Last Crew Member of Enola Gay Dies-- Part 3: Use of the Bomb Was a Necessary Thing

Then came a bright flash, then a shock wave.  Then another shock wave.  The Enola Gay bomber held together.  The blast and aftereffects killed 140,000 in Hiroshima, with that  one bomb.

Three days after Hiroshima, a second atom bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, with 80,000 deaths.  Six days after Nagasaki, Japan surrendered.

Whether the United States should have used the atom bombs has been debated endlessly.  VanKirk told AP that he thought it was necessary because it shortened the war and eliminated the need for an Allied invasion of Japan which would have cost many more lives on both sides.

"I honestly believe the use of the atomic bomb saved lives in the long run.  There were a lot of lives saved.  Most of the lives saved were Japanese," VanKirk said.

--GreGen