ENOLA GAY CREW (THEODORE VAN KIRK) - STAMP(S) SIGNED - HFSID 276463

ENOLA GAY CREW: THEODORE "DUTCH" VAN KIRK
The navigator on the Enola Gay signs a sheet of "poster" stamps created after a planned U.S. stamp to commemorate the dropping of the atomic bombs in August 1945 was rescinded by the U.S. Postal service following protests from the Japanese Government and intervention by then-President Bill Clinton.
Stamps signed: "Dutch Van Kirk/Navigator - Enola Gay/6 Aug. 1945" on lower right selvage, 1p, 11x8½. Sheet of 36 commemorative stamps (not official U.S. postage), picturing a B-29 bomber and a mushroom cloud. ©1995, Newhouse/Kaplan. Imprinted caption imprinted on four panels of selvage. In full: "History Denied/Since 1893, the U.S. Postal Service has been designing and issuing stamps to commemorate significant events, places and people in American history. After protests from Japanese government officials and intervention by President Clinton, the Postal Service reluctantly rescinded a planned stamp commemorating the swift conclusion of WW II through the use of atomic bombs. This is the only commemorative stamp ever rescinded by the U.S. Postal Service. Ironically, the announcement was made public by the White House on December 7, 1994, exactly 53 years to the day after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. This commemorative poster stamp was created in place of the cancelled stamp to honor the sacrifices made by a generation of Americans." Captain Theodore "Dutch" Van Kirk (1921-2014) was the navigator on the historic flight of the Enola Gay B-29 bomber that lifted off from Tinian Island at 2:45 A.M. on August 6, 1945. At 17 seconds past 8:15 a.m., "Little Boy", a 9,000-pound uranium-235 core-fissionable atomic bomb was released over Hiroshima, Japan. Forty-three seconds later, after the bomb detonated at 1,890 feet, the city was decimated; 71,000 were killed or assumed dead, 68,000 were injured and 60,000 buildings were destroyed. The bombing hastened the end of WWII and changed the nature of warfare forever. Fine condition.