Return of The Enola Gay by Paul W. Tibbets, signed by 4 WWII crew + BONUS, Rare

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Return of The Enola Gay by Paul W. Tibbets, signed by 4 WWII crew + BONUS, Rare:
$259.00

For sale here is a limited edition (#823/1500) of the book Return of the Enola Gay by Paul W. Tibbets. This book is signed by four members of the crew that dropped the atomic bomb \"Little Boy\" on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 at 8:15 a.m. thus beginning the end of our war with Japan.The signatures include: Colonel Paul Tibbets (pilot, Brig. General USAF, Retired ), Major Thomas W. Ferebee (bombardier), Captain Theodore \"Dutch\" Van Kirk (navigator, who just passed away recently), and Pfc. Richard H. Nelson (radio operator). Here is the extra fantastic bonus: there is an additional signature of pilot Dorothea \"Didi\" Moorman, WASP, and her story is told in Chapter 22, Flight of the Ladybird: The WASPS and the B-29. It\'s a hell of as story, and I heard it told straight from the source, and that is because I knew Didi and her husband, US Army Air Corps pilot Lieutenant Henry Ditto \"Hank\" Moorman. Hank and Didi were close friends neighbors of my Dad and I when we all lived down in the Florida Keys.First, The Provenance: How Do I Have This Book?Paul Tibbets presented Didi Moorman with this book during one of their reunions (see pictures, included with purchase). My Dad and I both owned homes down in Big Pine Key, FL throughout the 90\'s and Noughts. My Dad was retired and lived their full-time. Didi and Hank lived a couple of houses up the street. Hank had a swell fishing boat and him and my Dad would go out fishing from time to time (got a great shot of them returning from a successful Mahi Mahi outing). Didi would come along sometimes. When visiting I would join them for outings. It was all great fun. Hank was a total cut-up, a real joker, and Didi was absolutely wonderful and would talk your ear off. After we\'d come in from an excursion we\'d clean our catch then settle down with some cocktails and Hank and Didi would go right into telling us all sorts of amazing stories.To make a long story short (the full story is in the book), the B-29 had \"issues\" one of which no less was that engines tended to catch fire. It was a rough aircraft to handle and pilots were averse to taking it on. Tibbets was having a hell of a time getting anyone motivated to fly the beast and he had the big fat mission to carry out. He recruited Didi Moorman and pilot Dora Dougherty to train to fly the \"Superfortress\" with the idea that if he could show to the men that a female pilot could fly the B-29 then why not the male pilots. A little reverse psychology. And it worked. And the story about getting Dora and Didi checked out as pilots-in-command is thrilling.Hank passed away in 1994 and Didi stayed on in their house. In 1998 Hurricane Georges happened and the Lower Keys took a direct hit from that Category 3 storm, especially Big Pine Key. We were all hunkered down there during the intensity and the resulting clean up took several days. My Dad and I helped clean up the destruction around Didi\'s house. Nobody was hurt but the damage and debris and 90 degree temps and stifling humidity made the aftermath pretty awful. Everybody pitched in and we got it all put back in tip top shape.Not long after Georges hit Didi came over to may Dad\'s house to pay him a regular visit and thank us for the help (I was not down at the time) and it was during that visit that she gave my Dad the book. She also signed it and included the pictures of Hank and her posing in a cockpit (not sure of the plane) and also the reenactment photo they took in 1990. All great stuff.Didi passed away in 2005. She was just great. Before my Dad passed away a few years later he gave the book to me.What is Included in This sale (please refer to pictures)The Book (pictures 1, 2, and 3)
The book is in great shape. It has been read, but there is no damage, no bends or tears, and the binding is nice and tight. It did reside in a smokers house. Hell, everybody down there smoked back then. It has been out of a smoking household for many years now and any smoke odor has greatly dimished. The pages are nice and white, The outer edges of the pages are a tad off-white. There are the signatures of four crewmen on the autograph page along with the additional signature that reads Didi Moorman WASP, 43 - 4The Two Original Photos of Hank and Didi (picture 4)
The black and white photo is a 5x7 and was taken in November of 1944. It is an original great condition. The second, the reenactment photo, is also original and was taken in 1990. It is 3.5x5Xerox Copy of Article about Hank and Didi (picture 5)
I\'m not sure what publication this is taken from. It\'s a little piece about Didi and Hank. It has been folded and is a bit yellowed, but it\'s a nice piece about their history.Copies of Photos of Didi Moorman and Dora Dougherty (pictures 6 & 7)
These are not original. They are copies of photos taken during the reunion that Paul Tibbets also attended and where he presented the book to Didi. In the picture of the three of them Didi is in the middle. These copies have yellowed a bit with ageCopy of Photo of Didi, Lt. Col. Tibbets, and Dora (picture 8)
This is not an original photo, but it is as scanned copy of the original photo which had been in Didi\'s possession. This image can be found all over the web. The three of them are standing in front of the B-29 they trained on, The Ladybird. This copy is in great condition. It is not signed. Didi just printed it out for my Dad when she gave him the book.Copy of Letter Concerning B-29 Training at Clovis AFB (picture 9)
This seems to be taken from a WASP website and it is from Harry McKeown, Lt. Col USAD (Ret) and it\'s talks about his memory of the B-29 training at Clovis AFB. It\'s just an extra little piece of history. Nothing fancy.Certificate of Authenticity (picture 10)
This came with the book. It has yellowed but it\'s all there. Remember, Didi\'s signature came after the book was given to her so this certificate of authenticity does not directly address her autograph, just the autograph of the four crew members of the Enola Gay.Bonus!
This is an extremely small original (1.25x1.5) of Hank sitting on the handlebars of his bicycle and riding it backwards--with no hands. He did this from time to time and it was funny as all get out. \"Hey everyone, Hanks riding his bike backwards again!\"So that\'s it. This is indeed a one of a kind item. If you have any questions about these items please do not hesitate to email me and I will answer.This would make a swell Christmas gift for the WWII aficionado. Especially since next August is the 70th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bombs thus bringing about the end of the war.When you purchase the book I will also email you links to various websites that further describe Didi and Dora\'s adventures. I don\'t think allows links to third party sites during a sale. If you search either name plenty of info comes up.This book and all the extras are for U.S. sale only. If for any reason you are unhappy with your purchase you can return all items to me for a full refund. No problem.Thank you for offerding!