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War's End: An Eyewitness Account of America's Last Atomic Mission
The author recounts his selection as the leader of the atomic mission to Nagasaki
290 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1997
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November 29, 2022
"The war is World War II. At twenty-five years of age, I was the only pilot who flew on both atomic missions—over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I piloted the B-29 carrying the instruments to Hiroshima on the right wing of the Enola Gay. I watched as the Enola Gay’s bomb bay doors snapped opened and the 9,000-pound uranium bomb was released. As the bomb fell free, I thought, “It’s too late now. There are no strings or cables attached. We can’t get it back, whether it works or not. But if it works, it just might end the war...”
War's End is an important historical account of the events that shaped the modern world.
Author Charles William Sweeney was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II and the pilot who flew Bockscar carrying The Fat Man atomic bomb to the Japanese city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. He retired in 1976 as a major general in the Air National Guard.
Charles W. Sweeney:
Sweeney opens the book with a good foreword; setting the pace for the rest of the writing that was to follow. His writing style is well done here; the book is presented in a fashion similar to an in-person discussion. Sweeny tells this story in a very down-to-earth, matter-of-fact manner that I felt worked here.
The author drops this quote early on, highlighting his opposition to the historical revisionism that attempted to change the narrative around the bombings, as well as the Pacific theater. He would state later in the book that these revisionists were the chief reason he felt he had to tell the public his story:
He also mentions the little-known fact that Japanese society has largely attempted to cover up the nature of its role in the war; downplaying or outrightly ignoring atrocities committed by their Imperial Army, and painting the Americans as the aggressors.
This is something I have heard in other books on WW2 I've read, as well. Horrific war crimes, like The Rape of Nanking, their Biological experimentations and tortuous Unit 731, their "Comfort Women," and other disgraces are not taught in Japanese schools, and many Japanese historians outrightly deny this dark element of their own past.
Sweeney unfolds the events in a chronological fashion here. He covers his early life, before moving on to his military service. There is quite a lot of background history provided, and he doesn't actually get to the prepping for the bomb until Chapter 8 (page ~100). The telling of the Enola Gay's Hiroshima run doesn't begin until Chapter 13 (page ~166).
In the meantime, there are some super-interesting first-hand accounts told. Sweeney talks about his relationship with Paul Tibbets, meeting the big dog General Curtis LeMay, the creation of both the purpose-made B-29 Heavy Bomber, and the two atomic bombs; The Little Boy and The Fat Man.
The extremely controversial strategy of firebombing Japan is also talked about here. A proposal cooked up by Curtis LeMay; the plan would see low-altitude nighttime raids drop newly invented incendiary napalm bombs over large cities in Japan; to devastating effect. The goal of these bombing raids, contrary to how they may be viewed by some in retrospect, was not to kill civilians. It was to destroy Japan's ability to produce war materiel.
Sweeney writes:
As mentioned, these bombings had a catastrophic effect. Sweeney drops this quote:
Sweeney presses on; telling the reader about the extremely zealous and tenacious character of the Japanese soldiers, and providing a rationale for the dropping of a superweapon:
The Mushroom cloud from the atomic explosion over Nagasaki at 11:02 am, August 9, 1945:
Finally; in the book's epilogue, Sweeney takes a shot across the bow at the various assorted pacifists, leftists, and revisionists that seek to paint the dropping of the two atomic bombs as unessessary war crimes. It's a great bit of writing, and I'll include part of it here; mainly for my own future reference. I'll cover it with a spoiler for those not interested:
**********************
I really enjoyed War's End. I would easily recommend it to anyone interested. This one needs to be on the shelf of any armchair WW2 historian.
5 stars.
War's End is an important historical account of the events that shaped the modern world.
Author Charles William Sweeney was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II and the pilot who flew Bockscar carrying The Fat Man atomic bomb to the Japanese city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. He retired in 1976 as a major general in the Air National Guard.
Charles W. Sweeney:
Sweeney opens the book with a good foreword; setting the pace for the rest of the writing that was to follow. His writing style is well done here; the book is presented in a fashion similar to an in-person discussion. Sweeny tells this story in a very down-to-earth, matter-of-fact manner that I felt worked here.
