As the emperor was held hostage, and his officers searched frantically for his surrender announcement to keep it from being broadcast, a plane was coming to Tokyo.
Now, if the Japanese can admit it, can't we? And give these men credit?
The world believes the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended World War II. The world is wrong. Along with the controversial Smithsonian exhibit of the Enola Gay, the subject of bombs during the war was one of the most talked about in 1995, the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. Letters to the editor in newspapers large and small across the country debate to this day whether or not bombing Japan was "politically correct" and if it really did save lives in the long run.
"There was a significant air war after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. History has missed the importance of the last mission I was on, even though it was understandable that the A-bombs upstaged other events at the time." Jim B. Smith, radio operator of the Boomerang and author of the book, The Last Mission.
Now comes the truth about the real end to World War II -- the B-29 raid that became known as the last mission -- and the story of some of the men who were a part of it.
http://pweb.netcom.com/~jb29miss/b29.htm