The UF alumnus who made history by dropping the atomic bomb over Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II died Thursday. He was 92.
Paul Warfield Tibbets, a former member of UF's Army ROTC program and member of UF's chapter of Sigma Nu Fraternity, died at his home in Columbus, Ohio. His death followed a two-month struggle with several health problems.
On Aug. 6, 1945, 30-year-old Tibbets piloted the Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber plane - named for his mother - that dropped the bomb that killed about 100,000 Japanese people.
It was the first time any country used a nuclear bomb during warfare.
The United States dropped a second bomb over Nagasaki, Japan, three days later.
The second bomb killed about 40,000 people, and the Japanese surrendered a few days later. Tibbets did not fly in that mission.
Throughout his life, Tibbets defended dropping the bomb, explaining that he saved more lives than he took because the attack helped end the war.
"I sleep clearly every night," he told The Associated Press in a 1975 interview.
Tibbets was born Feb. 23, 1915, in Quincy, Ill., and spent most of his childhood in Miami. He majored in chemistry at UF in the 1930s.
"During his career, he set a tremendous example of personal courage, honor and duty to one's country," wrote Stefan Gleason, president of the UF Sigma Nu Fraternity's alumni board, in an e-mail. "He was much admired by Sigma Nus everywhere."
Tibbets attended the University of Cincinnati's medical school but withdrew in 1937 to enlist in the Army Air Corps.
Tibbets retired from the Air Force in 1966 and moved to Columbus. He managed an air taxi service there until he retired in 1985.
In 1976, Tibbets was criticized for re-enacting the Hiroshima bombing at a Texas air show.
As he flew over the show, an explosion on the runway created a mushroom cloud. Many Japanese were offended, and the U.S. formally apologized.
Tibbets wanted his ashes scattered over the English Channel, where he loved to fly during the war, he told The Columbus Dispatch in 2005.
He wanted no headstone for fear that it would give war protesters a place to demonstrate.
Survivors include his wife, Andrea, and his sons, Paul, Gene and James, in addition to grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
