Donation of Rare Photograph Commemorates 80th Anniversary of Hiroshima Bombing

August 6th, 2025, marks the 80th anniversary of when the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. According to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, it is estimated that 140,000 people perished as a result of the bombing. On August 9, 1945, the US military dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki, killing an additional 70,000 people. The bombings ultimately forced Japan’s surrender, ending the Second World War on September 2, 1945. 

Though these events occurred in Asia, the story itself has significant ties to North Carolina. Mocksville, NC, native Colonel Tom Ferebee was the bombardier aboard the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress that released the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Ferebee and fellow Enola Gay crew members visited the Museum in the late 1990s. The Enola Gay’s navigator, Major Theodore ‘Dutch’ Van Kirk, was the last living crew member to visit the Museum on December 7th, 2013, when he met with Charlotte-Mecklenburg School students, gave a presentation, and signed his book titled My True Course.

Unlikely Witness 

However, most people are unaware that there was another North Carolinian in the skies over Japan on the morning of August 6, 1945; US Army Air Forces reconnaissance photographer Technical Sergeant John McGlohon. During that time, McGlohon, who was a native of Asheboro, NC, was stationed on the island of Guam, flying missions to capture images of bombing targets in Japan. 

“On the morning of August 6, to us it was a routine flight,” recalled McGlohon in a 2006 interview with historian Kenneth Samuelson. At 8:16 AM, McGlohon’s crew had just made landfall near Susaki, around 80 miles away from Hiroshima, when “[Suddenly], there was just a brilliant flash, like somebody had fired a flashbulb in your face.” After being momentarily blinded, the crew redirected their course towards the explosion, allowing John to photograph the aftermath. 

When this photo was taken, McGlohon’s crew was flying over the town of Matsuyama, approximately 45 statute miles south-southwest of the explosion point in Hiroshima.

Sullenberger Aviation Museum Collection 

“As we flew by, I picked up a little four-by-five hand-held camera and walked up in the left blister, [which] was a blister gunner, and took some pictures.” After taking several photos, McGlohon’s team continued on their mission as usual, assuming that the detonation they witnessed had resulted from an exploded “ammunition dump.” They then traveled further into mainland Japan to capture their other reconnaissance targets before returning to Guam. 

The crew did not realize that they had nearly been victims of a nuclear explosion until they returned to base. There they learned that their superiors had failed to relay the message to cancel their mission, further complicating their account. They were met with intense skepticism due to the unlikely circumstances and the fact that they had returned unscathed. “They didn’t believe us,” said McGlohon, “They thought we’d made up something until they developed the film.”

New Rare Donation

Recently, Sullenberger Aviation Museum received a new donation from the McGlohon family consisting of photographs from TSgt McGlohon’s deployments to South America and Asia. In particular, the donation included an extremely rare aerial photograph of the resulting nuclear firestorm in Hiroshima. Due to extenuating circumstances surrounding their creation, only a handful of similar photos are known to exist.

Historian Kenneth Samuelson, a close personal friend of McGlohon’s and one of the people who helped facilitate the donation, first met McGlohon in 2006 at a meeting of WWII combat airmen. After hearing his story, Samuelson arranged to interview McGlohon and later decided to help to compile evidence to support his claims. It was largely due to Samuelson’s detailed scholarship that McGlohon’s story gained the accreditation and acclaim it now has. 

This is one of several reconnaissance images included in the donation, many of which were likely taken by TSgt McGlohon during his WWII service.

Sullenberger Aviation Museum Collection

Reflecting on his work to record and share McGlohon’s story, Samuelson said, “This alarming breach on one of the most top-secret missions in World War II is an unrecognized quirk in history and was forgotten until relevant records and photographs were declassified in 1996. The oddity of such historic miscommunication and the reasons contributing to it make a fascinating story, which I have told many times.” 

Bob McGlohon, one of John’s children, shared with the Museum that his father “never bragged about the role he and his crew played in the war, but over time, people in Asheboro, [NC], came to know his story.” After returning home from the war, John worked as a photographer and later as a firefighter, eventually becoming Fire Chief of the Asheboro Fire Department, a position he held for over 20 years. A respected member of the community, John also served as a City Councilman for 16 years. “Dad’s whole life was dedicated to service to other people,” said Bob McGlohon.

This showcase will soon feature images from the McGlohon family’s recent donation, alongside artifacts from Tom Ferebee, a WWII-era Norden Bombsight, and more.

Sullenberger Aviation Museum Collection 

Two photographs from the donation will soon be on display in our Innovation Nation exhibit, including the rare photograph of the bombing’s aftermath in Hiroshima. Visit Sullenberger Aviation Museum to learn more about the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and explore other stories from Carolinas aviators.

The Museum extends special thanks to Bob McGlohon, Steve McGlohon, Kenneth Samuelson, and Tom Kunkle for making this article possible.