1. Signed photo Dutch Van Kirk after dropping atomic bomb. 2. Enola Gay Navigator Dutch Van Kirk Assigned to “Silver Plate Project”THEODORE “DUTCH” VAN KIRK. Copy of Special Orders No. 277, October 3, 1944, assigning Van Kirk to “Silver Plate Project” at Wendover Field, Utah, signed in margin by Van Kirk as “Dutch Van Kirk / Navigator – Enola Gay / 6 Aug. 1945.” 1 p., 8.5" x 11". Excellent.These orders transferred Captain Van Kirk from the Instructional School to Wendover Field, Utah, where he would be part of the “Silver Plate Project,” the code name for the pilot and crew training program for the atomic bomb missions.3. Dutch Van Kirk, Enola Gay Navigator, Rare ALS About Bomb, "When the bomb exploded my first feeling was one of relief - mission accomplished. It had worked and there was a real possibility of a dud. Then I was surprised - amazed - at its apparent power as exhibited by the large cloud."THEODORE “DUTCH” VAN KIRK, Autograph Letter Signed, to Ralph N. Norman, February 26, 1997. 2 pp., 8.5" x 11". Also includes a photocopy of Special Orders No. 277, October 3, 1944, assigning Van Kirk to “Silver Plate Project” at Wendover Field, Utah, signed by Van Kirk as “Dutch Van Kirk / Navigator – Enola Gay / 6 Aug. 1945.” Excellent.In this introspective and fascinating letter, Enola Gay navigator Dutch Van Kirk responds to Ralph N. Norman’s queries about the historic mission to drop the first atomic bomb, on Hiroshima in 1945.Complete Transcript:2/26/97Dear Mr Norman,You asked for my comments and recollections re the “Enola Gay” mission to Hiroshima.First, I (and I’m sure the other crewmembers) did not realize it would become such a historic event. When I joined the 509th group and throughout our training I and all others considered it a weapon that would end or significantly shorten that horrible war. The policy of the U.S. at the time was to subdue Japan and that was our mission.Second- It was an easy mission, especially compared to my 58 missions in the ETO [European Theater of Operations]. It was easy because it went exactly according to plan. The major point in our training and in mission tactics was to put the maximum amount of distance between the plane and the bomb. We were dealing with something new and even the scientists were divided on its effects. All of us expected a safe mission and not a one way trip.When the bomb exploded my first feeling was one of relief – mission accomplished. It had worked and there was a real possibility of a dud. Then I was surprised – amazed – at its apparent power as exhibited by the large cloud. Visual observation over the city was impossible. In discussions during the flight back to base we believed that this bomb would make Japan realize their hopeless situation. Only later when the full effects of the horrible radiation were evident did anyone ever have second doubtsI still and strongly believe that the bombs shortened the war, overall saved lives, but at horrible costs to the residents of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If the Japanese leaders had not been so fanatical the fire bombs and atomic bombs would not have been necessary.RegardsDutch Van KirkNavigator – Enola GayTheodore “Dutch” Van Kirk (1921-2014) was born in Pennsylvania and joined the Army Air Force Aviation Program in October 1941. In 1942, he transferred to the 97th Bomb Group, which flew B-17 Flying Fortresses out of England. There he met pilot Paul Tibbets and bombardier Tom Ferebee. After flying 58 missions in Europe, Van Kirk returned to the United States in 1943 as an instructor navigator. Late in 1944, he reunited with Tibbets and Ferebee at Wendover Air Force Base, Utah, as part of the 509th Composite Group. In August 1945, he served as the navigator of the B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, when it dropped the atomic bomb “Little Boy” on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. After the war, Van Kirk completed degrees in chemical engineering at Bucknell University and held various technical and managerial positions in research and marketing at DuPont for the next thirty-five years. From 2010 to his death in 2014, Van Kirk was the last surviving member of the Enola Gay crew.Ralph N. Norman Jr. (b. 1943) was born in Dallas, Texas, and graduated from Richardson High School in the early 1960s. He married Lisa K. Holsonback in 1969, and was a school teacher.COA University Archives