As the world marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Paul Tibbets IV reflected on the legacy of his grandfather, the pilot who flew the Enola Gay, saying the mission’s aim was to end World War II and save lives.

Tibbets shared his grandfather’s perspective on the historic mission during an interview Wednesday on Newsmax’s “The Record With Greta Van Susteren,” quoting his grandfather’s words directly when asked what the elder Tibbets had told him about the bombing.

“‘You know, every loss of life is horrible,'” he recalled his grandfather saying. “‘But this war had been going on for quite some time, and we knew if we were successful, we would do a couple of things. One is bring the war to an end sooner, and the other is save countless lives.’ And that’s exactly what happened.”

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