Chaplain William B. Downey, 509th Composite Bomb Group

Many chaplains find themselves in the middle of history in the making, some of them making that history. Army Air Corps  Chaplain William B. Downey, of the 509th Composite Bomb Group, was there when history was being made. According to Downey in a 1987 interview, “one of the security officers told me a little time before, there was going to be a really fantastic new thing, only one of the greatest things that ever happened in the history of the world.”¹ In the midst of this “greatest thing,” Chaplain Downey was there bringing God to the crews of the Enola Gay and Bockscar who would drop the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945.

Chaplain Downey prayed with the 12-man crew of the Enola Gay on Tinian Island just before they took off on their mission to drop “Little Boy” on Hiroshima. “Reading what he had jotted down on the back of an envelope, Downey, then a captain, prayed for the men’s safe return.”² Realizing the historic significance of that day, video and audio recordings were made of the pre-flight briefings, the bomb run and other aspects of the mission, including Chaplain Downey’s prayer with the Enola Gay crew. You can listen to Chaplain Downey’s prayer in the following video and watch actual video footage of the bomb run and aftermath.

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We pray Thee that the end of the war may come soon and that once more we may know peace on earth. May the men who fly this night be kept safe in Thy care and may they be returned safely to us. We shall go forward trusting in thee, knowing that we are in Thy care, now and forever. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.³  -Prayer with the crew of the Enola Gay, 6 Aug 45.

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¹ https://www.manhattanprojectvoices.org/oral-histories/william-downeys-interview-part-1, accessed 12 Aug 20.

² https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1994-10-09-9410080165-story.html, accessed 12 Aug 20.

³ Murrow, Edward R. and Fred W. Friendly, “I Can Hear it Now, Vol. 1.” Columbia Records, nd. (TCK Archives).

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