It would have been more instructive to delve into the nuances of the many alterations the program underwent, but looking at the original language does reveal clearly why veterans would have been upset with it.
The book primarily focuses on dissecting the original script for the exhibit, an easy target that even most defenders of the Smithsonian agree was severely flawed.
O’Reilly and Rooney have provided a sometimes eloquent and always passionate exposition of the position of the critics, mostly WWII veterans who believed the planned displays misrepresented the end of the war. The often acrimonious dispute that erupted between the exhibit’s critics and defenders eventually led to its cancellation, but the burning issues of that debate continue to smolder. William Rooney and Charles O’Reilly are a former advertising executive and university professor, respectively, but they were also leaders of the World War II veterans group that challenged the interpretive exhibition of the Boeing B-29 planned by the Smithsonian Institution for the 50th anniversary of the end ofWorld War II in 1995. This book is as much a piece of history as a work of history. The Enola Gay and the Smithsonian Institution (Book Review) | HistoryNet Close