![Fujita&Glen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Fujita%26Glen.jpg)
The Lookout Air Raids were minor but historic
Japanese air raids that occurred in the mountains of
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
, several miles outside
Brookings during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
On September 9, 1942, a
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
Yokosuka E14Y
The Yokosuka E14Y ( Allied reporting name Glen) was an Imperial Japanese Navy reconnaissance seaplane transported aboard and launched from Japanese submarine aircraft carriers such as the during World War II. The Japanese Navy designation was ...
''Glen''
floatplane, launched from a Japanese submarine, dropped two
incendiary bombs
Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using fire (and sometimes used as anti-personnel weaponry), that use materials such as napalm, th ...
with the intention of starting a
forest fire. However, with the efforts of a patrol of
fire lookout
A fire lookout (partly also called a fire watcher) is a person assigned the duty to look for fire from atop a building known as a fire lookout tower. These towers are used in remote areas, normally on mountain tops with high elevation and a ...
s
[ and weather conditions not amenable to a fire, the damage done by the attack was minor. The attack was the first time the contiguous United States was bombed by an enemy aircraft. It was also the second time the continental ]United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
was attacked by enemy aircraft during World War II, the first being the bombing of Dutch Harbor three months earlier.
Lookout Air Raids
On Wednesday morning, September 9, 1942, the submarine ''I-25'', under the command of Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...
Akiji Tagami, surfaced west of Cape Blanco. The submarine launched a "Glen" Yokosuka E14Y
The Yokosuka E14Y ( Allied reporting name Glen) was an Imperial Japanese Navy reconnaissance seaplane transported aboard and launched from Japanese submarine aircraft carriers such as the during World War II. The Japanese Navy designation was ...
floatplane, flown by Warrant Officer
Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...
Nobuo Fujita
(1911 – 30 September 1997) was a Japanese naval aviator and warrant flying officer of the Imperial Japanese Navy who flew a floatplane from the long-range submarine aircraft carrier and conducted the Lookout Air Raids in southern Oreg ...
and Petty Officer
A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be super ...
Okuda Shoji, with a load of two incendiary bombs
Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using fire (and sometimes used as anti-personnel weaponry), that use materials such as napalm, th ...
of each.
Howard "Razz" Gardner spotted and reported the incoming "Glen" from his fire lookout tower on Mount Emily
Mount Emily ( Tolowa: en-may ) is a mountain in the Klamath Mountains of southwestern Oregon in the United States. It is located in southern Curry County in the extreme southwest corner of the state, near Brookings, approximately from the Pacif ...
in the Siskiyou National Forest Siskiyou may refer to:
*Siskiyou Mountains, a mountain range in northern California and southern Oregon
* Siskiyou National Forest, in Oregon and California
*Siskiyou County, California
*Siskiyou Trail, an old Native American and pioneer trail conne ...
.
Although Razz did not see the bombing, he saw the smoke plume and reported the fire to the dispatch office. He was instructed to hike to the fire to see what suppression he could do. Dispatch also sent USFS Fire Lookout Keith V. Johnson from the nearby Bear Wallow Lookout Tower. Fujita dropped two bombs, one on Wheeler Ridge on Mount Emily
Mount Emily ( Tolowa: en-may ) is a mountain in the Klamath Mountains of southwestern Oregon in the United States. It is located in southern Curry County in the extreme southwest corner of the state, near Brookings, approximately from the Pacif ...
in Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
. The location of the other bomb is unknown. The Wheeler Ridge bomb started a small fire due east of Brookings.
The two men proceeded to the location and were able to keep the fire under control. Only a few small scattered fires were started because the bombs were not dropped from the correct height. The men stayed on scene and worked through the night keeping the fires contained. In the morning, a fire crew arrived to help. A recent rain storm had kept the area wet, which helped the fire lookouts contain the blaze.