The author drops this quote early on, highlighting his opposition to the historical revisionism that attempted to change the narrative around the bombings, as well as the Pacific theater. He would state later in the book that these revisionists were the chief reason he felt he had to tell the public his story:
"With the fiftieth anniversary of the war’s end approaching, I found myself feeling outraged and betrayed when not only our national museum, the Smithsonian Institution, but some American historians as well attempted to change the history of the war in the Pacific. Suddenly I was hearing that Americans had been the aggressors and the Japanese had been the victims. The exhibit of the Enola Gay originally proposed by the Smithsonian—an exhibit that would be viewed by millions of Americans who would undoubtedly accept it as a factual representation of the war— was for me the final insult to the truth. To quote from the script of that planned exhibit: “For most Americans, this war . . . was a war of vengeance. For most Japanese, it was a war to defend their unique culture against Western imperialism.”
I had occasion to read not only the original script of that planned exhibit but several of the rewrites that followed. They grossly minimized casualty estimates for an invasion of the Japanese mainland, one of the factors that had driven President Truman’s decision to drop the bombs. They placed greater emphasis on alleged Allied racism against the Asians than, for example, on the hundreds of navy men who had been entombed in the USS Arizona at the bottom of Pearl Harbor. Some of those men were trapped for days before they died. Forty-nine photographs were to be exhibited showing the suffering Japanese victims of the war, and only three photographs of wounded Americans. This selection of exhibits was puzzling, given that the history of the war in the Pacific was also synonymous with Corregidor,
Bataan, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and Saipan. It was a history of Japanese prisoner of war camps—sites of unspeakable inhumanities—of kamikazes, and of the infamous medical experiments conducted by Japanese doctors on live prisoners of war. Were Americans, one might ask upon learning all the
facts, compelled to be brutalized until the Japanese were ready to say, We’ll stop?"
He also mentions the little-known fact that Japanese society has largely attempted to cover up the nature of its role in the war; downplaying or outrightly ignoring atrocities committed by their Imperial Army, and painting the Americans as the aggressors.
This is something I have heard in other books on WW2 I've read, as well. Horrific war crimes, like The Rape of Nanking, their Biological experimentations and tortuous Unit 731, their "Comfort Women," and other disgraces are not taught in Japanese schools, and many Japanese historians outrightly deny this dark element of their own past.
Sweeney unfolds the events in a chronological fashion here. He covers his early life, before moving on to his military service. There is quite a lot of background history provided, and he doesn't actually get to the prepping for the bomb until Chapter 8 (page ~100). The telling of the Enola Gay's Hiroshima run doesn't begin until Chapter 13 (page ~166).
In the meantime, there are some super-interesting first-hand accounts told. Sweeney talks about his relationship with Paul Tibbets, meeting the big dog General Curtis LeMay, the creation of both the purpose-made B-29 Heavy Bomber, and the two atomic bombs; The Little Boy and The Fat Man.
The extremely controversial strategy of firebombing Japan is also talked about here. A proposal cooked up by Curtis LeMay; the plan would see low-altitude nighttime raids drop newly invented incendiary napalm bombs over large cities in Japan; to devastating effect. The goal of these bombing raids, contrary to how they may be viewed by some in retrospect, was not to kill civilians. It was to destroy Japan's ability to produce war materiel.
Sweeney writes:
"LeMay had a solution, which Paul Tibbets had recommended several months earlier. Instead of high-altitude bombing, he would send hundreds of B-29s in at 8,000 feet at night. Each airplane would carry thousands of pounds of incendiary bombs filled with napalm, which would incinerate entire Japanese cities and the war industries located in them. The tactic would take advantage of the mostly wooden structures built in Japan and the fact that the Japanese had concentrated their major war industries in the hearts of most of their large cities.
LeMay’s goal was not to bomb civilians. He wanted to destroy Japan’s industrial capacity. The night before a mission his pilots would drop leaflets over target cities warning civilians that the bombing was imminent and they should evacuate. If his plans were to bomb two cities, leaflets would be dropped over four. The Japanese military, however, with the assent of the political leaders, explicitly kept the civilians in harm’s way. When Kyoto first appeared on a list of bomber targets, LeMay expressed opposition. He preferred Hiroshima because of its concentration of troops and factories."
