Minuteman Minute | The Atom Bomb and the End of WWII

World War II ended when the Japanese surrendered days after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The pilot over Nagasaki went on serve in the Massachusetts Air National Guard.

Hi, I’m Will Roulett, director of the National Guard Memorial Museum here in D.C., and this is YOUR Minuteman Minute! August 2025 is the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In the days following the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan refused to surrender. On Aug. 9, 1945, future Massachusetts Guardsman Maj. Charles Sweeney, piloted the B-29 Bock’s Car, which dropped the atomic bomb nicknamed “Fat Man” on Nagasaki. It’s impossible to know exactly but it’s estimated that about 40,000 people were killed and tens of thousands more died in the following years due to radiation. The Japanese emperor announced the decision to surrender six days later, ending World War II. After the war, Charles Sweeney joined the Massachusetts Air National Guard. In 1956, he was appointed commander of the 102nd Air Defense Wing and promoted to Brigadier General. Sweeney retired in 1976 as a Major General. In 2008, the 102nd was redesignated as the 102nd Intelligence Wing. Come learn about this – and a whole lot more – at the National Guard Memorial Museum. I’m Will Roulett, and that’s been your Minuteman Minute, brought to you by the National Guard Educational Foundation.