ENOLA GAY CREW - FIRST DAY COVER SIGNED CO-SIGNED BY: ENOLA GAY CREW (JACOB BESER), ENOLA GAY CREW (GEORGE R. CARON), ENOLA GAY CREW (PAUL W. TIBBETS), ENOLA GAY CREW (COLONEL THOMAS W. FEREBEE) - HFSID 147372

ENOLA GAY CREW: PAUL W. TIBBETS, THOMAS W. FEREBEE, JACOB BESER and GEORGE R. CARON
Paul W. Tibbets, Thomas W. Ferebee, Jacob Beser and George R. Caron of the Enola Gay all signed this 1973 first day cover honoring Harry S. Truman
First day cover signed "Thomas W. Ferebee", "Paul W. Tibbets", "George R. Caron" and "Jacob Beser", all in blue and black ink.6¼x3½. First Day Cover honoring Harry S. Truman. Postmarked Independence, Ohio, May 8, 1973. One 8-cent b/w Harry S. Truman stamp affixed. FIRST DAY OF ISSUE. United States Army Air Force Colonel TIBBETS (1915-2007) was responsible for the organization, training and command of the world's first nuclear strike force. On the morning of Aug. 6, 1945, Colonel Tibbets piloted the Enola Gay, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress named after his mother, on its mission to drop the world's first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. FEREBEE (1918-2000) was the bombardier on board the Enola Gay and was responsible for dropping the first atomic bomb, "Little Boy", on Hiroshima, Japan. Ferebee initially trained for a position on the Boston Red Sox, but joined the Army when he didn't make the team. A knee injury put him into flight school instead of Army training. He remained in the Air Force until the 1970s, serving in Korea and retiring as a colonel. He worked as a real estate agent after retirement. The bomb killed 66,000 and injured 69,000 people, not including long-term victims of radiation exposure. However, the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Aug. 9) hastened the surrender of Japan, ending World War II. Radar counter measures (RCM) observer BESER (1921-1992) was the only crew member of both the Enola Gay and Bock's Car, the two B-29s that dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki hastening the end of World War II. CARON (1919-1995)was the tail gunner on the Enola Gay on its historic mission to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan on Aug. 6, 1945. Seated in the rear of the B-29, he was the first to see the mushroom cloud. Caron had been given a camera at the last moment and snapped a roll of photographs as the mushroom cloud ascended. His photographs of the explosion were printed on millions of leaflets that were dropped over Japan the next day. Normal postal stamps. Envelope is sealed and empty. Lightly toned and rippled. Lightly soiled on verso (no show-through). Otherwise in fine condition.