The Lookout Air Raids were minor but historic

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese air raids that occurred in the mountains of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, several miles outside

Brookings Brookings may refer to: Organizations * Brookings Institution, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy organization based in Washington, D.C. Places * Brookings, Oregon, USA * Brookings, South Dakota, USA * Brookings County, South Dakota, USA ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. On September 9, 1942, a Japanese

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 A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

, launched from a Japanese submarine, dropped two

incendiary bombs Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires. They may destroy structures or sensitive equipment using fire, and sometimes operate as anti-personnel weaponry. Incendiarie ...

with the intention of starting a

forest fire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a bushfire ( in Australia), dese ...

. However, with the efforts of a patrol of

fire lookout A fire lookout (sometimes 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 ...

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 The contiguous United States, also known as the U.S. mainland, officially referred to as the conterminous United States, consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America. The te ...

was bombed by an enemy aircraft. It was also the second time the continental

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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 Akiji Tagami, surfaced west of Cape Blanco. The submarine launched a "Glen"

floatplane, flown by

Warrant Officer Warrant officer (WO) is a Military rank, 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 ...

Nobuo Fujita (1911 – 30 September 1997) was a Japanese naval aviator of the Imperial Japanese Navy who flew a floatplane from the long-range submarine aircraft carrier and conducted the Lookout Air Raids in southern Oregon on September 9, 1942, making him ...

and

Petty Officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies. Often they may be superior to a seaman, and subordinate to more senior non-commissioned officers, such as chief petty officers. Petty officers are usually sailors that have ...

Okuda Shoji, with a load of two

of each. Howard "Razz" Gardner spotted and reported the incoming "Glen" from his fire lookout tower on

Mount Emily Mount Emily (Tolowa language, Tolowa: en-may ) is a mountain in the Klamath Mountains of southwestern Oregon in the United States. It is located in southern Curry County, Oregon, Curry County in the extreme southwest corner of the state, near Bro ...

in the

Siskiyou National Forest Siskiyou may refer to: *Siskiyou Mountains The Siskiyou Mountains are a Coast Ranges, coastal subrange of the Klamath Mountains, and located in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the United States. They extend in an arc for appro ...

. 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 in

. The location of the other bomb is unknown. The Wheeler Ridge bomb started a small fire due east of

. 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 agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

, 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 (9 January 1880 – 20 June 1962) was a four-star general in the United States Army. He was best known for overseeing the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. After the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanes ...

, 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 West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast region of the United States during Wo ...
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, Fujita was invited back to Brookings. Before he made the trip the

Japanese government The Government of Japan is the central government of Japan. It consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and functions under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan. Japan is a unitary state, containing forty- ...

was assured he would not be tried as a

war criminal A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

. 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 f ...

to the city as a symbol of reconciliation. 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 Brookings-Harbor High School (BHHS) is a public high school located in Brookings, Oregon, United States. Attendance Brookings-Harbor High School serves the city of Brookings and the surrounding area, including the community of Harbor. The schoo ...

students to Japan, Fujita received a dedicatory letter from an aide of

President Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party and became an important figure in ...

"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.

Notes

References

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