As mentioned, these bombings had a catastrophic effect. Sweeney drops this quote:
"The firebombings were horrific. City after city was incinerated. The fires, started by the napalm and fueled by the burning wooden structures, consumed all the available oxygen in the area. The lack of oxygen would cause a vacuum that generated high-velocity winds that would implode, further intensifying and spreading the ever-consuming fires.
Temperatures exceeded 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The napalm itself was an insidious weapon because it could not be extinguished. It splattered and stuck to any surface it struck: a building, a house, a person.
In mid-March the campaign reached its apex. On the night of March 9, 334 B-29s struck Tokyo, blanketing the city with firebombs. Tokyo was reduced to rubble. It was the single most destructive bombing in history— 125,000 wounded, 97,000 dead, over a million left homeless. In a ten-day period in March, thirty-two square miles of Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Kobe were leveled.
The Japanese fought on..."
Sweeney presses on; telling the reader about the extremely zealous and tenacious character of the Japanese soldiers, and providing a rationale for the dropping of a superweapon:
"...In April it became clear that a final assault on the mainland of Japan would be necessary. The Japanese showed no inclination to surrender. In fact, as American forces drew closer to the mainland, the Japanese military became even more fanatical and suicidal. As brutal as the battle for Iwo Jima had been—leaving 21,000 Americans wounded and over 6,000 marines, soldiers, and sailors dead for an eight-square-mile hunk of rock— Okinawa revealed an even more vivid and chilling window on things to come. Just 325 miles off the coast of Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, Okinawa was the site of the last and largest amphibious invasion of the war.
Defending it, the Japanese fought for almost three months in a hopeless struggle. Virtually all of the Japanese troops fought to the death—110,000 of them. Taking the island required half a million men. Almost 50,000 of them—marines, airmen, sailors, and soldiers—were wounded or killed.
The Japanese had also introduced another terror to the hell that had become the Pacific: the kamikaze, “the Divine Wind.” Young flyers willingly committed suicide by diving their bombladen aircraft into our fleet so that they could kill as many Americans as possible in one single effort. By their glorious sacrifice, they were promised eternal life. Their orders were more religious than military: ‘The death of a single one of you will be the birth of a million others. . . . Choose a death which brings about a maximum result.”
For centuries Japan had been a closed militaristic society. In five hundred years it had never lost a battle. The code of the samurai guided its destiny. During World War II not a single Japanese military unit surrendered. Bushido, “the way of the warrior,” was not only ingrained in the psyche of every Japanese fighter, it was also codified in the Japanese Field Service Regulations, which made being taken alive a court-martial offense. This was the culture and the mind-set we faced..."
The Mushroom cloud from the atomic explosion over Nagasaki at 11:02 am, August 9, 1945:
Finally; in the book's epilogue, Sweeney takes a shot across the bow at the various assorted pacifists, leftists, and revisionists that seek to paint the dropping of the two atomic bombs as unessessary war crimes. It's a great bit of writing, and I'll include part of it here; mainly for my own future reference. I'll cover it with a spoiler for those not interested:
**********************
I really enjoyed War's End. I would easily recommend it to anyone interested. This one needs to be on the shelf of any armchair WW2 historian.
5 stars.
June 23, 2020
When a historical event is subject to both metastasized myth and cherry-picked revisionist history, it's immensely useful to go back to the primary sources and read their accounts. Charles Sweeney's War's End offers one of several eyewitness accounts of the atomic bombs. It makes a breezy read, although it is by no means a comprehensive history. It begins with anecdotes of the future-general's blue-collar Irish Catholic upbringing in the Boston area and discovering his love of flying on the cusp of American entry into World War II. At its core, War's End is the story of how a young major with no combat experience was entrusted with the unprecedented task of dropping a weapon that the nation's leaders believed would end the merciless war.
War's End is useful in its characterizations of the men involved with the missions; most of whom were competent and smart, with some notable exceptions in whom General Sweeney does not hold back. Many of the challenges involved with planning the first-ever atomic bomb missions are hashed out, as well as what it was like to get involved with the highly-advanced and secretive B-29 program during its earliest days. From these portions of the text, the reader comes away awed with what Paul Tibbets accomplished as a colonel with the authority of a general, on top of his superb airmanship.
