The "Enola Gay", piloted by Col. Paul Tibbets, dropped the first bomb Aug. 6 1945, on Hiroshima. On Aug. 9, the B-29 called "Bockscar", and captained by Maj. Charles Sweeney dropped the second, on Nagasaki.
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A-BOMB CO-PILOT FRED OLIVI DIES

Chicago Sun Times
By Brenda Warner Rotzoll
Staff Reporter
April 10, 2004

Fred Olivi grew up in Pullman longing to fly. He joined the Army Air Forces after Pearl Harbor and flew into history as co-pilot of the plane that dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki in August 1945.

It was the second bomb dropped on Japan before it surrendered, ending World War II. The Enola Gay, piloted by Col. Paul Tibbets, dropped the first bomb Aug. 6 on Hiroshima. On Aug. 9, the B-29 called Bockscar dropped the second, on Nagasaki.

Mr. Olivi was a second lieutenant in 1945. He flew for many years after that with the Air Force Reserve, ending his service as a lieutenant colonel.

He died Thursday at Lemont Center, a rehabilitation center in the southwest suburb, where he had lived since suffering a stroke last August. He was 82.

Until that stroke, he had traveled the country touring air shows, visiting museums, giving speeches and selling his self-published book, Decision at Nagasaki.

He was one of many veterans who expressed furious indignation at the exhibit the Smithsonian Institution mounted for the 50th anniversary of the bombings. They said it was too apologetic.

"It's slanted more in sympathy to the Japanese than it is to us," Mr. Olivi said in a 1994 interview. "They say nothing about Pearl Harbor, the Bataan Death March, China and Singapore.

"In 1995, he told the Chicago Sun-Times, "While thousands died, I feel sure the bomb had to be dropped because if the Americans had been forced to invade Japan, it would have been a bloodbath. We would have lost a million people -- both Allied forces and Japanese.

"Mr. Olivi trained on B-24 bombers. Then he was sent to a lonely base in Wendover, Utah, in January 1945 to join the 393rd squadron.

Tibbets, leader of the special command, said, "You will be delivering a bomb that can destroy an entire city." But it was nearly time to drop the bomb when the men were told it was something new called atomic.

Mr. Olivi's plane originally was to be flown by Frederick C. Bock and later was named Bockscar in his honor by the crew. On the day of the Nagasaki flight, it was captained by Maj. Charles Sweeney.

It was a rough flight. Their escort was late at the rendezvous, there were electrical shorts, a fuel pump failure cost them 600 gallons of aviation fuel, and their primary target, Kokura, was covered by clouds.

"We calculated our supplies and discovered we had enough for one bomb run on Nagasaki and an emergency landing on Okinawa," Mr. Olivi said.

Nagasaki was covered by clouds, too, but suddenly a break appeared.

"The doors popped open, and the bomb dropped out. We made a 60-degree bank to the left to get away and headed in the opposite direction.... About 45 seconds later, there was a flash, and it was 10 times brighter out,"

Mr. Olivi said.Shock waves from the blast rocked the plane. When they looked back, "the entire city was covered with smoke and fire. Flames were shooting up in every direction," Mr. Olivi said. He saw the atomic mushroom cloud rise and thought it might engulf the plane, but Sweeney flew quickly out of the area and headed for Okinawa.

Mr. Olivi was born in Chicago, one of six children of Adorno and Primativa Olivi. He attended the old Pullman Tech high school, then went to work at the Pullman railcar works. He signed up for the Army Air Forces immediately after Pearl Harbor.

"He always wanted to fly. The Air Corps gave him a chance, and he took it," said his older brother, dentist Emil Olivi.

After the war Mr. Olivi served in the Air Force Reserve until 1971, flying with a troop transport squadron based at O'Hare.

His other assignment was liaison officer for the Air Force Academy," said his friend Steve Zaher of Burr Ridge, who was an Army Ranger in Europe in World War II. The two met when the late Tom Ryan, another Ranger, brought Mr. Olivi along to the breakfast meeting Chicago area Rangers have every two weeks at the Maplewood restaurant in Alsip.

Mr. Olivi's full-time job was manager of bridge operations and maintenance for the City of Chicago. He retired in 1988.

In the mid-1960s, he married Carole McVey, whom he had known since they were in high school together. A devoted couple, they traveled extensively. "He idolized her," Emil Olivi said. She died in 1998.

Survivors in addition to his brother are six nieces and nephews.Visitation will be from 2 to 9 p.m. today at Panozzo Bros. Funeral Home, 530 W. 14th St., Chicago Heights. Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Walter's Church, 118th and Western, with burial in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Worth.

A-bomb co-pilot Fred Olivi dies
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