The Last Man On the
Crew
THE NAVIGATOR, THE
ACTOR, AND THE
ATHLETE
Theodore Van Kirk was the navigator on the
Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb on
Hiroshima in
August 1945. For the rest of his life, Van
Kirk remained aware of the damage the mission had wrought, but was adamant that it was necessary considering all the alternatives, which would have resulted in even greater casualty rates on both sides.
James Shigeta was the handsome talented
Asian American star of
Flower Drum Song (
1961). “
Wah Wah” Jones was the greatest athlete in the history of the
University of Kentucky. He starred in four sports, and was a member of the 1948 “
Fabulous Five”
NCAA Basketball Championship team.
Theodore Van Kirk (
February 27,
1921 – July 28, 2014) was a navigator of the
United States Army Air Forces, best known as the navigator of the Enola Gay when it dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. With the death of fellow crewman
Morris Jeppson (who died on March 30,
2010), Van Kirk was the last surviving member of the Enola Gay crew.[1] He died four years later on July 28.
Van Kirk was born in
Northumberland, Pennsylvania, and joined the
Army Air Force Aviation Cadet Program October 1941. On 1
April 1942, he received both his commission and navigator wings and transferred to the 97th
Bomb Group, the first operational
B-17 Flying Fortress unit in
England. The crew of the "Red
Gremlin" also included pilot
Paul Tibbets and bombardier
Tom Ferebee. Van Kirk would later fly with these men on the Hiroshima mission.
From August to
October 1942 the crew flew 11 missions out of England. They were the lead aircraft, responsible for group navigation and bombing. In October 1942 they flew
General Mark Clark to
Gibraltar for his secret
North African rendezvous with the
French prior to
Operation Torch. In November they ferried
General Eisenhower to Gibraltar to command the North African invasion forces. After
German reinforcements began pouring into the port of
Bizerte, Tunisia, posing a serious threat to
Allied strategy, a new mission emerged. On
16 November 1942 the crew led their group in an attack that took the
Germans by surprise at
Sidi Ahmed Air Base at
Bizerte.
James S. Shigeta (June 17, 1929 – July 28, 2014) was an
American film and television actor. He was also a standards singer, musical theatre and nightclub performer, and recording artist. He was a Sansei or third-generation
American of
Japanese ancestry.[1] He was noted for his roles in Flower Drum Song (1961),
Die Hard (
1988), and
Mulan (
1998).
Paramount Pictures and
James Clavell cast Shigeta in the 1960 release
Walk Like A
Dragon, as Cheng Lu, a young
Chinese man in the American old west who resents that Chinese must be subservient to white people.[14] When filming began, Shigeta was still starring in
Holiday in
Japan in
Las Vegas.[12] An arrangement was made to transport him after his last show to the
Paramount studio by ambulance to make sure he arrived on time.[3] The technical advisor to Shigeta on the film was
Benson Fong, who taught Shigeta how to mount a horse Chinese style.[12]
Jack Lord has first billing in this movie, which pits Shigeta against
Lord for the affections of Kim Sung, played by
Nobu McCarthy.[18] Shigeta and McCarthy would work together again in the
1965 Perry Mason episode, "
The Case of the
Wrongful Writ," while Shigeta and Lord would work together in the
1968 Hawaii Five-O episode
Deathwatch.
The 1961 romantic comedy
Cry for Happy had Shigeta co-starring with
Glenn Ford,
Donald O'Connor and
Miyoshi Umeki in a tale about
Korean War era
United States Navy photographers in Japan.[19]
In 1961, Shigeta was cast as
Wang Ta, a role originated by
Ed Kenney on
Broadway,[20] in the
Academy Award-nominated[21] movie version of
Rodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song with
Nancy Kwan and Miyoshi Umeki playing the love interests
Wallace Clayton "
Wah Wah" Jones (July 14, 1926 – July 27, 2014) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the
National Basketball Association from 1949 to
1952 with the
Indianapolis Olympians
Jones attended the University of Kentucky, where he continued to play varsity football, basketball and baseball. He was twice All-SEC in football. In basketball, he was a three time All-American and four time All-SEC. He led the
Wildcats to 2
NCAA Championships, in 1948 and 1949. Jones was a member of the 1948
Olympic Gold medal winning team with
Adolph Rupp's "Fabulous Five" and the
Phillips 66ers. During his four years at
Kentucky, the basketball team had a combined record of 130-10 and won the
SEC championship every year.[1]
He holds the unique distinction of being an All-American under both legends, Adolph Rupp (basketball) and
Bear Bryant (football) when both coached at Kentucky. He is the only player to have his number retired in both football and basketball at Kentucky.[2] At the University of Kentucky, Jones was a member of the
Phi Delta Theta Fraternity.
- published: 09 Sep 2014
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