Morris Jeppson Autographs, Memorabilia & Collectibles

Morris R. Jeppson (1922-2010), on his first and only combat mission, was the Weapons Test Officer on the Enola Gay responsible for arming the bomb in flight. An electrical engineer, Jeppson had worked with Los Alamos scientists on development of bomb firing mechanisms. On the morning of August 6, 1945, the Enola Gay, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets lifted off from Tinian Island on its mission to drop the world's first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. 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 (August 9) hastened the surrender of Japan, ending WWII. For forty years, Jeppson declined all public comment on the mission. Breaking his silence on the 40th anniversary of the bombing, Jeppson lived for another quarter century, discussing the event freely in press interviews and film documentaries. He died on March 30, 2010, survived by his wife and a large family which included three great grandchildren. His death left Enola Gay navigator Theodore "Dutch" Van Kirk as the last surviving crewman on the fateful mission.