Aftermath
A full investigation was launched by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
, which resulted in locating several bomb fragments. The story was reported in several newspapers on September 10, 1942. Lieut. Gen. John L. DeWitt
John Lesesne DeWitt (January 9, 1880 – June 20, 1962) was a 4-star general officer in the United States Army, best known for leading the Japanese American internment, internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.
After the attack on Pe ...
, the area commander announced, The Western Defense Command
Western Defense Command (WDC) was established on 17 March 1941 as the command formation of the United States Army responsible for coordinating the defense of the Pacific Coast region of the United States during World War II. A second major respo ...
is investigating the circumstances surrounding the discovery on Sept. 9 of fragments of what appears to have been an incendiary bomb. These fragments were found by personnel of the United States Forestry Service near Mt. Emily nine miles northeast of Brookings, Or. Markings of the bomb fragments indicated that the missile was of Japanese origin.[''Jap Incendiary Sets Forest Fire. DeWitt's Announcement Hints Raider May Have Been Launched From Submarine Off Coast, Later Attacked by Patrol Planes'']
/ref>
The floatplane carried two bombs. Both were dropped, according to the Japanese records, but no trace has yet been found of the second bomb. One of the bombs left a foot-deep crater.[ Fujita and his observer made a second attack on September 29, again causing only negligible damage.
]
Postwar
Twenty years later, the floatplane's pilot, Nobuo Fujita
(1911 – 30 September 1997) was a Japanese naval aviator and warrant flying officer of the Imperial Japanese Navy who flew a floatplane from the long-range submarine aircraft carrier and conducted the Lookout Air Raids in southern Oreg ...
, was invited back to Brookings. Before he made the trip the Japanese government was assured he would not be tried as a war criminal. In Brookings, Fujita served as Grand Marshal for the local Azalea Festival. At the festival, Fujita presented his family's 400-year-old samurai sword
A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...
to the city as a symbol of regret. Fujita made a number of additional visits to Brookings, serving as an "informal ambassador of peace and friendship". Impressed by his welcome in the United States, in 1985 Fujita invited three students from Brookings to Japan. During the visit of the Brookings-Harbor High School students to Japan, Fujita received a dedicatory letter from an aide of President Ronald Reagan "with admiration for your kindness and generosity". Fujita returned to Brookings in 1990, 1992, and 1995. In 1992 he planted a tree at the bomb site as a gesture of peace. In 1995, he moved the samurai sword from the Brookings City Hall into the new library's display case. He was made an honorary citizen of Brookings several days before his death on September 30, 1997, at the age of 85. In October 1998, his daughter, Yoriko Asakura, buried some of Fujita's ashes at the bomb site.
See also
*''Amerikabomber
The ''Amerikabomber'' () project was an initiative of the German Ministry of Aviation (''Reichsluftfahrtministerium'') to obtain a long-range strategic bomber for the ''Luftwaffe'' that would be capable of striking the United States (specifical ...
''
*Bombardment of Fort Stevens
The Bombardment of Fort Stevens occurred in June 1942, in the American Theater and the Pacific Theater of World War II. The Imperial Japanese submarine ''I-25'' fired on Fort Stevens, which defended the Oregon side of the Columbia River's ...
*Fu-Go balloon bomb
was an deployed by Japan against the United States during World War II. A hydrogen balloon measuring in diameter, it carried a payload of two incendiary devices plus one anti-personnel bomb (or alternatively one incendiary bomb), and was ...
*Operation K
was a Japanese naval operation in World War II, intended as reconnaissance of Pearl Harbor and disruption of repair and salvage operations following the surprise attack on 7 December 1941. It culminated on 4 March 1942, with an unsucces ...
Notes
References
External links
''Los Angeles Times'' news story of September 15, 1942
- U.S. Forest Service
{{Oregon Modern History
1942 in Oregon
Aerial operations and battles of World War II
Airstrikes
American Theater of World War II
Battles and conflicts without fatalities
Conflicts in 1942
Curry County, Oregon
History of Oregon
Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest
September 1942 events
Japan–United States military relations