The biggest flaws in War's End are topics it hints at, but fails to fully address. General Sweeney mentions caddying for Archbishop Francis Spellman as a youth and then crossing paths with him again at Tinian in 1945, but never gives any further details of the Tinian meeting. The identity of the anonymous admiral who encouraged Major Sweeney to drop his bomb at all costs is never revealed, likely out of General Sweeney's respect for the admiral. Over Nagasaki the crew selected a new aimpoint so they could bomb visually through the cloudbreak, but the reader must consult Fred Olivi's memoirs to learn that they were aiming for Mitsubishi Sports Stadium.
War's End can cynically be thought of as an attempt at rehabilitation of General Sweeney's reputation, given all that deviated from plan on the mission. A key conversation with General LeMay is omitted from the account where LeMay forcefully faults Sweeney's leadership and airmanship of the mission. General Sweeney does not make this argument directly, but the book is rife with examples where "cowboy flying" was the norm for that era, and the words of the anonymous admiral (and the desire to show Japanese leadership that Hiroshima was no fluke) should leave little doubt in the reader's mind why Major Sweeney had no issues pressing ahead with a mission where conditions should have dictated returning to base.
General Sweeney devotes some of War's End to justification for the atomic bomb; it's an argument made more persuasively and dispassionately by historians like Richard Frank and DM Giangreco (in addition to a more detailed chronology of events during the final weeks that brought the Pacific War to a close.) Including this is still necessary to his historical narrative, because his testimony to Congress in 1995 was significant in the way it drove changes to the Smithsonian's Enola Gay exhibit.
Overall, War's End is a useful account of the atomic bomb and the pacific war, but by no means the full story. Paul TIbbets and Fred Olivi offer useful accounts of flying the atomic bomb missions that fill in omitted details, on top of broader histories by Frank & Giangreco and histories of the Manhattan Project as a whole.
War's End is useful in its characterizations of the men involved with the missions; most of whom were competent and smart, with some notable exceptions in whom General Sweeney does not hold back. Many of the challenges involved with planning the first-ever atomic bomb missions are hashed out, as well as what it was like to get involved with the highly-advanced and secretive B-29 program during its earliest days. From these portions of the text, the reader comes away awed with what Paul Tibbets accomplished as a colonel with the authority of a general, on top of his superb airmanship.
The biggest flaws in War's End are topics it hints at, but fails to fully address. General Sweeney mentions caddying for Archbishop Francis Spellman as a youth and then crossing paths with him again at Tinian in 1945, but never gives any further details of the Tinian meeting. The identity of the anonymous admiral who encouraged Major Sweeney to drop his bomb at all costs is never revealed, likely out of General Sweeney's respect for the admiral. Over Nagasaki the crew selected a new aimpoint so they could bomb visually through the cloudbreak, but the reader must consult Fred Olivi's memoirs to learn that they were aiming for Mitsubishi Sports Stadium.
War's End can cynically be thought of as an attempt at rehabilitation of General Sweeney's reputation, given all that deviated from plan on the mission. A key conversation with General LeMay is omitted from the account where LeMay forcefully faults Sweeney's leadership and airmanship of the mission. General Sweeney does not make this argument directly, but the book is rife with examples where "cowboy flying" was the norm for that era, and the words of the anonymous admiral (and the desire to show Japanese leadership that Hiroshima was no fluke) should leave little doubt in the reader's mind why Major Sweeney had no issues pressing ahead with a mission where conditions should have dictated returning to base.
General Sweeney devotes some of War's End to justification for the atomic bomb; it's an argument made more persuasively and dispassionately by historians like Richard Frank and DM Giangreco (in addition to a more detailed chronology of events during the final weeks that brought the Pacific War to a close.) Including this is still necessary to his historical narrative, because his testimony to Congress in 1995 was significant in the way it drove changes to the Smithsonian's Enola Gay exhibit.
Overall, War's End is a useful account of the atomic bomb and the pacific war, but by no means the full story. Paul TIbbets and Fred Olivi offer useful accounts of flying the atomic bomb missions that fill in omitted details, on top of broader histories by Frank & Giangreco and histories of the Manhattan Project as a whole.
