Beginning of the End

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“Yeah, well on the way to the flight line, we always went by truck.  Usually, the gunners would go first to check the amount of ammunition, and then I would leave about an hour and a half later with the officers.  On the way to the flight line was a heavily guarded compound. It was the 509th Bomb Group.  And it seemed kind of strange; it was up on the side of a hill, and we never saw any of them fly. They didn't have any planes designated to our knowledge, and it bothered us quite a bit that they were there.  And of course, that was the group that did the nuclear bombing.”

Editor's note: The 509th Composite Group (509th CG) of the US Army Air Forces holds a unique place in WWII history. Formed in late 1944, it had one singular mission: deliver atomic bombs.  Stationed on Tinian in the Pacific, the group trained extensively with specially modified B-29 Superfortresses codenamed "Silverplate."  On August 6th and 9th, 1945, the 509th carried out the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, hastening the end of the war.  Shrouded in secrecy throughout the war, the group's existence and purpose were unknown to many, even within the military.