General Tibbets became a symbolic figure in the controversy, but he never wavered in defense of his mission. But questions were eventually raised concerning the morality of atomic warfare and the need for the Truman administration to drop the bomb in order to secure Japan’s surrender. The crews who flew the atomic strikes were seen by Americans as saviors who had averted the huge casualties that were expected to result from an invasion of Japan.
15, Japan surrendered, bringing World War II to an end. United States Air Force, via Agence France-Presse - Getty Images with his plane, the Enola Gay, in an undated photograph.
