on the effects of the bomb dropped
by the Enola Gay on Hiroshima
August 6, 1945, was not included in the exhibit.

"If they want to show these planes, that's fine
but we can't help but also
demand that they show the damage and the stories
that take place behind
these weapons," said Terumi Tanaka, 71, a survivor
of the Nagasaki atomic
bomb attack which occurred three days after
Hiroshima.

A total of 230,000 people were killed in the
two attacks. Japan surrendered
unconditionally six days after the Nagasaki
bombing.

Some visitors at the opening of the Steven F.
Udvar-Hazy Center said,
however, they considered the Enola Gay an important
part of aviation
history.

"The Hiroshima bomb started the whole nuclear
age, that's why I wanted to
see it," said Philip Wheaton, 78, of Takoma
Park, Maryland.

The Enola Gay is one of 82 racers, gliders,
helicopters, warplanes and
airliners currently on display in the Smithsonian
Institution's nearly
294,000-square-foot aviation exhibit hanger.

The Hiroshima bomb started
the whole nuclear age, that's
why I wanted to see it.
-- Philip Wheaton of Takoma
Park, Maryland


Other notable exhibits include the S-R 71 Blackbird,
an American spy plane
that still holds the record as the fastest plane
ever built; and the space
shuttle Enterprise, which was used by NASA to
test various concepts during
the development of reusable spacecraft.

The Smithsonian's aerospace collection also
will eventually be displayed in
the 53,000 square foot James S. McDonnell Space
hanger.

"This is the largest air and space exhibition
complex in the world," said
retired Gen. John R. Dailey, director of the
museum. "We have about 40
percent of the aircraft in here today, and over
the next three years we'll
be moving more in."

Visitors, for the most part, said they were
impressed with the new annex.

"Seeing all of these aircraft fully assembled
is getting to see history,"
said Ray Kimball, 30, of Menloe Park, California.
The Army helicopter pilot
toured the facility with his three year-old
son. "I'll have to bring him
back when he's older."
















So what if there are folks who complain? The Japanese STARTED THE WAR.
For the Chinese, it was in '37, for everyone else, it was 7/8 Dec 41. The
Japanese have only themselves to blame for the consequences. And if the consequences
are 15 Kt on Hiroshima and 20 Kt on Nagasaki, so be it. The strikes forced
the Emperor to accept Potsdam and surrender, despite an attempted coup the
night of 14/15 Aug. The war ended, the boys and girls came home, and Europe
and Asia could start the painful task of rebuilding. Better that than storming
the beaches of Kyushu in November and the Kanto the next March.

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