Lynbrook’s Bob Caron was WW II tail-gunner

Before Memorial Day, George Rand wrote a letter to the Herald describing some of his experiences during World War II (“Life as a soldier in WW II.) He mentioned that he was intimately involved in planning for the invasion of Japan when news came that a B-29, the Enola Gay, had dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

As it happens, the Enola Gay had a flier from Lynbrook on board, too — Staff Sergeant George R. “Bob“ Caron, the tail-gunner. Thanks to his tail-gunner‘s view, Caron was the only crew member who actually saw the fireball of the explosion. Even with tinted goggles he thought he was blinded. After the shock wave passed, Bob took the historic photographs of the mushroom cloud that appeared on Life magazine‘s cover and which were seen around the world. Caron died in 1995 in Brooklyn.

I wonder if any Lynbrook residents remember Bob and his family during the time they lived in Lynbrook and if they would share those memories. If so, please send a note to: Lynbrook Village Historian Art Mattson, 28 Hart St., Lynbrook, NY 11563.