November 29, 2009
This is a interesting first-hand account of the lead up to and the completion of the two atomic bomb missions against Japan in 1945. The author offers an interesting insight into these missions and offers no apologies for his actions. None is needed, he did his duty as required and nobody should be judged unless you/they have lived during that period.
I am sure that there are many WW2 veterans from many different countries who owe their lives to men like the author. If the war had dragged on, even for another month, how many more lives would have been lost from combat, accidents, mistreatment and execution of Allied POW's? This is a good story and I hope that everyone who doubts the wisdom of ending WW2 as quickly as possible should read this book.
January 28, 2024
Amazing read. Great eyewitness journey through one of the most important military missions of our times.
July 9, 2024
An interesting account of the time leading up to and during the Atomic bombs used in WWll. First hand account of someone who was there and participated in the bombing. The author wants to set the record straight and give a realistic version of what happened and the thoughts and reasons of why the bomb was necessary. Very interesting and informative.
September 7, 2016
Col. Paul Tibbets has been widely recognized as the pilot of the Enola Gay which dropped the first atomic bomb, on the city of Hiroshima. But standing in his shadow was Major Charles Sweeney who was the only pilot to participate in the dropping of BOTH bombs - on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He piloted the plane carrying instruments to measure the blast over Hiroshima and piloted the plane, Bock's Car, that dropped the bomb on Nagasaki.
The book follows his life from his first airplane ride in the summer of 1939 thru his transition to the Air Force Reserve Officer Corps in June, 1946.
However the book was much more. Sweeney abhors those revisionist historians who now make out America as the empire-building bad guys, and the Japanese as the victims.
The most important pages of the book contain a transcript of his testimony to the United States Senate on Rules and Administration in May of 1995. The hearings centered around the Smithsonian Institution's attempt to "explain" the role of the US and the role of the Enola Gay airplane that dropped the Hiroshima bomb. To quote Sweeney, "That exhibit [at the Smithsonian] wanted to memorialize the fiction that Japanese were the victims -- we the evil aggressors." His testimony mar be found in the book's Appendix, pages 273-286.
Although not mentioned by Sweeney, his testimony probably went a log way toward forcing the cancellation of the exhibit, and of displaying the airplane only.
If nothing else, in my opinion, the reading of the Appendix should be part of every school's course on the Second World War.
A great hero of WW II to me now, Major General Charles W. Sweeney. USAF, (Ret.), awarded the Air Medal and the Silver Star for bravery, left us on July 16, 2004, at the age of 85.
The book follows his life from his first airplane ride in the summer of 1939 thru his transition to the Air Force Reserve Officer Corps in June, 1946.
However the book was much more. Sweeney abhors those revisionist historians who now make out America as the empire-building bad guys, and the Japanese as the victims.
The most important pages of the book contain a transcript of his testimony to the United States Senate on Rules and Administration in May of 1995. The hearings centered around the Smithsonian Institution's attempt to "explain" the role of the US and the role of the Enola Gay airplane that dropped the Hiroshima bomb. To quote Sweeney, "That exhibit [at the Smithsonian] wanted to memorialize the fiction that Japanese were the victims -- we the evil aggressors." His testimony mar be found in the book's Appendix, pages 273-286.
Although not mentioned by Sweeney, his testimony probably went a log way toward forcing the cancellation of the exhibit, and of displaying the airplane only.
If nothing else, in my opinion, the reading of the Appendix should be part of every school's course on the Second World War.
A great hero of WW II to me now, Major General Charles W. Sweeney. USAF, (Ret.), awarded the Air Medal and the Silver Star for bravery, left us on July 16, 2004, at the age of 85.
July 18, 2018
A great first person account of both atomic bomb missions that ended WWII. I strongly recommend anyone interested in the history of the atomic bombs that ended WWII should read this book. As another reviewer mentioned, the appendix should be required reading in all US history classes in both high school and college.
October 15, 2021
In 1995, curators at the famed Smithsonian Institution decided an end-of-World-War-II 50th anniversary celebration needed to focus on the victimization of the Japanese by the U.S. as a result of President Truman’s decision to use atomic weaponry there. That so enraged the author of this book that he wrote his memoirs in 1996. Sweney had the unique perspective of flying both atomic missions over Japan, and he was the pilot who flew the last mission. This was a fascinating book, but if you are convinced that President Truman decided horrifically when he authorized the use of nuclear weapons, you’ll probably want to leave this unread. Sweney vehemently disagrees with you.
