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He played an important role behind the scenes of the campaign, which included letter writing, collecting signatures and spreading the word about this issue through letters to editors of magazines and newspapers.īill Rooney was married to Roberta, with whom he had one child, Timothy (Susan) Rooney. Rooney was a founding member of the Enola Gay Restoration Committee and was earnestly involved in the "Display the Enola Gay Proudly Campaign," which collected over 12,000 signatures for their cause. After several months of conversations and compromises, the Smithsonian scrapped its original exhibit and designed a simpler one, focusing on the aircraft and the importance of its place within the greater historical context. These groups insisted that the Smithsonian alter the exhibit to properly reflect the decision making process behind dropping the atomic bomb and displaying the Enola Gay proudly instead of endorsing the revisionist history theories of the issue. Numerous veteran groups and others became angered when seeing the initial script for the exhibit, claiming that the exhibit showed too much sympathy for the Japanese and disregarded the American soldiers who sacrificed their lives. In 1995, the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum planned to create an exhibit on the Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan and its impact on the world in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the attack. He authored one book, Architectural Ornamentation In Chicago and co-authored The Enola Gay and the Smithsonian Institution with Charles O'Reilly. Rooney assisted with the formation of the 40th Bomb Group Association in 1980, and was editor of the organizations newsletter and MEMORIES, a publication of the group member's experiences.
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He received a number of military awards plus medals from the Chinese National Government and the People's Republic of China.Īfter the war, he had a business career in advertising in Chicago until his retirement in 1974. A fiery controversy ensued that demonstrated the competing historical narratives. The cockpit and nose section of the aircraft were exhibited at the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) on the National Mall, for the bombings 50th. Lewis during the final stages of World War II, it became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb in warfare. On 6 August 1945, piloted by Tibbets and Robert A. He was an intelligence officer and a member of the 40th Bomb Group and in the 20th Bomber Command, headquartered in India and China. For the 50 th anniversary of the end of World War II, the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) proposed an exhibition that would include displaying the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress that was used to drop the bomb on Hiroshima. The Enola Gay ( / nol /) is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of the pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets. Rooney was drafted into military service on Jand was a member of the Army Air Forces until his honorable discharge on points in February 1946.
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The book offers the final word on the debate over Truman’s decision to drop the bomb.William Albert Rooney, known as Bill, was born on Augin La Corrse, Wisconsin.
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Enola Gay and the Court of History is compulsory reading for all those interested in the history of the Pacific war, the morality of war, and the failed NASM exhibition. His full-scale investigation of the historical dispute results in a compelling story of how and why our views about the bombing of Japan have evolved since its occurrence. Originally intended to be displayed in the 1990’s to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Enola Gay exhibit was dismantled piece by piece until it became an unrecognizable shadow of what used to be a museum exhibit. Newman explores the tremendous challenges that NASM faced when trying to construct a narrative that would satisfy American veterans and the Japanese, as well as accurately reflect the current historical research on both the period and the bomb. See 83 photos and 2 tips from 643 visitors to Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay. The Enola Gay Exhibit At The National Air And Space Museum. Newman’s argument centers on the controversy that erupted around the National Air and Space Museum’s (NASM) exhibit of Enola Gay in 1995. On this day in 1945, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay dropped atomic bomb Little Boy on Hiroshima, Japan. Newman offers a fresh perspective on the dispute over President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan in World War II. In this hard-hitting, thoroughly researched, and crisply argued book, award-winning historian Robert P.