WENDOVER, Utah — August 8, 1945, 81 years ago Thursday, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, that changed the course of global conflict forever.
It was the first time a nuclear weapon was used on a military target. That mission, and a similar one over Nagasaki a few days later, were planned and rehearsed at the Army Airbase at Wendover, Utah.
"They arrived in fall 1944 so that they could learn how to conduct these hopefully war-ending missions. So they were here training in other B-29s to begin with. And then those, they were all modified to be able to carry the Little Boy and Fat Man atomic bombs, and then while they were here, they began picking up these brand new off the line B-29s, and that included the Enola Gay," said Wendover Airfield curator Landon Wilkey.
Wendover was selected for its isolation as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. Even the crews did not know their true mission until just before they left to execute it.
The base remains largely intact, and Wilkey said it is worth a visit to remember the effort to end a war that had already cost 1.25 million American casualties.
"We're the most original World War II Army Air Force training base in the country, so there's about 90 period buildings of the almost 700 that existed at the time," he said. "So it's just a massive project to try and preserve a larger story of the Army Air Force and training those aviators around the country for the war effort,:
The Historic Wendover Airfield offers guided tours daily at 1:30 p.m. Private tours are available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $10.