But this is not a celebration of war, bloodshed, and depravity. Quite the opposite. Sweney asserts that Japan forced the U.S. into a war it didn’t want, and he claims repeatedly throughout the book that, while the Germans ultimately took responsibility for their part in World War II, the Japanese have never apologized and have sought the victimhood path instead. His is an interesting perspective. He recognizes the other side of the controversy, siting President Eisenhower’s perspective that Truman didn’t need to drop the bomb.
Essentially, this gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the training, preparation, and secrecy that went into the use of nuclear weapons. He writes about training in such disparate places as Wendover, Utah and Tinian in the Mariana Islands. Indeed, the bombing missions of August 1945 both flew from Tinian.
I learned fascinating things about the B-24 aircraft that carried the second and larger bomb to Nagasaki. The author gained the confidence of Paul Tibbets, the American in charge of the famed 509th group responsible for transporting the two bombs to the Marianas and from there to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Sweeney’s mission from Tinian to Nagasaki is a nail-biting experience that will keep your head off the pillow or your body on the edge of the chair, depending on where you are when you’re reading this. You’ll read with interest about the evasion actions Sweeney took once the bomb detonated. His mission was awash in near misses and miscommunications that enhanced the risks he had to take.
But this is not a celebration of war, bloodshed, and depravity. Quite the opposite. Sweney asserts that Japan forced the U.S. into a war it didn’t want, and he claims repeatedly throughout the book that, while the Germans ultimately took responsibility for their part in World War II, the Japanese have never apologized and have sought the victimhood path instead. His is an interesting perspective. He recognizes the other side of the controversy, siting President Eisenhower’s perspective that Truman didn’t need to drop the bomb.
Essentially, this gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the training, preparation, and secrecy that went into the use of nuclear weapons. He writes about training in such disparate places as Wendover, Utah and Tinian in the Mariana Islands. Indeed, the bombing missions of August 1945 both flew from Tinian.
I learned fascinating things about the B-24 aircraft that carried the second and larger bomb to Nagasaki. The author gained the confidence of Paul Tibbets, the American in charge of the famed 509th group responsible for transporting the two bombs to the Marianas and from there to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Sweeney’s mission from Tinian to Nagasaki is a nail-biting experience that will keep your head off the pillow or your body on the edge of the chair, depending on where you are when you’re reading this. You’ll read with interest about the evasion actions Sweeney took once the bomb detonated. His mission was awash in near misses and miscommunications that enhanced the risks he had to take.
September 7, 2025
Historical firsts are always remembered, but historical seconds are mostly forgotten. The 2nd atomic bomb used in war is one of those seconds that is often mentioned but with few, if any, details. Sweeney flew both atomic bomb missions, giving us a unique memoir. From his early war days as test pilot and then air base officer at Eglin Field he finagles his way into Paul Tibbets' elite and super secret unit, knowing nothing of its reason to exist, he just wants to fly a Superfortress. Sweeney is a good story teller and although a few things are repeated, it didn't bother me or slow the pace of the book. Playing second fiddle to Tibbets didn't seem to bother Sweeney as it did another man in the outfit and for the most part, he only has one axe to grind -- revisionist historians who claim the atomic bombs were unnecessary at best, a war crime at worst. He refutes that at many points in this memoir, so if that bothers you, avoid. Most telling is his dissection of Hirohito's radio address that made me think about it in a different context than I have before and I consider his conclusions to be well thought out.
His mission to bomb Nagasaki had several crises that the mission to Hiroshima did not -- among them, the plutonium bomb had to be pre armed before takeoff. Had they crashed on takeoff, and it was a near thing, the bomb could well have detonated, erasing every person on Tinian Island in a few seconds. Fuel problems, rendezvous problems, smoke over the primary target, all conspired to make the second mission far more harrowing than Hiroshima.
Along the way you'll get some small trivia facts about the 509th Composite and its personnel that you may not have seen in other histories of the atomic bombings. A great addition to the historiography of the end of WW2 and well worth the time if WW2 history is something you enjoy.
