The war continued in the South Pacific. We in the E.T.O. had few duties, we were waiting to see where we would go as part of the "Occupation Bomb Group". The news reports coming from the Pacific was encouraging" The allies were getting closer and closer to a possible invasion of the Japanese Islands. We believed that the incessant bombing would break the Japanese spirit. We woke one morning to hear the radio report that the Air Corps had drop~ped an ato=rn'i'c bomb on~Ja'pan. We didn't know what an atomic bomb was but from the descnption of the explosion, it 'sounded great-to our ears.' Some three days later~~~on August 9, 1945 a second bomb was dropped on another Japanese city. The first bomb had not convinced them that they should surrender. Again we rejoiced.

Sometime around August 7 or Si,' the first Sgt came to my tent and told me to pack up my gear and take it to the supply room for storage as I was to leave for school the next day~ I was to take with me a class A uniform, some fatigues and essential personal things. I was to go see the education officer for additional details. He told me I would go to the University of Besancon, France. He had no further information. The short notice gave me little time to say good-bye to the crew, the tent mates, the Cavillot family and the rest of the 494th Bomb Squadron. The only thing that I knew was that Besancon was southeast of Paris in the are of Nancy and Dijon and north of the Swiss border. I would need to change trains in Paris. I got to Paris in the late afternoon and was unable to get across Paris to the other station in time to make my connection to continue my journey. I would need to spend the night in Paris.

W69-71 P 70

Fifty five years following the use of the atomic bomb the argument persists as to whether the decision to drop the bomb was moral or even necessary. Bob Green's Op-Ed syndicated column on the following two pages gives one view. In recent years revisionists have deleted from the 'text books many of the atrocities committed during WW2.