Fay Millward claimed during his life that he and Naval photographer Herbert Lemay were photographers aboard the Enola Gay and Bockscars during the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
As much as I would like to believe that Fay Millward was on board, I simply must concede that except for his own statements, there is simply no evidence that he was aboard either plane. I have no doubt that he was on Tinian and was tasked with filming the the bombs assembly.
The pictures taken during the Hiroshima mission were taken by tail gunner George R. Caron. The pictures taken during the Nagasaki mission were taken by navigator Charles Levy.
Fay has a leg up on most of the "story tellers" who claim there involvement. He was on the island, he did film the assembly of the bombs, and he was thanked by Captain Parsons for his efforts. However, that is where the evidence stops. There should be more evidence of his involvement. Someone aboard the planes should have recalled a naval photographer aboard.
Unfortunately, until more compelling evidence is found substantiating Fay's story, I must put him in the same class of others that have falsely claimed involvement in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki missions like Paul Bregman and Dr. John P. Merrill.
First off,thank you for doing all of this research, Michael. As much as all of us want Grandpa's stories to be true, they aren't.
ReplyDeleteI came to this conclusion in the late 1980's, after doing as much investigation as was possible in the pre-internet days. I kept it to myself because many of our relatives regarded his tales as the family glory story. It wasn't until the year 2000 that I had my belief absolutely confirmed- I met the pilot of the Enola Gay, Paul Tibbets, and asked him if Grandpa Fay was on his airplane or not.
He was very kind and gentle when he told me No and said that many other men had made the same claim over the years.
I just wish that Grandpa felt that what he DID do was impressive enough, because it sure is to me.
I have a photo of him (taken during his Navy days) in the entryway of my home. I'm proud of his actual service and thankful that he instilled in me such a deep interest and love of all things WWII.
Thanks for doing this blog, sweet cousin. I do love learning as much as I can about this time period of Grandpa Fay's life.
Ms Millward, James Rose writing to you, Aug 2021. Are you still active on this website? James Rose
DeleteExcuse me, I am74 and not active on Blogger.. Pardon me for any mistake in whom I'm addressing this post to. James
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