His mission to bomb Nagasaki had several crises that the mission to Hiroshima did not -- among them, the plutonium bomb had to be pre armed before takeoff. Had they crashed on takeoff, and it was a near thing, the bomb could well have detonated, erasing every person on Tinian Island in a few seconds. Fuel problems, rendezvous problems, smoke over the primary target, all conspired to make the second mission far more harrowing than Hiroshima.
Along the way you'll get some small trivia facts about the 509th Composite and its personnel that you may not have seen in other histories of the atomic bombings. A great addition to the historiography of the end of WW2 and well worth the time if WW2 history is something you enjoy.
September 14, 2025
This is the autobiography of the pilot of the second atomic bomber (which destroyed Nagasaki), and focuses on his career through WW2 as a test pilot and almost entirely US-based aviator, his relationship with Colonel Tibbets (who dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and who commanded the unit), and some limited commentary about why dropping these bombs was essential to ending WW2 without an invasion of mainland Japan, and why this was overall a good thing. Lots of interesting details about the personnel, aviation during a period of rapid improvement, and the unique elements of the "Silverplate" atomic-specific B-29 modifications (with the B-29 itself a superweapon program on par with the atomic bomb's development itself). Especially interesting to see history through the eyes of someone who was the clear second to Tibbet, and the aviators themselves being secondary/supporting to the nuclear program itself, and their unique viewpoint on each. Overall, does a good job of supporting that the atomic weapons were both horrible but necessary and a "necessary evil" to end the war.
April 23, 2022
Interesting book by the pilot of the second bomb dropped on Japan in 1945, on Nagasaki. Slim volume but it also includes his biography and flight training up until that time and some afterthoughts. Those afterthoughts have a tinge of regret in that he had to bear the regrets of the world over time as opinion shifted from the necessity to the abhorrence. I regret he felt to need to justify the mission.
That it was so late in the war of the Pacific is entirely because it was the bomb flights that ended the war.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing but at the time there appeared no chance of a surrender no matter how many islands were fought over and many lives lost. That Hirohito had to record a message of surrender and smuggle it to the radio service despite attempts to destroy it indicated the fervour of the military to continue to everyone's bitter end.
That it was so late in the war of the Pacific is entirely because it was the bomb flights that ended the war.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing but at the time there appeared no chance of a surrender no matter how many islands were fought over and many lives lost. That Hirohito had to record a message of surrender and smuggle it to the radio service despite attempts to destroy it indicated the fervour of the military to continue to everyone's bitter end.
May 21, 2022
Nice book. Never a dull moment for 6-7 hours of reading.
Though I felt disappointed that author didn't vocalize about the tens of thousands of Japanese civilians that got evaporated put of existence with Atomic Bomb blasts. With all the "we prayed to god" instances, author seemed to have disconnected himself emotionally with the direct mortal consequences of his actions. In contrast, in Mahabharata, Krishna talks about the plight of people who were gonna die in the war, calling them a unwanted but necessary sacrifice for the greater good. I guess these American bombers had none of those human traits.
Though I felt disappointed that author didn't vocalize about the tens of thousands of Japanese civilians that got evaporated put of existence with Atomic Bomb blasts. With all the "we prayed to god" instances, author seemed to have disconnected himself emotionally with the direct mortal consequences of his actions. In contrast, in Mahabharata, Krishna talks about the plight of people who were gonna die in the war, calling them a unwanted but necessary sacrifice for the greater good. I guess these American bombers had none of those human traits.
August 9, 2021
Wether Sweeney wanted to or not the book showed his unflattering side he blundered into highlighting the conflict between him and Tibbets. It shows a vital moment in history when LeMay got introduced to the B-29. When I call him a bootlicker this book provides much of the reasoning for the statement..... In showing his warts and showing the warts of everybody the book adds to the history of the mission.
February 23, 2022
War's End is a well-written account of the Atomic bombing of Japan's two cities. Sweeney's account provides and eye witness view of the bombing and its effects. There is good build up of how the Atomic bombs developed and who was involved. Charles W. Sweeney comes across as somewhat arrogant and a maverick. Nevertheless, these are the qualities needed to get the job done. It was interesting to read about the people involved and a little of the mindset of the Japanese military.
