Published Aerospace Power Journal - Winter 2000

Duty: A Father, His Son, and the Man Who Won the War by Bob Greene. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. (http://www.harpercollins.com/hc), 10 East 53d Street, New York, New York 10022, 2000, 296 pages, $25.00.

The word touching best describes Bob Greene’s Duty: A Father, His Son, and the Man Who Won the War. Greene, Chicago Tribune and Life magazine columnist, writes a true-life story about his relationship with his father, his interactions with Enola Gay pilot Paul Tibbets, and the great World War II generation that is now growing old and beginning to fade away. Written from the columnist’s first-person accounts of his interviews with Tibbets and memories of his own father, the book speaks to past, present, and future generations. For young adults with whom the names Paul Tibbets and Enola Gay may not even register, the story provides educational insight and an appreciation for the men and women who lived through the depression and fought in the second great war. For the baby boomers, the book offers a refresher course in the importance of family and history, as they are reminded of their adolescent post–World War II years. Older generations will appreciate this book’s reminiscences of the war years. Greene relays the accounts of his father, who recorded memories of his war experience on audiotape, and of Tibbets, with whom he spent countless hours discussing not only the flight of Enola Gay but also the details of wartime life and the ideals of the war generation.

Greene begins the story during the twilight of his father’s life. Recalling from an earlier conversation with the elder Greene that “the man who won the war” lives nearby, the author decides to try to meet the great war hero Paul Tibbets. The death of Greene’s father and the conversations he has with Tibbets ignite a strong curiosity in the author’s mind concerning his father’s youth and the war years. During World War II, the elder Greene had been an officer who fought on the Italian front near the war’s end. Although he knew that his father and the pilot who dropped the bomb on Hiroshima had never met, Greene saw a connection between them. He directs his discussions with Tibbets during the months following the death of Greene Sr. so as to gain a better understanding of the life and characteristics of his father. As a result, Greene’s book offers insights into father-son relationships while praising the war generation and its heroes.

Although debates over the morality and necessity of dropping the first atom bombs will continue throughout history, Greene makes a strong emotional and rational argument in favor of the decision. In this story, Greene relays the accounts of Americans and Japanese alike who saw the necessity of the bombing. Although theoretical arguments concerning the ethics of letting loose such a horrible weapon of mass destruction are oftentimes strong and persuasive, the eyewitness accounts of Tibbets and his crew, as well as the thoughts of others who lived through the war, are provocative and shed new light on the argument. Duty offers valuable insight to anyone considering the morality and/or necessity of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by providing a unique perspective of the dilemma.

Although Greene may become too sentimental—almost melodramatic—in some segments of the story, overall I tend to believe that he represents his father’s generation appropriately. The story is not intended to be a deep, scholarly historical account of World War II; instead, it is a collection of thoughts and insights concerning two men, their families, and their generation (not to mention the fact that it is easy to read and hard to put down). Tibbets and Greene Sr. represent a generation we must not forget. They represent what Tom Brokaw calls “the greatest generation.”

Cadet 1st Class Rob Reinebach, USAF
USAF Academy, Colorado

Disclaimer

The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.

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