Transcript from interview with AV Wright discussing his service in WWII. This interview was conducted sometime between 1990 - 2000. Some of this information revealed during the interview was the first time AV Wright ever discussed these details.The comments in parantheses are notes from my mother, Ann Furlough, who was present during the interview.

"I was 28 years old before I was drafted. I had family obligations and they shifted to . . . and left me free so I was really glad to get to go because I was being asked how I managed to stay out of the service so long. I had basic training -- then aircraft mechanics school, then aircraft electrical school, then B29 factory school-- training to qualify as a flight engineer. When I finished the B29 school, they had all the flight engineers they needed so I was assigned to Fairmont, Neb. to 504th bomb group. I was ground personnel that maintained the electrical parts on the aircraft. When they needed to go ahead with the Atomic Bomb group, our squadron (the 504th) was the only one prepared to help them so they took us out and sent us to Windover, Utah and gave us the 509th bomb group and we trained there waiting for the bomb to be ready. We continued our training. We did 6 weeks of training in Cuba in the Havana area for pilots to get overseas training -- flight experience over water. When we got back to Windover, Utah, all the personnel that had been left there had already gone overseas by ship -- by sea. (Interviewer asked question about which ship they went on, but Daddy didn't know.) The atomic energy was not ready when they went over. It was just a short time before they were ready for the rest of us to go and each B 29 could carry their flight crew, their ground crew, and 3 extras -- and I was one of the extras. So I flew over there by B 29. We were processed as Sacramento, California and flew from there to the Hawaiin Islands -- 10 hours or more. (Interviewer asked question about his feelings about atomic bomb during flight). I didn't know -- it was a secret and we didn't dare inquire. We knew we had a special group and that's all. Our commanding officer was Paul W. Tibbets. There's our picture made 10 years ago at a reunion in St. Louis. We spent the night at Honolulu. We were restricted. Wh en we took off there, we went to the -- (interrupted by interviewer and asked about what they thought about being on such a restricted mission) It was not discussed among ourselves, we were strictly cautioned. There was a sign as the entrance to Windover that said What you see here and what you hear hear, Let it stay here when you leave here.

at the entrance to the field -- and we respected the commanding officer's orders. 1945? I was in school 13 months. Anyhow, we took off from Honolulu and can't think of the island, the chain -- Quadralane? Spent another night. From there we flew to Tinian -- which was not a long flight. We continued our training on Tinian and our planes made incindiary (sp) bomb raids on Japan. They made them every night. I could see 3 landing fields from where I was. Planes took off at a rate of 10 a minute. (Fire bombed Tokyo) They burned out lots of towns. Then our atomic energy was flown over by one of our planes. It had returned back to pick it up in New Mexico and flew it back over to us and the Japanese were warned. I don't know -- I can't tell you what it said -- but they were warned and they rejected any peace offer. President Truman gave the orders to "Go ahead and let em have it." So on August 6, the plane took the first and it was dropped successfully. Those bombs were detonated in the air at a certain elevation. They were very successful. We began getting ready for another one. Now, the 2 atomic bombs that were dropped were in different shapes -- sizes of cases. The first one was in a long slender one and the next one was called Fat Boy. I was assigned a job on the plane that was to take the second bomb.

I was assigned a job on the plane that was to take the second bomb. I was to change the air cooled door motor on #3 engine. I had gotten the crew chief's stand under the motor. I got under there and was working and they came with a tow vehicle and said 'You're gonna have to quit for a while' so I moved my work aside. They towed the plane to the loading pen -- it (bomb) had to be raised out of a pit into the bomb bay. It was too large to pull the plane over it. They loaded it and brought it back and I finished my work and looked all around and couldn't see a guard anywhere. (Can't you just see the sparkle in his eye) I said 'I'm gonna see this one' so I eased up the ladder into the pilot's compartment. The compartment behind the pilot was radio and radar and I went into that. There was a Naval officer sitting in there checking out his equipement. It scared me -- but it was too late. I knew if I run he would suspicion me so I got busy like I was checking out equipment. I eased around and there was a porthole in the bomb bay door. I got to that and looked in there and saw the bomb. It was -- the bomb bay door was open and there was a lot of light where I could see it. After they dropped the first bomb, we knew what they were doing. I finished my work.. and I don't know whether that was the night before they took off. I laid out on the work bench and went to sleep so I don't know when it left. On that mission, the weather was socked in. They had 3 targets picked out and they sent planes over all the targets to locate the one that was clear to bomb -- and called the plane in that was carrying the bomb because it didn't have - with the load it had -- it didn't have enough fuel to stay in the air very long. So they located the one that was clear enough and they went in and got the bomb off between some clouds -- quite successfully. The tail gunner -- there was only one gun and it was in the tail with a glass hole around it -- he had a ring side seat to seeing the bomb detonated. He said that thing come up and made a mushroom shaped cloud that got quite high. They were afraid to drop that bomb and continue on in a straight line. They didn't think they would get out of the way far enough. Mr. Tibbetts had devised a plan -- as soon as the bomb was released he would bank the plane at a sharp right angle and get as far away as he could. It didn't have have any ill effect on the plane. The plane had to land on Iwo Jima and refuel to get back. It got back safely. Just a few days later the Japanese sued for peace -- unconditional surrender. They signed peace aboard a ship. (Note: I think Sweeney was the tail gunner -- I have read a book he wrote -- it is very good -- look for it)

additional reference articles:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/504thBombardmentGroup

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/509thCompositeGroup

Alexander V Wright