September 1, 2023
What a life this man lead. The things he did for our country. At 25, I was not in the head space to do the things he did. Were any of us??? Right or wrong, he was doing his job. Should another bomb of that nature ever be dropped again, that's a big question, and in my opinion, no. Is it worth the destruction, again? I don't think so. There's always consequences to these actions how many of that generation dealt with the things they saw and did, what effect did it have on them and their life.
September 28, 2023
The Means to an End
Often times the truth is more dramatic than fiction can ever be. This chronicles a critical historical moment in US/Japanese history that must never be forgotten - but, for most people, has been. Even if you agree or disagree with the result of this moment, the route taken to get there is fascinating.
Often times the truth is more dramatic than fiction can ever be. This chronicles a critical historical moment in US/Japanese history that must never be forgotten - but, for most people, has been. Even if you agree or disagree with the result of this moment, the route taken to get there is fascinating.
May 8, 2021
Great read!
Loved the personal viewpoint. Extremely well written. Even the technical descriptions were quite understandable. I could hardly put it down, because I felt like I was there along with them!
Loved the personal viewpoint. Extremely well written. Even the technical descriptions were quite understandable. I could hardly put it down, because I felt like I was there along with them!
August 11, 2021
Incredibly detailed story, about the single two biggest moments in the end of of WWll, from an internal perspective - Charles Sweeney.
He went on the first mission and piloted the second in Bocks Car. A must read and follow up (And better read) than the Enola Gay story.
He went on the first mission and piloted the second in Bocks Car. A must read and follow up (And better read) than the Enola Gay story.
February 18, 2022
The Facts
While not always captivating, this book should be essential reading for all American and Japanese citizens. Whether you agree with the bombings or not isn't the issue. The issue at stake is never allowing facts to be ignored.
While not always captivating, this book should be essential reading for all American and Japanese citizens. Whether you agree with the bombings or not isn't the issue. The issue at stake is never allowing facts to be ignored.
February 25, 2022
a great read
A detailed account of one man’s experience during WWII, but an experience only a few had a role in. For anyone interested in history within the framework of WWII this is a must read. An extremely well done piece of writing.
A detailed account of one man’s experience during WWII, but an experience only a few had a role in. For anyone interested in history within the framework of WWII this is a must read. An extremely well done piece of writing.
September 3, 2023
Excellent!
I've read a lot about WWII, but had never read about this pieces of history. So much energy is focused on the scientific sides of this story, but the logistical sides of this story is much more interesting. I learned so much by reading this book.
I've read a lot about WWII, but had never read about this pieces of history. So much energy is focused on the scientific sides of this story, but the logistical sides of this story is much more interesting. I learned so much by reading this book.
February 18, 2022
Authored by Charles W. Sweeney, the pilot who commanded the mission to drop the atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Well written and highly informative.
February 4, 2023
This is an important book to read. It helped me understand the reasoning behind the decision to drop the atomic bomb.
September 24, 2023
Fascinating account, I learned a lot of things I didn't know. If you like WWII history. This is a good one.
October 11, 2023
interesting, detailed, and wise
I especially liked the epilogue discussion of military and moral issues involved in the decision to drop the atomic bombs.
I especially liked the epilogue discussion of military and moral issues involved in the decision to drop the atomic bombs.
June 8, 2025
What an incredible true story. So well written and such a great book to read. I highly reccomend it!
October 4, 2021
A book that very well could have been dry and grueling to finish, I could not put down as I jumped to read pages aloud to those around me!
December 11, 2019
Wonderful!!
My father served on Saipan and watched the planes take off. He was a tail gunner on a B29. Loved this book!
My father served on Saipan and watched the planes take off. He was a tail gunner on a B29. Loved this book!
December 17, 2020
Does a great job of explaining the efforts taken to avoid the destruction of Japanese culture while explaining the differences between the two atomic bomb missions.
July 30, 2008
This is a must read! Revisionist history is masking what really happened during World War II. Without first person testimony like Maj. Gen. Sweeney provides in this eyewitness account, our young people will eventually believe that WWII and it's eventual outcome was totally the fault of the USA.
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