Air Force bids farewell to World War II hero Published July 21, 2004 By 1st Lt. Stacie Shafran 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass (AFPN) -- The Air Force family bid farewell to a World War II hero July 20.Retired Maj. Gen. Charles W. Sweeney, the man who flew the historic B-29 Superfortress flight that dropped the second atomic bomb on Japan during World War II, died July 16 in Boston. He was 84. “He was the best patriot, best father and best friend,” said Maj. Elizabeth Sweeney. She serves in the Air National Guard at Pease Air National Guard Base, N.H. The general’s legacy comes from what he and his crew did to end World War II.In late 1944, Major Sweeney, assigned to Grand Island Field, Neb., as a B-29 pilot instructor, was reassigned to Wendover Field, Utah. It was here that he began work on the “Silver Plate” project, the code name for the training program for the coming World War II atomic missions. On May 4, 1945, at the age of 25, Major Sweeney became commander of the 393rd Bombardment Squadron. Seven weeks later the B-29 unit flew to a base on Tinian in the Mariana Islands. On Aug. 9, Major Sweeney, at the controls of the B-29 known as "Bockscar," flew the history-making mission that ended World War II. It was on this mission that the second atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, this time on the city of Nagasaki. On Sept. 2, Japanese officials signed the official surrender.“As a result of what he did back then, thousands of American GIs are alive and thankful today for what he and his crew did to bring a swift end to the war,” said Col. Mark Ellis, mission support group commander for the 102nd Fighter Wing at nearby Otis ANGB.General Sweeney was the former commander of the Massachusetts Air National Guard and a decorated World War II Army Air Corps veteran. “I met General Sweeney when I was 17 years old and new to the military,” said Maj. Gen. George Keefe, adjutant general for the Massachusetts Air National Guard. “He helped me a lot with my future, gave me my commissioning oath and always just looked out for us.”General Sweeney retired Dec. 27, 1979, as a command pilot with more than 5,000 military flying hours. His decorations include the Silver Star, Air Medal, National Defense Medal, American Theater Service Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Service Medal with two bronze stars, World War II Victory Medal, Occupation of Japan Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Air Force Longevity Medal and the Massachusetts Military Service Medal.