The Enola Gay exhibit
Topics: Misc
25 Nov 1994
From: "DG Ervan Darnell"
The Smithsonian has been preparing the Enola Gay to go on exhibit sometime
next year. MacNeil/Lehrer had a piece on the topic Tuesday. The leftist
academics who seem to have taken over the Smithsonian are arguing with
veterans' groups over what the text of the exhibit should say.
I remember when the first draft (as prepared by the academic advisory board)
came out, but I had missed the following quote which it contained: "[The
Japanese entered WWII] to protect their unique cultural heritage against
Western imperialism." Yikes. American historians wanted to hang that under
the Enola Gay?!? Victimology has taken over. They interviewed one of the
members of the board who argued with a straight face that an invasion of
Japan would have cost fewer American lives than taking Iwo Jima did (about
40,000) and therefore there was no need to use nuclear weapons.
Unfortunately, the other side is no better. Paul Tibbets, pilot of the
Enola Gay, and the American Legion spokesman they interviewed both said
essentially the same thing, that the exhibit should be used to instill a
sense of patriotism for how wonderful America was for saving the world,
blah, blah, blah.
I thought it was a fine example of both the left and the right hard at work
rewriting history to suit their ends. No one dared suggest that people
should be left intellectually-unmolested in order to reach their own
conclusions. The Enola Gay should be put on display with the bare facts (as
are most exhibits in the Air & Space museum). Let people reach their own
conclusions and go to their local bookstore and buy all of the analysis they
want.
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