Lot 406

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Description:

Atomic Bomb WWII Dispatch: "The most momentous week in the history of mankind since the birth of Christ has just been completed"

A single page typed naval dispatch artfully matted to the left of a 3x signed black and white photo signed by Enola Gay Hiroshima mission pilots. The naval dispatch measures 8" x 7," with two punch holes along top edge. Header of U.S. Naval Communication Service, Amphibious Forces, Pacific. Dated "12 Aug/ 1945." Ex. J. John Fox (1905-1999) Intelligence Officer for the Amphibious Forces, via Auction (see below for his Biography). Matted overall: 23.75" x 14.625" x 1."

A spectacular, important naval dispatch defining the moment in history of the first Atomic bomb released in war. The complete and lasting destruction (with the second bomb which followed), and the Russian's turning on Japan essentially ended World War II. 

Dated 12 Aug 45:

"The most momentous week in the history of mankind since the birth of Christ has just been completed.

On Sunday the Atomic Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. For the first time in the history of the world atomic power has been released.

On Monday the news of the Atomic Bomb was announced to the world.

On Tuesday Pres. Truman returned from the Potsdam conference.

On Wednesday Russia declared war on Japan.

On Thursday the second atomic bomb was dropped and Japan was asked to surrender by the United Nations.

On Friday the Japanese government offered to surrender if they could keep their emperor.

On Saturday we accepted Japanese terms if they agree to let the Allie Supreme Commander rule Japan throughout and have the emperor under their control."

In advance of this moment, the invasion of Japan had promised to be the bloodiest seaborne attack of all time, conceivably 10 times as costly as the Normandy invasion in terms of Allied casualties. On July 16, a new option became available when the United States secretly detonated the world’s first atomic bomb in the New Mexico desert. Ten days later, the Allies issued the Potsdam Declaration, demanding the “unconditional surrender of all the Japanese armed forces.” Failure to comply would mean “the inevitable and complete destruction of the Japanese armed forces and just as inevitable the utter devastation of the Japanese homeland.” On July 28, Japanese Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki responded by telling the press that his government was “paying no attention” to the Allied ultimatum. U.S. President Harry Truman ordered the devastation to proceed, and on August 6, the U.S. B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing an estimated 80,000 people and fatally wounding thousands more.

After the Hiroshima attack, a faction of Japan’s supreme war council favored acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration, but the majority resisted unconditional surrender. On August 8, Japan’s desperate situation took another turn for the worse when the USSR declared war against Japan. The next day, Soviet forces attacked in Manchuria, rapidly overwhelming Japanese positions there, and a second U.S. atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese coastal city of Nagasaki. Just before midnight on August 9, Japanese Emperor Hirohito convened the supreme war council. After a long, emotional debate, he backed a proposal by Prime Minister Suzuki in which Japan would accept the Potsdam Declaration “with the understanding that said Declaration does not compromise any demand that prejudices the prerogatives of His Majesty as the sovereign ruler.” The council obeyed Hirohito’s acceptance of peace, and on August 10 the message was relayed to the United States.

Early on August 12, the United States answered that “the authority of the emperor and the Japanese government to rule the state shall be subject to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers.” After two days of debate about what this statement implied, Emperor Hirohito brushed the nuances in the text aside and declared that peace was preferable to destruction. He ordered the Japanese government to prepare a text accepting surrender.

Matted with a spectacular black and white photo signed by THREE of the Enola Gay Hiroshima mission pilots. The photo depicts the mushroom cloud after the bombing.

A spectacular black and white glossy photo of the Hiroshima mushroom cloud after the bombing on August 6, 1945, 8" x 10." Boldly signed and inscribed by three of the significant pilots and crew from the event, in blue ink, Paul Tibbets, as "Paul Tibbets/Pilot - Enola Gay," in blue ink, Thomas Ferebee as "Tom Ferebee/Bombardier," and in blue ink, and Theodore Van Kirk as "Theodore J "Dutch" Van Kirk/Navigator 8/6/45." Near fine.

An incredible three times signed iconic photo taken after the release of "Little Boy", the atomic bomb carried on board the Enola Gay, piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets, which targeted Hiroshima. The explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure. Three days later, Major Charles W. Sweeny was to command the mission carrying the second A-Bomb, "Fat Man" to Kokura in his plane The Great Artiste. But The Great Artiste was still outfitted with scientific gear left over from being the support plane for the Hiroshima mission and there wasn't time to outfit it to carry Fat Man. So Sweeney and his crew took over Captain Frederick C. Bock, Jr.'s plane "Bock's Car", while Bock's crew switched to "The Great Artiste". Difficult weather conditions resulted in the "Fat Man", being dropped on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people. 

J. John Fox (1905-1999), World War II Dispatch Collection
J. John Fox ) was born in Paterson, NJ, but grew up in and worked most of his adult life in Boston, MA. He attended Boston University, then enrolled in Boston University Law School. It was there he acquired the nickname “Just John” Fox, his reply to a professor’s question about his name. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, Fox enlisted in the Navy, despite being around 36 years old. Initially he served in the North Atlantic before being assigned to the amphibious forces in the Pacific Theater under Admiral Richmond “Kelly” Turner. Fox became an intelligence officer and was involved in the planning of the assaults on Kwajalein, the Marianas, Palau, Leyte, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. In late 1945 he was also deeply involved in planning the invasion of Japan itself. Had the invasion occurred, he was to have been in charge of prisoner interrogation and captured documents. He was awarded the bronze star for his service in the Pacific Theater. Before being discharged in 1946, he helped in preparation of amphibious operations training materials at the Naval War College in Newport, RI. After his discharge, he returned to his legal practice in Boston. Governor Dever appointed him as an associate judge in 1952. He then became a probate judge in Norfolk Probate Court in 1960. He retired from the bench in 1973. In the 1960s Fox helped establish a public medical school in Massachusetts, a school that became the University of Massachusetts Medical School. In 1974, he co-sponsored, with David Bartley, the Bartley-Fox Law, the first of its kind, in Massachusetts. Bartley-Fox established stiff penalties for illegal possession of a firearm and committing a crime with an unlicensed firearm. Although the law generated controversy, as does all firearms-related legislation, this one did not restrict ownership of firearms, it only required them to be registered. Judge Fox lived for another quarter century after retirement, passing away on October 4, 1999 at the age of 95. The document was brought back from the Pacific by Fox following World War II, and descended in his family.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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