Unknown to the Tinian crews or the Marines slogging through the island campaign, a new weapon was on its way.Ī few weeks before Aug. He missed the taking of the island but was likely one of the bodies to be flung ashore on mainland Japan in the seemingly inevitable invasion. John Haynes, 90, was only 15 years old when he landed on Okinawa. Though the tide had turned, ground troops and aircrews had no illusions that the Japanese military would simply surrender.ĭespite months of sustained bombing and island after island falling, they continued to fight. He remembers seeing flashes of light from Iwo Jima as Marines took the island to provide bombers a refueling and stopover on their missions to the mainland. Vincent, 97, was only 19 years old when he flew as a co-pilot on early missions out of Tinian to Japan. They claimed as many or more casualties and laid waste to as much territory in an even larger city. Though the first A-bomb changed warfare forever, the bombing runs on Tokyo, some experts argue, may have done as much or more to devastate the Japanese military’s will to fight. (Bill Webster/6th Bomb Group Association) B-29s in flight off of Tinian during World War II.
