The Enola has become a symbol to different groups for one reason or another. I suggest that she be preserved and given her place in the context of the times in which she flew. For decades she has been relegated to a storage facility. Her place in history has been dealt with unfairly by those who decry the inhumanity of her August 6th mission. Ladies and gentlemen, there is no humanity in warfare. The job of the combatants, the families, the diplomats, and factory workers is to win. All had a roll in that all out fight.

I am not a museum director, curator, or politician. I am a pilot. I am a military man trained to carry out the orders of the duly elected commander - in- chief.

For decades the Enola has been in pieces. During the same period the subject of the atomic missions has provoked a flood of emotions. Virtually each and every narration of the events surrounding the flight of the Enola has delved into the horrors and tragedies brought on by the atomic bombs.

Today, on the eve of the 50th Anniversary of the end of World War II, many are second-guessing the decision to use the atomic weapons. To them I would say,"STOP!" It happened. In the wisdom of the President of the United States and his advisors at the time, there was no acceptable alternative but to proceed with what history now knows as Special Bombing Mission No. 13. To those who consider it's proper presentation to the public, I say; "FULL SPEED AHEAD!" We have waited too long for all the wrong reasons to exhibit this aircraft. Too many have labeled the atomic missions as war crimes in an effort to force their politics and their opinions on the American public and to damn military history. Ironically, it is the same segment of society who sent us off to war that now wish to recant the flight of the Enola .

Thus far the proposed display of the Enola is a package of insults. Resting on an arrangement that will be shaped like a cradle, the sixty-some feet of fuselage and forward bomb bay- without wings, engines and propellers, landing gear and tail assembly- makes for an awesome sight. If nothing else, it will engender the aura of evil in which the airplane is being cast.

I am unaware of any positive achievements being credited to the men and women who built the B-29 bombers that carried the war to the Japanese homeland, or the soldiers, sailors, marines, and Seabees who fought, lived and died fighting to take Pacific Islands that were needed for airplane bases within striking distances of the mainland. What about the airmen who flew those strikes and lost their lives, and those who survived. Are they to be denied recognition for their efforts? Something is wrong with this scenario.

In closing, let me urge consideration and let the exhibition of the Enola accurately reflect the American spirit and victory of August 1945. Those of us who gained that victory have nothing to be ashamed of, neither do we offer an apology. Some suffered, some died. The million or so of us remaining will die believing that we made the world a better place as a result of our efforts to secure peace that has held for almost 50 years. Many of us believe peace will prevail through the strength and resolve of the United States of America.