Committee Answers Smithsonian

General John Dailey
Director
National Air and Space Museum
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, DC 20013

Dear General Dailey:

Thank you for the response, posted on the National Air and Space Museum's website, to the Statement of Principles that accompanied my letter of November 5. I am disappointed to see that you interpret the Museum's mission so narrowly. By doing so, you are passing up an excellent opportunity to educate visitors about the atomic bombings of 1945, which a panel of experts assembled by the Newseum identified as the most important news event of the twentieth century. In defense of your decision, you cite the Museum's Congressional mandate, which assigns the responsibility to "provide educational material for the historical study of aviation..." One could certainly interpret that phrase in a way that justifies inclusion of far more extensive and more pertinent background information about the bombings than the exhibit plans currently provide and that sanctions discussion of the unabated 58-year-long controversy surrounding these bombings.

Clearly your predecessors at the Museum have, at times, understood the Museum's mandate differently and have attempted to present historically contextualized exhibits that confronted important issues of interpretation. Many of us feel that the Museum is abdicating its responsibility and abandoning its educational role by failing even to inform the public that a longstanding scholarly controversy about the atomic bombings exists. Indeed, by removing the Enola Gay from this controversy, by publicly stating this past August that you are exhibiting the plane "in all of its glory as a magnificent technological achievement," and by displaying it and only it in conjunction with an invitation to a "festive open house" on your "Salute to Military Aviation Veterans" webpage, you and the museum are promoting a one-sided view of the plane and its history. The treatment of the plane, as it now stands, could easily lend itself to a celebratory view of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As Admiral Noel Gayler, former Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Command, and former Director of the National Security Agency, said of the Enola Gay at a 1987 Smithsonian Research Advisory Committee meeting, "[I]f we put that thing on exhibit, we cannot fail to give the impression that we somehow are glorifying that mission or taking pride in it."

I also take note that the response posted on your website states that the type of label being used for the Enola Gay is "precisely the same kind used for the other airplanes and spacecraft in the museum. Its intent is to tell visitors what the object is and the basic facts concerning its history. Over the 26 years of its existence, the museum has carefully followed an approach which offers accurate descriptive data, allowing visitors to evaluate what they encounter in the context of their own points of view."

On behalf of the Committee for a National Discussion of Nuclear History and Current Policy, I would like to raise several questions with regard to this statement and several others listed under the heading "Frequently Asked Questions About Exhibition of the B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay":

I. Your claim that the type of label used with regard to the Enola Gay is "precisely the same kind used for the other airplanes" is not accurate. Whereas the label for the Enola Gay makes no mention of the consequences of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima or Nagasaki, your discussion of the incendiary bomb attacks in "The Final Blows" section states that "These attacks, carried out by hundreds of B-29s, devastated Japanese cities." We see no reason why the section titled "Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay" should not be expanded to include a description of the devastation wrought by this plane, including an informed estimate of the casualty figures. We would hope that the label would go further to mention the controversial nature of the use of the atomic bombs and we would be willing to suggest language for your consideration.

II. You state that, over its 26 years, the Museum has restricted itself to offering "descriptive data." But the Museum's history does not bear this out. In November 1991, for example, the Museum opened an excellent exhibit titled "Legend, Memory, and the Great War in the Air." The highly regarded chairman of the Museum's Aeronautics Department explained that the exhibit attempted to contrast the "myths and misconceptions that have grown up around [World War I] with the reality of life and death in the air, 1914-1918." And, of course, the Museum valiantly attempted to present the exhibit titled "The Crossroads: The End of World War II, the Atomic Bomb and the Origins of the Cold War" in 1995.

III. You state that "the Museum plans to add interactive components to major artifact displays" but that these will not be available by December 15. We respectfully request an opportunity to see and evaluate such "interactive components" for the Enola Gay before they appear in public   the same courtesy the National Air and Space Museum afforded the concerned members of the American Legion in 1994. We would be delighted to work with the Museum's talented and knowledgeable curators to insure that these components, and all facets of the exhibit, are presented in a way that respects the scholarly debates involved and the great public concern over these issues. Toward that end, it would also, of course, be appropriate for the Museum to consult scholars and others whose viewpoints differ from those of the members of our Committee.

IV. We note that the Smithsonian is publishing a book titled "The Enola Gay: The B-29 That Dropped the First Atomic Bomb." Because this is an official publication that will be part of the Museum's interpretation of the exhibit, we request an opportunity to review a copy before it is made available to the public. In light of the fact that our Committee includes many of this country's leading experts on the bomb decision as well as experts on aviation technology, we would like to help you eliminate any glaring inaccuracies and make certain that the presentation is indeed balanced and responsible. Your own answer to frequently asked questions gives us reason for concern. In describing the legacy of the Enola Gay, you state that "after the bombing of Nagasaki, shortly after the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan surrendered unconditionally." That statement is at best misleading given the fact that the U.S. acceded to Japan's continued insistence on retaining the Emperor.

V. We note that the Smithsonian hopes to schedule lectures and other types of educational programs by spring 2004. We request the opportunity to meet with you and the curators to discuss these as well. Our intent is to insure that the Museum offers to the public a balanced presentation of the conflicting viewpoints on the atomic bombings. In addition, but separately, we expect that such lectures and presentations will deal with the many scholarly and popular studies that bear upon the moral significance of the actions connected with the Enola Gay and the subsequent ongoing nuclear arms race   subjects about which, once more, there are many contending and well-established viewpoints that any balanced presentation must respect. Holding such early and frank consultations on these matters can help avoid later controversy.

VI. And, finally, you suggest on the Museum's website and have stated more explicitly elsewhere that you want visitors to draw their own conclusions about the plane's mission based on information provided and their own points of view. But studies have shown that the American public has very limited knowledge about the factors that influenced the decision to drop atomic bombs, about the strong doubts and outright opposition expressed then or later by many of America's top military leaders to the military necessity, political advisability, or moral defensibility of their use, and about the immediate and long-term human and political consequences of their use. But even limiting discussion to the original use of the bomb, we wonder how an exhibit that presents so little pertinent information can provide the basis for visitors to draw any meaningful conclusions.

We also note that some members of our Committee served on the advisory committee to the Museum's planned 1995 exhibit. When that exhibit was cancelled, the Washington Post reported that Smithsonian Secretary I. Michael Heyman expressed his interest in holding "'a series of symposia'...on the issues raised by atomic weapons and their use." The panels were to include "experts, curators, military historians, representatives of veterans and peace groups and others." This has, unfortunately, never taken place. We call upon the Museum to realize Secretary Heyman's vision and work with our Committee to insure that a series of conferences is held that offers balanced presentations and reflects the views of the nation's leading scholars on these crucial matters.

And, in closing, we call your attention to the Committee website enola-gay.org, which contains an updated list of the most prominent signers of our statement calling on the Museum to act responsibly in this matter and will also display sobering statements by America's top military leaders disputing the orthodox view that the atomic bombs were justifiable because they were needed to bring an end to the Second World War.

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