'It's important to point out that the controversy was over a proposed display that never took place,' Dailey said. The veterans and congressional allies argued that the Japanese were brutal aggressors in the war and that the use of atomic weapons was justified to end the conflict without further loss of American lives. The proposed exhibition was scrapped in favor of a smaller, straightforward one that featured the front portion of the Enola Gay's fuselage and confined itself to the details of the mission. The museum's director at the time, Martin Harwit, resigned to avoid demotion.
The exhibition was to be part of the nationwide observance of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, but the proposal caused a furor with the American Legion and other veterans' groups and prompted congressional demands for its cancellation.
