L. Render Braswell; Surgeon Examined Enola Gay Pilot
Retired Maj. Gen. L. Render Braswell, 93, the Army Air Force surgeon who examined Lt. Col. Paul Tibbets, pilot of the Enola Gay, after Tibbets dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, died May 21 in Atlanta.
Braswell, at the time command surgeon on Iwo Jima, was asked to check a mysterious rash on Tibbets that officials feared was related to radiation from the bomb. But the doctor determined that the pilot had merely suffered scratches from the grit and dirt in his plane that the bomb’s explosion forced through his flight suit.
Braswell, born in Adrian, Ga., studied pharmacy at the University of Georgia and medicine at Emory University before joining the Army as a surgeon in 1933. During World War II, he served in military hospitals in the Philippines, Guam and Washington, D.C., as well as Iwo Jima.
After retiring from the Air Force in 1962, Braswell served as medical director of General Motors and practiced privately.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
