The Beser Foundation for Archival Research and Preservation
Sixty three years ago the men of the 509th
Composite Group, US Army Air Corps delivered the
knockout punch to the Empire of Japan bringing an
abrupt end to World War II. One and only one man
served as a crewmember of both the B-29 Strike
Bombers that delivered the lethal atomic blows. His
name was 1st Lt. Jacob Beser of Pikesville, Maryland.
Years after his death his extensive personal archive
of documents was discovered during the process of selling
the family home. The task of restoring and preserving his
collection started immediately. During this process it
occurred to me that hidden away in closets, attics and
basements may be boxes and footlockers containing letters,
photos and memorabilia collected by other dads, brothers
or grandpas while serving our country. Many of these
containers may not have been opened since the wars were
over. When our loved ones passed on these boxes may
now reside with heirs. In many cases, because of
sentimental attachment, the new owners are unaware of
Lt. Jacob Beser
their historical importance or are unwilling to donate them
to a library for preservation.
Recognizing the historical importance of these collections and the need to
locate, copy and catalog as many of these collections as possible, the non-profit Beser
Foundation for Archival Research and Preservation was established. This organization
is equipped to provide a safe, no-cost repository of digital copies (or original documents
if requested) in order to ensure the valuable history contained therein will be preserved
and accessible to all. Simply stated the Foundation vision is to “preserve the past for the
benefit of the future”. The Foundation does not desire to retain the original documents.
Instead it will catalog, make digital or photocopies and place them on-line as a resource
for families; genealogists, historians and authors dedicated to accurately recording the
events of our military history. To assist in this endeavor the Foundation is sponsoring
various educational programs and projects.
Three educational programs and projects are currently underway or in the plans.
The first is a student internship program that utilizes retired Military and NARA
historians to mentor teams of college and high school students in efficient methods of
archival research and documentation. At the present time these teams are concentrating
on researching information that may help to locate and recover missing in action
servicemen from past wars.
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The second educational program involves working with High School Magnet
multimedia students in researching and producing audio and video documentation of
historical wartime events. One program to be initiated this fall involves the production
of a documentary film of the history of the USS New Jersey, the most decorated
battleship of World War II. A planned byproduct of this production is to be a second
film documenting “how it was done”.
A third project is to reissue of the documentary film “60 years later the dawn of
the atomic age” compiled from the archives of Lt. Beser and released in 2005. This
film will be updated to include recently discovered audio and in-flight film recording
made while the Enola Gay was over Hiroshima.
Lt. Beser because of his technical expertise was the only crewmember of the
strike aircraft that delivered the lethal atomic knockout punches to Japan on August 6
and 9, 1945 and played an important role in the final decision to drop the weapon.
According to Lt. Beser the mission profile for both missions were identical but
due to problems both on the ground and in the air were executed differently.
The strike plans called for weather scouts to precede the strike force by an hour,
reporting weather conditions over each of the designated targets. The three aircraft
strike force formation would follow. The strike force would consist of a bombing
aircraft, a blast instrumentation aircraft and a camera aircraft, which also carried
scientific observers. Each mission had a spare aircraft that would fly flew ahead to Iwo
Jima to take over carrying the bomb if the strike aircraft encountered mechanical
problems en-route.
The Hiroshima mission, under the
command of Col. Paul Tibbits, was executed as
planned without significant problems.
This
mission on August 6, 1945, has been the subject of
numerous books and articles since that time, many
by scientists and others who participated in the
development of the world's first atomic bombs.
Strangely, however, the story of the Nagasaki
Col. Paul W. Tibbets, Jr.
mission has not been fully told, mostly because of
the concurrent rush of events leading to Japan's
complete surrender. Then, too, it may be because that second A-bomb strike nearly
ended in disaster.
The Nagasaki mission, under the command of Maj. Charles W. Sweeney,
encountered numerous technical, weather and command problems. In the end it bombed
the secondary target after a two-hour delay and had to divert to Okinawa for an
emergency landing because of lack of fuel. However the basic objectives of the mission
were met even though the designated aiming point was missed.
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Commander Ashworth, who was the Nagasaki weapon commander commented
on this mission: “Consider for a moment the problems and decisions that confronted
Major Sweeney and me at Nagasaki. We had been given specific instructions as to how
the mission should be accomplished, and these came from the highest levels of
government in Washington. Circumstances beyond our control precluded strict
conformance with these instructions and we exercised our on the scene judgment and
made the appropriate decisions that permitted us to press home an aggressive and a
successful attack.”
A recently completed project by The Beser
Foundation is a book entitled “The Rising Sun Sets-The
complete story of the Bombing of Nagasaki”(AuthorHouse
Publications ©) as told from information contained in
documents from the private archives of Lt. Beser. This
book provides an eyewitness account of what really
happened during this mission. The book also utilizes
documents previously unavailable to historians to provide
a clear well documented perspective of the events leading
up to the dawning of the atomic age.
The Beser Foundation would like to recognize the
heroic efforts of the valiant men of the 509th Composite
Group and especially to the memory of the Enola Gay and
Bockscar crews who have passed on and to the two crewmembers still living. It was
through their selfless patriotism and devotion to duty that World War II was brought to
an end and avoided hundreds of thousands of casualties had the Japanese home islands
been invaded as was planned.
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