Was Paul Tibbets a "war criminal" or just taking orders?

Question

While we might consider Col. Tibbets a "war criminal", several things most be considered: he did not create the atomic bomb. He was not the only one in dropping the bomb, he did not order the bombing and he was wishing the war to end. I may hate the guy but at least I can understand him. The criminals are the scientists who created the bomb like Oppenheimer and Fermi, the politicians who started the war, and not just the Japanese government [we financed Japanese war machine with scrap metals during the 1937 war with China] and the Japanese military regime who was considering ending or continuing the war when the bomb dropped. And Japanese surrendered under conditional agreements [retaining the emperor]. What do you think?

Answer 1

only crazed america haters "might consider Col Tibbets a war criminal" he was an americna hero. bombing hiroshima and nagasaki ended the war sooner, saving the lives of two million japs, and 500,000 americans

Answer 2

You might not believe me, but Col. Tibbets was a family friend of mine. My Godfather was Director of Aviation for 30+ years here in Ohio. They were good friends and through him, I met Col. Tibbets several times.

He was incredibly brave. No one at the time obviously knew what dropping an atomic bomb out of an airplane would actually do to the plane. He had heard rumors but it wasn't until the bomb was loaded onto the plane that they actually knew what they would be dropping.

They gave Japan a bunch of chances to back down and surrender and they didn't. Those were the times when you followed through on a war to the end. You didn't back out.

My grandfather ironically, was on a ship heading to Japan at the time it was dropped. It was a 1,000,000 man convoy on those ships and Japan knew they were coming. Had they not dropped the bomb, it would have been a slaughter house just like Pearl Harbor was.

Also ironically is that those men who created the A bomb were made up more of people fleeing Germany and Japan than they were American. Hitler had the man who could have made the A Bomb on his own. The problem? He was Jewish and had he stayed, he would have been sent to the death chambers.

Am I happy that people were hurt and killed? Obviously not. I wasn't happy that they were killed at Pearl Harbor or 9/11 either. Had the war not ended when it did and we would have invaded Japan, the casulaties for BOTH sides would have thousands of times larger than what they were. It would have gotten a lot uglier and much bloodier.

I hope that today - since this is the day that Col. Tibbets died, he can finally rest in peace. World War II was a different time and a different place, and to put us back in that same spot, I'd think we wouldn't have a choice but to do the same thing again. There weren't any other choices. Japan started it, we finished it. He was a brave man following orders and had it not been him - it would have been Doolittle or maybe Hoover, or maybe another like Tibbets without a famous name, but regardless it still would have been done. You can be mad at the action but you shouldn't be mad at the military man following orders. Had he said no, he would have been replaced and there were hundreds if not thousands in line behind him.

Answer 3

sometimesI think there are certain people who are even worse than the most cruel serial killer

I am talking about the coldly realistic murderers who are clever enough to hide behind law enforcement or patriotism and then given the chance probably have a mental orgasm when they drop the bomb that causes 100,000 to be instantly incinerated - or pull the lever that sends thousands of volts through a condemned man's body.

Some murderers are criminals and others who get a thrill from the kill just make sure they are on the 'right' side of the law so they can get their sadistic thrills without fear of recrimination.

When Tibbets said he didn't feel a jot of guilt nor lost any sleep after dropping the atom bomb, I would say he probably underestimated himself: he probably felt more than a frisson of excitement.

PS To the woman below who says she is related to Tibbets: Why is he brave and a hero? How much bravery does it take to fly a plane to a point and pull a lever?
It would have been braver to have refused to do it.

Answer 4

What crime did he commit? An opinion was rendered in international courts to wit:

"in the light of international humanitarian law, it should be borne in mind that during the Second World War there was no agreement, treaty, convention or any other instrument governing the protection of the civilian population or civilian property, as the Conventions then in force dealt only with the protection of the wounded and the sick on the battlefield and in naval warfare, hospital ships, the laws and customs of war and the protection of prisoners of war"

At the time, "total war" meant the civilians on both sides faced indiscriminate aerial bombing, including incendiary attacks, nuclear attacks, and assaults on centers of culture/churches/schools, etc.

A change in the Geneva Conventions, beginning in 1949 were the results from the uproar of the fire bombing of Dresden, nuclear attacks on Japan, and other indiscriminate carpet bombing during WW II.

Therefore, in answer to your question, there were no specific treaties or conventions broken AT THE TIME of the bombings and therefore it was not a war crime, these prohibitions all came after the war.

If you're talking a moral or ethical crime, then that's another discussion.

Answer 5

I think you're pretending to have a handle on historical events of WW II. You have en capsuled world event of eight years into a rambling paragraph that touches on world events, and then ask for an opinion. This is not how intelligent correspondence takes place.

Paul Tibbets new perfecrtly well what his mission was and he was comfortable with the decision to bomb Japan into submission. I support that decision even today, more than ever.

Answer 6

I think Tibbets was doing his job to give Japan exactly what she deserved, and to help end the war with no more bloodshed.

And if not the bomb to end the war with Japan, then what method would you have suggested that wouldn't cost millions of Japanese lives and hundreds of thousands of Allied soldiers' lives?

Answer 7

No one really realized the full effects of the atom bomb before it was used on Japan. They did testing, but not on that large a scale. He was just doing what he was told to do. I would imagine that he did not enjoy killing millions of innocent people and that he probably suffered in his later years. It did serve as a good deterent in later years to other countries, like the Soviet Union, as a reminder of just what the potential was.

Answer 8

The atomic bomb SAVED hundreds of thousands (or millions) of peoples lives by making the Japanese surrender. If trhe USA had had to invade, many more Japanese would have died than died in the bombing.
More people died from the conventional bombing of Tokyo than from both Atomic bombs.

Answer 9

How can nuking a city in order to save numerous other people be a war crime? If he didn't drop the bomb, we would have invaded Japan and lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers and the Japanese would have probably fought to the death. Tibbits was a hero.

Answer 10

Thank you, Paul Tibbets, for ending the war and saving thousands of American lives. Although bastard liberals born years later hate you, most of us know you are a hero. Thank you, and may your critics burn in hell.