William Barney was the radar operator on the B-29 Bock's Car that dropped a plutonium bomb on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945. During Sunday's opening of an exhibit on the mission at the World War II Victory Museum in Auburn, Ind., he said the mission forced the Japanese to surrender.
That, in turn, saved many soldiers' lives, the Columbia City, Ind., resident said.
'There would have been a lot more people killed. And we had it,' he said. 'They were whipped long before that. It just took something great to impress them.'
The Nagasaki bombing came three days after another Japanese city, Hiroshima, was destroyed by the first-ever atomic bombing, killing at least 140,000 people.
Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, 1945, bringing World War II to an end. However, in the decades since the bombings - the only use of atomic weapons in war - some critics have questioned whether the missions were necessary.
Barney said he agrees with military historians who contend the atomic bombings quickly ended the war and eliminated the need for an allied invasion of Japan. Those historians say an invasion would have caused a catastrophic number of Japanese and allied deaths.
Barney and other veterans attended Sunday's opening of the permanent display detailing the Nagasaki mission that includes artifacts, veterans' uniforms, letters sent home, pictures and even old rations.
The exhibit is the work of John Wassell, whose father and three uncles served in the war.
Wassell began collecting the items after the Smithsonian Institution scaled down a 1995 exhibit of the restored Enola Gay - the B-29 that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima - following complaints by veterans that it focused too much on the damage and deaths.
Wassell said the incendiary bombs the United States used killed more civilians in Japan.
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