Japanese Balloon Bombs of WWII

[DynoTom]

I did not know about these until I watched a History Detectives a couple days ago.....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NlyJ4Zbld8

[TransAm12sec]

Cool. Except if one dropped on someone I knew. Then shit!

[TheRX7Project]

Is this for real? Seems odd that we never heard of this until now.

EDIT: Calling BS- if you click "more from xzoneradiotv" there's a lot of crap about UFOs. Not that I don't believe in UFOs, but I'm compelled to believe this guy less.

[DynoTom]

Balloon bombs were really used....check many other sources for info....

[Car Guy]

They are VERY real and a few American civilians died as a result......

[MurphysLaw88GT]

Very real.

[TheRX7Project]

Well all righty then.

[Goat Roper]

The only fatalities were out in oregon, if memory serves me correctly. A family found one in a tree.


On May 5, 1945, a balloon bomb that had drifted over the Pacific killed five children and a woman. It exploded when a 13-year-old girl (Joan Patzke) attempted to pull the balloon from a tree during a church group picnic in the woods near Bly, Oregon. Having taken some local children on an outing, Reverend Archie Mitchell watched in horror as his wife, Elsie (or Elyse) Mitchell, and five children who accompanied them (ages 11 to 14) were killed. The minister escaped by luck of being a short distance behind. Those six were the only known victims of the balloon bombs. However, dangers of the balloon bomb still may exist. Hundreds were never found and may still constitute unexploded ordnance. The six who perished were the only known casualties inflicted by Japanese attack on the U.S. mainland during World War II.

The press blackout in the U.S. was lifted after the deaths to ensure that the public was warned.

A memorial, the Mitchell Monument, is located 110 kilometres (70 mi) northeast of Klamath Falls. It was rededicated during a 50-year anniversary service in 1995.

Elsie Mitchell is buried in the Ocean View Cemetery in Port Angeles, Washington.