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While this may sound odd, it actually did happen during WWII. The Japanese used the current of the jet stream to take some 9000 balloons carrying bombs and/or fire-causing devices into the United States. In fact, 6 people in Oregon were killed because of these. Known as project “Fugo”. See http://www.ww2pacific.com/attacks.html#balloon
I hadnt heard of that one. There is a memorial for an attack at Fort Stevens on the Oregon coast for a sub attack. It's strange how many attacks there were by Japan on the west coast, but mainstream history has ignored it. Oregon seemed to be a prefered target for the Japanese.
You live in Oregon, right? You should investigate the attacks. There has to be something in the local paper archives detailing them. I doubt that the Japanese intended on attacking Oregon specifically, but that was probably the route that the jet stream naturally flew across going east from Japan.
Yea, the balloons maybe. But there are more instances of sub attacks, especially on oil takers, all up and down the coast of Oregon.
From what I understand at the Japanese had also taken control over part of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. I wonder if this is the only time part of the U.S. proper has been occupied by an enemy force since the British in the War of 1812.
From what I understand at the Japanese had also taken control over part of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.? I wonder if this is the only time part of the U.S. proper has been occupied by an enemy force since the British in the War of 1812.
I've heard that. I've never read anything substantail on the subject. But you may be right I cant think of any kind of foreign occupation since 1812.
This indeed is true. Here is what I found about the Japanese occupation of Attu and Kiska Islands from Wikipedia:
The islands had very little strategic value for either side, but control of the Aleutians would prevent a possible U.S. attack across the Northern pacific. Similarly, the U.S. feared that the islands would be used as bases from which to launch aerial assaults against the West Coast, and it became a matter of national pride to expel the first invaders to set foot on American soil since the War of 1812.
130 years without a foriegn army on your soil is a pretty good record.
I may be wrong but I thought that I had read somewhere that a Mexican Army crossed the border during the 1846-1848 US-Mexican War (e.g The year after Texas became a State in the Union). Am I correct?
Sometimes, here in the U.S. (especially here in the west) we sometimes dont think of the mexicans as forigners. 😀
Hers some more info on this subject of west coast attacks.http://www.oregon.com/history/hm/japanese_attack.cfm
That's different from that balloon attack but interseting nonetheless. The ending is great where the Japanese pilot returned a few times during peacetime. I do wonder how the pilot was able to complete his missions and then return to his submarine. I would think it would be awfully hard to find a partially submerged ship in the middle of the sea. I also didn't know they could transport a sea take off and landing aircraft in a two-man sub, much less doing so back in 1942.
It was a surprise to me as well. In one of Cusslers books ( I will have to check to which one) he talks about such subs and there intent to attack the west coast.
My Granny is a Portland , Oregon native and she swears by the bombing of the coast by the Japanese. I always have believed that story. By the way , hello I am a newbie here. What a great forum , I love it here. I love history.
My Granny is a Portland , Oregon native and she swears by the bombing of the coast by the Japanese. I always have believed that story. By the way , hello I am a newbie here. What a great forum , I love it here. I love history.
Welcome aboard leeannmarie! If you love History, this is the place. What's your favorite subject area? We all kinda jump around, but that's what is fun about History...there's so much to choose from and we can never cover it all. 🙂
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