Theodore "Dutch" Van Kirk was a navigator in the United States Army Air Forces, best known as the navigator of the Enola Gay when it dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Russell Gackenbach served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 393rd Bombardment Squadron and in the 509th Composite Group. He flew in the Necessary Evil during the August 1945 Hiroshima bombing mission and in the Enola Gay during the Nagasaki bombing mission. On August 6, 1945 Gackenbach was a navigator aboard Necessary Evil, one of two B-29’s that accompanied the Enola Gay. Dutch Van Kirk and Russell Gackenbach have both hand signed this 8x10 Photo with Navigator- Enola Gay Weather Plane- Kokura 9 August 1945 inscriptions. JSA Hologram #EE63501 and JSA Certificate of Authenticity
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