"FullText" links provide a connection to electronic or print copies provided by the Lehigh Libraries and other services, such as electronic abstracts and interlibrary loan requesting.

1993. Plans for the exhibit evolve through a series of NASM proposals, planning documents, and concept documents.

"Hiroshima and Nagasaki: A Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum" (n.d.): Few events have had a more profound impact on our times than the creation of nuclear weapons and their employment against Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Half a century later, the implications of the decision to drop the atomic bomb are still being debated. As we approach the fiftieth anniversary of the atomic bombing of Japan, the National Air and Space Museum has an opportunity and an obligation to help visitors understand this pivotal moment in the history of the twentieth century. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130511232429/http://www.afa.org/media/enolagay/e93-1.html]

"Fifty Years On" (June 1993): Fifty years after the atomic bombing of Japan, the National Air and Space Museum, with its unique collections of historic artifacts relevant to the events—most of them kept in storage and inaccessible to the general public for half a century—has an opportunity and, many would maintain, an obligation to mount an exhibition that will help visitors understand this pivotal moment in the history of World War II and the twentieth century. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130511232440/http://www.afa.org/media/enolagay/e93-2.html]

"The Crossroads: The End of World War II, the Atomic Bomb, and the Onset of the Cold War" (July 1993): The atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and of Nagasaki three days later, were the first—and thus far—the only use of nuclear weapons in anger. Although mankind has lived with war and violence throughout its history, the atomic bombings announced the arrival of a new and qualitatively different peril, one that still threatens humanity: sudden, mass and indiscriminate destruction from a single weapon. From the vantage point of fifty years after these events, the atomic bombings and the end of World War II in the Pacific thus mark a turning point, an historic crossroads. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130511232451/http://www.afa.org/media/enolagay/07-93.html]

1993. The controversy over the exhibit is contextualized: "Without anticipating how that script will finally read, and without engaging in an evaluation of the merits or demerits of the Hiroshima bombing . . . it is nonetheless possible to gain some insight into this debate by examining the history of the Air and Space museum itself." "First and last the National Air and Space Museum was approved by Congress to celebrate the . . . great firsts of American aerospace achievement. It remains to be seen if the staff . . . can overcome this history and make the exhibit of the Enola Gay the educational opportunity it is planning. Can it make this shrine into a school?"

"Celebration or Education? The Goals of the U.S. National Air and Space Museum," by Alex Roland, History and Technology 10 (1993): 77-89. [FullText]

7/1993. Aviation finds the NASM ignoring its "congressional mandate": "a new order is perverting the museum's original purpose from restoring and displaying aviation and space artifacts to presenting gratuitous social commentary on the uses to which they have been put."

"Is the NASM Thumbing Its Nose at Congress while No One's Watching," by Arthur H. Sanfelici, Aviation July 1993: 6. [FullText]

7/17/1993. Adams makes a detailed report on the exhibit to Harwit indicating reservations about the approach: "I've read your planning document with interest, and find much of it compelling. There could be an exhibit here that would do the Smithsonian credit. On the other hand, there are some, fairly fundamental aspects of it with which I am no more in agreement now than when we have discussed them on previous occasions."

[PDF]

7/21/1993. Curator Tom Crouch's reply to Harwit about the Adams' report contains the tough either/or question that characterizes the problem with the exhibit: "Do you want to do an exhibit intended to make veterans feel good, or do you want an exhibition that will lead our visitors to think about the consequences of the atomic bombing of Japan? Frankly, I don't think we can do both."

[PDF]

7/1993. As time for the exhibit grows near, the NASM and the AFA begin to interact.

8/1993. Air Force Magazine publishes a cover photo of the Enola Gay along with a pictorial feature reflecting an interest in and support for the NASM.

In Aviation's Attic," Air Force Magazine, 08/93, 44. [FullText]

Cover picture: [PDF]

8/6/1993. Veteran Burr Bennett replies to the magazine article in a letter, calling attention to a petition about NASM neglect of the Enola Gay with 5,000 signatures "The Smithsonian's early neglect of the plane and their statements over e years about strategic bombing lead us to believe that they will not display the Enola Gay proudly." See a sample of NASM response by curator Neufeld to such veterans' letters "This exhibit will give due weight to the viewpoint of the American veterans, along with other viewpoints. It's aim will be to provide an historically accurate account of the background of the Pacific war, the decision to drop the bomb, and the bombings themselves. Honoring the service of Allied soldiers, sailor [sic] and airmen will of course be part of this exhibit, as will an unflattering account of Japanese aggression in the Pacific."

Bennett's letter: [PDF]

Sample response letter by Neufeld: [PDF]

8/10/1993. Air Force Magazine editor John Correll forwards the Burr letter to Monroe Hatch, indicating he has an open mind about Bennett's charges: "My quick take is that Air & Space Museum isn't quite as guilty as it's said to be, but I'll have a more informed opinion later."

[PDF]

8/20/1993. The Air Force Association Executive Director Monroe Hatch discusses the planned exhibit with Harwit, who sends the AFA a copy of the first planning document for review and suggestions.

9/12/1993. Hatch expresses concerns over the exhibit's lack of balance to Harwit in a letter that contains the oft-repeated phrase that "the concept paper treats Japan and United States in the war as if their participation in the war were morally equivalent."

[https://web.archive.org/web/20130511232504/http://www.afa.org/media/enolagay/09-12-93.html]

9/14/1993. Adams announces his retirement, apparently not related to any controversy over this exhibit.

"Smithsonian Secretary Adams to Retire," by Jacqueline Trescott, Washington Post, 09/14/93, B1. [FullText]

"Head of Smithsonian Institution Is Quitting after 10 Years at Helm," by Irwin Molotsky, New York Times, 09/14/93, A20. [FullText]

"Smithsonian Secretary Robert McCormick Adams Looks to New Horizons," by Michael Kernan, Smithsonian, September 1994, 12-14. [FullText]

11/23/1993. Officials from both groups meet. NASM officials counter that the exhibit is balanced.

Correll memo on the Nov. 19 meeting [https://web.archive.org/web/20130511232515/http://www.afa.org/media/enolagay/11-19-93.html]

12/16/1993. Correll researches the NASM charter, identifying the statutes in the US Code under which the museum operates. See the 1946 founding legislation, the 1966 legislation for the change of the name of the museum, speeches by Senator Goldwater supporting the museum, and legislation for an Armed Forces museum, whose mission statement was sometimes confused with the NASM's.

Correll letter to Hatch: [PDF]

1946 founding legislation: [PDF]

1966 legislation: [PDF]

Goldwater speeches: [PDF]

Goldwater speeches: [PDF]

Armed Forces Museum: [PDF]