Amidst the remembrances
Here's a story I don't think I knew about in the first place. [Via this story.]
| Posted at 1:14 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (8)
bly, oregon, by the way, is also where some wanted to create an al Q training camp...
http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/West/10/04/oregon.fbi.alqaeda/
Posted by PJB | May 25, 2009 1:30 AM
I consider myself a WWII history buff--my Dad (class of '44--drafted 2 wks later) passed that down to me. Most of the facts in the linked story are news to me.
Posted by jimbo | May 25, 2009 9:42 AM
My understanding was that the Japanese launched these balloon bombs to ride the jet stream to the United States so that they would start wildfires and draw resources from the US war effort.
It's conceivable that unexploded incendiaries are still out there, lying in wait for some unsuspecting civilian to happen by.
Posted by none | May 25, 2009 9:50 AM
I'm pretty sure the balloons used white phosphorous if I recall correctly.
Posted by PJB | May 25, 2009 11:55 AM
My late neighbor, Les Colvill, was the District Ranger who had to deal with the aftermath - a very sad duty, and the story was suppressed lest the Japanese learn of their small success & be encouraged to send more. Stewart Holbrook wrote a very good account of the incident after the war, & I think it's in one of his recent anthologies. The odds are that there are still lots of the bombs still in the woods - be careful of any old piles of junk. The balloons were made of paper, but the release mechanisms were sophisticated, involving both timers and barometric components.
Posted by Lalawethika | May 25, 2009 12:50 PM
P. S. - A friend tells me that the aluminum ballast ring & barometers from a balloon were found by Agness, Oregon in 1978 & are now on display in the Coos County Museum. Fortunately for us, the balloons were launched in the fall & winter of 1944-45, when the jet stream is strongest, and the forests are wet. One balloon landed in the suburbs of Detroit (Mich, not OR). Steer clear of four-spoked aluminum wheels in the forest!
Posted by Lalawethika | May 25, 2009 1:18 PM
Actually, the death toll of that unfortunate
Bly incident was seven. Reportedly, Elsie was pregnant. (Her minister-husband was later killed while on mission in Vietnam.) Even before that, Oregon was attacked by a Japanese sub that fired on Fort Stevens and a Jap sub-launched aircraft dropped incendiary bombs on Mt. Emily.
Posted by RickN | May 25, 2009 3:47 PM
Portland filmmaker Ilana Sol has made a very powerful documentary about this. Highly recommended.
http://www.onpaperwingsthemovie.com/
Posted by tsbooth | May 28, 2009 8:38 AM