a mission to preserve history

“It is my fervent hope that there will never be another atomic mission. The bombs we dropped in 1945 were primitive in comparison to nuclear weapons today. As the man who commanded the last atomic mission, I pray that I retain that singular distinction.”

— Maj. Gen. Charles W. Sweeney, (Ret., USAF)

“What was your father like after World War II? Did he ever regret his role in the atomic missions?” These are the two most frequent questions that we, the Sweeney children, have been asked over the years. The answers are simple and fairly naïve:  He was a wonderful Father, husband, an affable Irishman, raconteur, a compassionate and devout Catholic, and generous to a fault. And no, he had no regrets about his role in ending World War II in the Pacific.

During his later years as Dad’s role as the “historical hero” who helped the USA win a war gave way to factions of discontent and revisionism, we became aware that there were far too many unprincipled “journalists” and “historians” who wished to criticize and condemn the use of atomic weapons. In their attempts to revise history, they chose to demonize the participants.

Many correspondents who interviewed Dad wanted to report the sensationalist story. They wanted him to admit regret and remorse, which he refused to do. Since Dad’s death in 2004, there has been only one journalist who sought to investigate the dichotomy of General Sweeney, the World War II “warrior,” and Charlie Sweeney, the Father of 11 children and Catholic humanitarian.

In truth, Dad wanted the slaughter of World War II to end. He never regretted his role helping to end it. In his book, War’s End, telling his story in this first-person account, he wrote, “I agreed with Harry Truman then and I still do today.”And in 1995 when he wrote about his return to the city of Nagasaki one month after the atomic drop, Dad said, ”I took no pride or pleasure then, nor do I take any now, in the brutality of war, whether suffered by my people or those of another nation. . . . Every life is precious. But I felt no remorse or guilt that I had bombed the city where I stood.”

Dad believed in post-war reparations for Japan. When he returned to Japan in 1991, he was thrilled to see the resplendent progress it had made in re-building itself as a world-class, peace-loving country. When Dad died, he knew in his heart that he had done whatever one man could possibly do during his lifetime to contribute to that effort.

To those of you who are readers of his story, War’s End, we hope we have imparted an understanding of not only the brilliant aviator and patriot, but the spirit and persona of Charlie Sweeney who was devoted to his family, his country, his Catholic faith, and a world free from tyrannical rule. We promote the new edition because, like our Father, we wish his story to be told, to preserve history and not revise it.

Marylyn Sweeney Howe — Daughter (USAF), Spouse (USMC), Mother (USMC)