'Shameful': Granddaughter of Enola Gay pilot reacts to Trump admin's plans to remove photos

eu.dispatch.com

Enola Gay pilot's granddaughter decries 'shameful' Trump Defense Department DEI word purge

The granddaughter of the man who flew the Enola Gay during World War 2 is speaking out.

12 comments

I don't know Lady, I think dropping a nuke on a civilian population is pretty shameful.
- Erasing history is shameful, even if that history is shameful. People rag on Japan for not properly teaching about their role and atrocities in WWII, and with good reason. It's the same reason neonazis think that they were the good guys in WWII, americans think they were the good guys in Vietnam and the korean war, etc.
  
  I’d love to hear your take on why the USA was the bad guys in the Korean War.
  Are you parroting the statements of the North?
  
  I wouldnt call the US, the "good guys", but just better than the alternative.
  
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_crimes_in_the_Korean_War
  South Korea was a fascist state run by collaborators from the IJA occupation. Enslaving your population to fight in another nation's civil war and chain atrocities while MacArthur argues for the nuclear extermination of China, which you tried to invade after beating the North Koreans, is generally considered a bad thing to good people.
  That the Kims established a monarchy after being embargoed for most of century is what you call the benefit of hindsight, and I can tell you one thing, allied intervention on South Korea behalf sure wasn't done with the assassination of their dictator twenty years later in mind.
- Yes as was invading China and the South Pacific and then launching a surprise attack on another country that then drops some big fucking bombs on you in retaliation.
  You’re right though, because a shameful thing happened in the past we ought to ignore the shame happening now.
  Good point.
  
  Not the point I was making but lets pretend it was: the peasants who got nuked didn't invade anyone. You're doing the same thing Israel does with Palestinian civilians.
  Good point.
  
  The fascists invented the concept of total war and then cried about it being applied to them in turn, as they always do.
  
  A) Revolutionary France invented total war.
  B) Pretty sure there wasn't a committee keeting involving every man woman and child in Japan to decide how they were going to run the country.
  
  Revolutionary France invented the levee en mass. However the concept of Total War is much much broader than that. I could accept an argument that the levee en mass was a step on the road toward total warfare, but it's just silly to think it's the same thing.
  
  Mass Mobliization: The levée en masse conscripted all unmarried men aged 18–25 while integrating civilians into the war effort. Women produced supplies, children prepared materials, and the elderly inspired morale, creating a "nation in arms" where every citizen contributed to the war effort[2][5][7].
  Blurring Civilian and Military Roles: Revolutionary France dissolved distinctions between civilian and military spheres, a hallmark of total war. Civilians supported the army through production, logistics, and propaganda, reflecting the total integration of society into warfare[3][7].
  Centralized Control: The French government exercised extensive control over resources and society to sustain its armies, demonstrating another dimension og total war[9].
  Ideological Warfare: The French framed their enemies as adversaries of humanity and liberty, justifying extreme measures and rallying national unity under revolutionary ideals[7].
  Why Dismissing the Levée en Masse is Misguided
  The levée en masse was not merely an emergency measure but a revolutionary shift in how nations waged war—mobilizing entire populations for ideological and existential conflicts[2][8].
  It set precedents for later examples of total war, such as during World War I and II, where similar strategies were employed on a larger scale[6][8].
  Therefore Revolutionary France's levée en masse embodies the essence of total warfare by mobilizing society entirely for military purposes, blurring civilian-military lines, and centralizing control. To dismiss it is to ignore its foundational role in shaping modern warfare.
  Citations: [1] French Revolutionary Wars - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolutionary_Wars [2] Levée en masse - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev%C3%A9e_en_masse [3] Total War | Definition, History & Examples - Lesson - Study.com https://study.com/academy/lesson/total-war-definition-examples.html [4] French Revolution | History, Summary, Timeline, Causes, & Facts https://www.britannica.com/event/French-Revolution [5] Levée en Masse | Encyclopedia.com https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/levee-en-masse [6] Total Warfare - (AP US History) - Vocab, Definition, Explanations https://library.fiveable.me/key-terms/apush/total-warfare [7] Napoleon's Total War - HistoryNet https://www.historynet.com/napoleons-total-war/ [8] [PDF] Levée en Masse https://d-nb.info/1020542446/34 [9] Total war - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_war [10] French Revolutionary wars | Causes, Combatants, & Battles https://www.britannica.com/event/French-revolutionary-wars [11] READ: World War I - A Total War? (article) - Khan Academy https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/whp-1750/xcabef9ed3fc7da7b:unit-6-world-war-i/xcabef9ed3fc7da7b:6-2-experiences-and-outcomes/a/world-war-i-a-total-war-beta

12 comments

Why Dismissing the Levée en Masse is Misguided