The unknown attack on US soil

A Japanese balloon bomb (Fu-Go) 

photographed in New York, 

July 2, 1945. Associated Press

I always thought that American soil was infiltrated only once by the Japanese, in 1941 at Pearl Harbour. And the second, of course was 9/11. No, wrong. That was indeed another successful bombardment of USA, not in the fringes of the country but at its belly! It fact it was kept hush hush for many years.

After the 1942 humiliation of the Japanese by the US bombers led by Colonel Doolittle who flew past the royal palace, the Japanese wanted to get even with the Yankees. They wanted to get even with their foes.
In spring of 1945, a pastor went on a picnic with his pregnant wife and 5 lads. While emptying the luggage, before he could alert his family an explosion killed all 6. They had been fascinated by a balloon contraption. Many similar devices were seen all over Oregon.
Panic set in the local community. They were fearing for the worse. Like 9/11. they thought enemy had infiltrated the American soil. The US army managed to keep it under wraps with the agreement of the press.

From other balloon contraptions which failed to explode, investigators found that they were balloon were made of silk carrying sandbags and explosives. The only clue that revealed the identity of the bomb was the sand. Forensic examination of the type of sand, its content, mineral composition, absence and presence of lifeforms, insects, bugs and molluscs zeroed the sand to have originated from a particular beach in Honshu Island, Japan!
Children from a particular village in Japan were assigned to make these balloons, all in about 9,000 to 10,000 of them between 1942 and 1945. The Japanese engineers identified a particular altitude level in the sky that had a stream of wind that could take all these hostile 'lanterns' across the Pacific Ocean. To accommodate the drop in altitude during the night because of contraction of hydrogen air in the balloon, sandbags were automatically dropped from them to lighten them!

The blanket rule to silence the press on the discovery of the thousands of these Fu-Go balloon bombs averted panic in USA. The Japanese Army thought that their endeavour was a futile attempt and did not proceed further with their plans. The knowledge of its success could have spurred them to proceed with further deathlier attacks using biological agents or more sinister substances. Its hush also could have hastened the eventual end of the war.