The whitish-gray tint of thousands of buildings and structures colored the expansive flat ground below the hills, and directly in front of the aircraft the port of Hiroshima appeared with its long channels and sawtooth-like wharves. At 32,000 feet, the brownish-green mountains surrounding the broad city of Hiroshima were clearly visible. Moments later, he turned the B-29 bomber over to his bombardier, Thomas Ferebee. He suppressed his thoughts and checked the time. On the other hand, he knew he might be able to single-handedly bring the Pacific war to an abrupt end. On one hand, he was fully aware there would be untold human death on the ground as a result of his direct actions.
In his own mind, Tibbets struggled with conflicting feelings he’d never share with his crewmen. He and his crew didn’t completely understand what they carried, but they knew whatever was inside the nearly five-ton bomb - affectionately named “Little Boy” - would unleash a destructive power on Japan such as the world had never seen. Tibbets had ordered crewman Lt Morris Jeppson to arm their cargo about twenty minutes ago. He and his crew had taken off from the island of Tinian six hours prior to this moment, then rendezvoused briefly with escort bombers over Iwo Jima. “Ten minutes to target,” Tibbets casually mumbled over the intercom.
