![]() He was part of the crew of the Enola Gay, whose role this time was to report on the weather at the primary target, Kokura. Gackenbach had a role in the Nagasaki mission on August 9, 1945. He recalls being ushered into a debriefing immediately upon their return to the base. The crew of Necessary Evil did not know at the time that they had dropped the first atomic bomb. In the aftermath of the detonation of the Little Boy bomb, Gackenbach took a photo from 31,000 feet and sixteen miles from Hiroshima. The mission of Gackenbach’s aircraft was strike observation and photography. On AugGackenbach was a navigator aboard Necessary Evil, one of two B-29’s that accompanied the Enola Gay. He was also sent to Cuba, Utah, and Texas as part of his training in the 393rd Squadron. ![]() He went through pilot training at the University of Miami in Coral Gables Florida. ![]() After first "flunking out of pilot training" Gackenbach was commissioned as a navigator in February 1944. He enlisted in the Aviation Cadet program of the Army Air Corps military service in January 1943. Gackenbach was born on Main Allentown, Pennsylvania. He flew in the Necessary Evil during the August 1945 Hiroshima bombing mission and in the Enola Gay during the Nagasaki bombing mission. Gackenbach served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 393rd Bombardment Squadron and in the 509th Composite Group.
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