You saw a white cloud hanging over the city. 'You didn't see anything except a bright flash and the airplane. He returned the United States with new orders and trained 'primarily to make the rapid turn and running away from the bomb.' Van Kirk recalled decades later to CNN: By then, the navigator flew 15 missions out of England and about 10 more out of North Africa. military in Europe and North Africa, but history remembers him and others aboard the Enola Gay for their actions the morning of August 6, 1945. Van Kirk flew dozens of missions for the U.S. CNN reports that Van Kirk's death means there are no surviving members left of the Enola Gay's crew who, by following orders, became an integral part in the ongoing debate over nuclear weapons. The single bomb blast killed about 140,000 people and helped end World War II, pushing the world into the nuclear era at the same time. Theodore 'Dutch' Van Kirk was the navigator on that plane. B-29 Superfortress that dropped the first atomic bomb in World War II over Hiroshima, Japan. The final Enola Gay crewman died on Monday of natural causes at the age of 93.
