During World War II, incendiary paper balloon weapons were deployed by Japan against the United States. One of these bombs dropped in Oregon causing the only fatalities from enemy action in the continental U.S. during the war. Teen girls in Japan were conscripted to construct the paper balloons.
Read the recently published nonfiction book, then extend the experience through websites:
PEACE IS A CHAIN REACTION by Tanya Lee Stone tells the story of how World War II Japanese balloon bombs ultimately brought people of two nations together. Within the larger context of the war and its aftermath, Stone skillfully shares the complex challenges facing teens during wartime and the long term implications. The true story explores three intersecting stories of peace and forgiveness.
ARC courtesy of Candlewick Press.
JAPANESE PAPER BALLOON is a video from the National Archives and Records Administration. Published during World War II, it’s available through the Internet Archive.
To video the video, go to https://archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.13084.
The MITCHELL MONUMENT brochure from the US Forest Service shares the story of the attack and the aftermath.
To read the brochure, go to https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5374039.pdf.
An article in Smithsonian Magazine tells the story of the bombing.
To read the article, go to https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/1945-japanese-balloon-bomb-killed-six-americansfive-them-children-oregon-180972259/.
