Nagasaki Bomb - 1945 | Movietone Moments | 9 Aug 19

My father said the same to me as he was on standby on one of the islands off the coast of Japan waiting on the order to begin the invasion of the Japanese homeland. As horrible as
those two atomic bombs were the death toll would have been much higher had U.S. troops invaded Japan engaging in town to town and house to house combat. The death toll of both civilians and military would have been higher than that caused by the two atomic bombs. Dad on Saipan's Isley Field with a U.S. Army Air Force bomber aircraft. August of 1945.

Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen - I interviewed a WWII veteran for my upcoming book, "Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life," who was at Okinawa. Shocking answers.

SPC Woody Bullard, I think your aircraft shown above may be a B-24. It seems like the cockpit is above your father’s right shoulder. Also, it appears as though the bombay doors are opened and retracted up the side of the fuselage of the aircraft which is unlike the more traditional bombay doors of most bombers. The window configuration is perplexing though.
Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen SGT (Join to see)

SPC Douglas Bolton Being in the 509th Bomb Wing we had Paul Tibbits as guest speaker at a dining in in the late 70s, he had some great stories and also relayed his feelings on the lives his missions saved.

Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen - Not sure what type of bomber aircraft
"The Kamikaze Miss" is but it has 17 bombing missions painted below the pilot cockpit.

SPC Woody Bullard Not a bad record back then.

SPC Woody Bullard You're probably right on that!

SPC Woody Bullard, it’s definitely a B-24! Here’s the photo from above. Front gun turret is above the bombardier’s compartment. You can also see the front edge of the bombay door retracted up the side of the fuselage.
Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen