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after having met when Foote's artillery unit was deployed to
Northern Ireland. Foote had spent six years in the US military and was tasked with making preparations for the invasion of Japan but in spite of his desires, never saw combat. "Foote was devastated that World War II was over", and it was
271:, who participated on the mission as weaponeer, credited Beahan with saving the mission from failure by finding an opening in the clouds by which to complete the required visual bombing of the city. An estimated 35,000–40,000 people were killed outright by the bombing of Nagasaki.
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In 1985, on the 40th anniversary of the
Nagasaki bombing, Beahan said he would never apologize for the bombing, and that he had been thanked for his role by a group of 25 Japanese. He said the bombing was the "best way out of a hell of a mess." However in an interview with
286:. He survived a crash of a B-25 at National Airport Aug 19, 1946. He remained in the Air Force until 1964, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. After his retirement, he worked as a technical writer for the engineering and construction firm Brown & Root through 1985.
235:. He flew 13 missions over Europe, 17 missions over North Africa, and five credited combat missions in the Pacific with the 509th Composite Group (including the Nagasaki sortie). He was shot down and crash-landed four times (twice in Europe and North Africa).
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on a football scholarship during the 1930s. He completed his B.S. degree in 1940. In July 1940, Beahan joined the Army Air Forces as an aviation cadet but washed out of pilot training, becoming a bombardier instead. He was assigned to the
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which was a reference to him, purportedly because he could "hit a pickle barrel with a bomb from 30,000 feet" or he was "good with the fairer sex," his aircraft acted as the blast instrumentation support aircraft for the mission.
364:'We named our airplane for him,' Sweeney said Thursday. 'We used to call him the Great Artiste. He was so good at his work. He was the sparkplug of our crew. We all loved him. We called him Honeybee because he was so likeable.'
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in 1988, he said "I would sincerely say I am sorry" when asked what he would say to a survivor of the bombing. Beahan hoped that he would forever remain the last man to have dropped an atomic bomb on people.
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Jan 29, 1942 - Airplane was damaged by flak and continuous attack by fighters wounding the pilot and co-pilot causing a crash landing in very rough terrain near the front lines.
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He returned to the United States as a bombing instructor in
Barksdale, Louisiana. In the summer of 1944, he was recruited by his former commander in England, Colonel
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September 7th, 1942 - Airplane was damaged beyond repair by fighters and flak, barely managing to return to its home base with wounded and killed personnel aboard.
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October 2, 1942 - Airplane was severely damaged by flak and fighters, barely returning to friendly territory with severely wounded personnel aboard.
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Dec 18th, 1942 - Airplane was damaged by flak and continuous attack by fighters causing a crash landing near the front lines.
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379:. Vol. I. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. January 1, 1948. p. 108
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People associated with the atomic bombings of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
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Shelby Foote: A Writer's Life, by C. Stuart
Chapman (2003, p. 93)
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on August 9, 1945 (his 27th birthday), that dropped the second
465:"Kermit Beahan, 70, Bombardier On Plane That Dropped A-Bomb"
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He also participated in the first atomic mission that bombed
176:(August 9, 1918 – March 9, 1989) was a career officer in the
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402:"Kermit Beahan, 70, Bombardier on Plane That Dropped A-Bomb"
306:. He was survived by his wife, the former Teresa Lavery of
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Beahan, the future husband of his ex-wife, who ended it.
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United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II
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267:was conducted on Beahan's 27th birthday. Admiral
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441:: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
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359:Beahan obituary (March 10, 1989)
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184:during World War II. He was the
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302:in 1989. He was buried at the
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233:Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses
182:United States Army Air Forces
473:"Near Failure at Nagasaki",
280:1945 Japan–Washington flight
547:Recipients of the Air Medal
419:CBS News West 57th (1988),
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532:Rice Owls football players
148:Distinguished Flying Cross
304:Houston National Cemetery
282:under Lieutenant General
190:Boeing B-29 Superfortress
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265:mission to bomb Nagasaki
188:on the crew flying the
178:United States Air Force
110:United States Air Force
537:Rice University alumni
229:97th Bombardment Group
81:Clear Lake City, Texas
269:Frederick L. Ashworth
258:509th Composite Group
116:Years of service
180:and its predecessor
16:US Air Force officer
475:AIR FORCE Magazine
406:The New York Times
292:CBS News West 57th
276:Japanese surrender
256:to be part of the
174:Kermit King Beahan
128:Lieutenant Colonel
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167:Tess Lavery
43:Nickname(s)
491:Categories
347:References
186:bombardier
88:Allegiance
57:1918-08-09
210:Hiroshima
164:Spouse(s)
153:Air Medal
119:1940–1964
481:archived
437:citation
428:June 23,
319:See also
194:Bockscar
96:Service/
383:June 9,
308:Belfast
362:Quote:
144:Awards
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443:link
430:2023
385:2024
263:The
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51:Born
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