In 1945, the Japanese thought they could take advantage of the then newly discovred jet stream. They made 9,300 balloons, attached explosives to them and let nature take them eastwards where some made it as far as the Pacific coast of the United States.
They exploded everywhere from Alaska to Northern Mexico but for the most part did little damage except for setting forest fires.
The Japanese were running out of most materials by this time, and their depleted hydrogen stocks meant they released the last of these balloons in April 1945.
On May 5, The Reverend Archie Mitchell and Elsie, his wife, were leading a Sunday school outing in Bly, Oregon. While the Revered was moving his car, Elsie and five of the children with them found a strange object in the undergrowth. They tugged at it, and it exploded killing Elsie and all of the children.
These six victims were the only mainland American casualties of World War II.
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