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Theodore Van Kirk joined the Air Cadet Program of the Army Air Corps in October of 1941. Upon completing navigation school, he recieved his commission as a Second Lieutenant at Kelly Field, Texas, on April 1, 1942. Van Kirk was then assigned to the 97th Bomb Group (B-17s) which became the first operational B-17 group in England. Beginning in July of 1942, he flew the early B-17 missions out of England as navigator with Paul Tibbets, Pilot, and Tom Ferebee, bombardier. This later-to-become-famous crew flew General Mark Clark from England to Girbraltar in October of 1942 for his secret North African rendezvous with the French prior to the North African invasion. In November of 1942, they flew General Eisenhower to Gibraltar to command the invasion forces. It was good-bye to England when the 97th BG was transferred to the 15th AF which operated out of North Africa. With fifty-eight combat missions and eight transport missions in England and North Africa to his credit, he returned to the United States in June of 1943 to do navigation training work at Selman Field.
Van Kirk's assignment as an instructor continued at Selman Field until October of 1944 when he was transferred to the 509th Composite Group at Wendover, Utah. He was to be Group Navigator and rejoined Tibbets as Group Commander and Ferebee as Group Bombardier. November of 1944 through June of 1945 the crew trained and trained with the 509th for an atom bomb delivery. June of 1945 brought a reassignment of the group to Tinian....and the countdown began. August 6, 1945, Van Kirk was the navigator on the B-29 "Enola Gay" for the first atomic bomb mission to Hiroshima, Japan. The 9,000-pound uranium bomb nicknamed "Little Boy" hit its mark and saved lives on all sides by hastening Japan's surrender on August 14, 1945. This mission takes its place in history as ushering in the atomic age.
It was indeed the good fortune of Selman Field to have had Van Kirk as one of its instructors. No doubt his tenure as an instructor in Monroe went a long way toward "bring home" many an air crew during World War II.
"Dutch" Van Kirk holds the Distinguished Flying Cross, a Silver Star, and fourteen Air Medals.
