The controversy surrounding the Enola Gay exhibit stems from disagreements between the Smithsonian, historians, members of Congress, veterans, and those who were there for the event that shook the world. Michael Heyman, Secretary of the Smithsonian, had a vision of creating an exhibit that would inspire people to have more profound discussions about the atom bomb.A script was written to point out the different phases that took place before the decision to drop the bomb and the aftermath of that decision. In 1995, the Enola Gay exhibit was intended to open for the 50th anniversary of the day the Atomic Bomb was dropped on Japan. The Enola Gay is the airplane that dropped America’s atomic bomb on Hiroshima (Thomas).As such, it is intimately tied up in America’s memory of the war, and interpretations of the justification for dropping the bomb.
