Civilian Defense & Fear
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Civilian Defense & FearNo Explanation of the Cause
On May 5, 1945, a woman and five children were killed near Bly, Oregon, by a Japanese balloon bomb. The country had not been told the balloons existed. Seventeen days later, the government lifted the ban and told it everything.
Source · The Daily Alaska Empire, May 31, 1945, p. 1 -
Civilian Defense & FearSomething Like a Balloon
On the night of February 24–25, 1942, Los Angeles fired hundreds of anti-aircraft shells at the sky for an hour. The next morning the wire told the country it had beaten off waves of Japanese planes. Then the Navy said false alarm and the War Department said fifteen aircraft. The fear was real; the enemy was not.
Source · The Waterbury Democrat, February 25, 1942, p. 1 -
Civilian Defense & FearBeach Residents Now Sharing Cars
On July 15, 1942, three ships died in a battle off Cape Hatteras — two freighters and the U-boat that killed them. The front page of the nearest daily paper was about carpooling.
Source · The Wilmington Morning Star, July 15, 1942, p. 1
