The Balloon Bombs That Reached America #shorts

In 1944, Japan launched thousands of paper balloon bombs (Fu-Go) on the jet stream toward North America. Here's how they worked, and the Oregon tragedy that followed. 🎈 The Fu-Go balloon bomb was built from paper and konnyaku paste, and carried incendiary and anti-personnel bombs. An automatic ballast system dropped sandbags to hold altitude across roughly 6,000 miles. About 9,000 were launched, and about 300 are recorded as reaching North America. One drifted into a power line near Hanford, Washington, briefly interrupting power to the reactor producing plutonium. On May 5, 1945, near Bly, Oregon, a balloon bomb killed Elsie Mitchell and five children: Dick Patzke, Joan Patzke, Jay Gifford, Edward Engen, and Sherman Shoemaker. They are the only people killed by enemy action on the US mainland during WWII. The US government's request for press silence was lifted afterward to warn the public. 🕯️ In memory of the six victims. Their memorial stands in the Fremont-Winema National Forest, Oregon. 📚 Sources: - Robert C. Mikesh, "Japan's World War II Balloon Bomb Attacks on North America," Smithsonian Institution Press - Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Fu-Go balloon bomb collection - Oregon Historical Society / US Forest Service, Mitchell Monument #WWII #FuGo #History #HistoryShorts #WeirdHistory #Shorts #AncientHistory #Civilizations #Documentary #HistoryDocumentary