On September 9, 1942, Japan attacked the U.S. mainland with a bomber launched from a submarine
“Banzai!” shouted the bombardier.
“Banzai!” replied the pilot.
With that, enemy bombs fell on the United States. It was September 9, 1942, less than a year after the Japanese had struck Pearl Harbor. This time, their attack was aimed at the American mainland—specifically the forests of the coast of Oregon, perhaps the unlikeliest of targets.
For the better part of two centuries, strategists had confidently declared that the United States, protected by two oceans, was safe from any enemy. Indeed, between 1814, when the British burned Washington, and the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, that was true, with one exception. Though they are largely forgotten today, Japan launched several strikes against the western United States in 1942, including two air raids.
