A Fu-Go "balloon bomb"
May 5, 1945: For all that Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan did to their various enemies in World War II, they could only hurt America from afar. Their respective saboteurs in America had a rather pathetic record. But there was one attack on the U.S. mainland that had, by any definition, some success.
"Balloon bombs" had been postulated as early as 1792 in France, but had never been considered practical until 1849, when the Austrian Empire used them on Venice, with some success, in the First War of Italian Independence.
Britain had used them on Nazi Germany in World War II. Japan had also tried them, as the only thing they could launch that could reach the U.S. mainland without getting shot down. On May 5, 1945, 6 civilians were killed near Bly, Oregon, when they discovered one of the balloon bombs (in Japanese, "Fu-Go") in Fremont National Forest, becoming the only fatalities from Axis action in the continental U.S. during the war.
Reverend Archie Mitchell (then age 27) and his pregnant wife Elsie (age 26) drove up Gearhart Mountain that day with 5 of their Sunday school students for a picnic. While Archie was parking the car, Elsie and the children discovered a balloon and carriage, loaded with an anti-personnel bomb, on the ground. A large explosion occurred, and the 4 boys -- Edward Engen (13), Jay Gifford (13), Dick Patzke (14) and Sherman Shoemaker (11) were killed instantly; while Elsie and Joan Patzke (13) died from their wounds shortly afterwards.
An Army investigation concluded that the bomb had likely been kicked or dropped, and that it had lain undisturbed for about 1 month before the incident. The U.S. press blackout was lifted on May 22 so the public could be warned of the balloon threat.
This would not be Rev. Mitchell's last experience in war. He served as a missionary to South Vietnam, and, along with 2 others, was taken captive by the Vietcong on May 30, 1962. None of them have been seen since.
A memorial, the Mitchell Monument, was built in 1950 at the site of the explosion. In 1987, a group of Japanese women involved in Fu-Go production as schoolgirls delivered 1,000 paper cranes to the victims' families as a symbol of peace and healing, and 6 cherry trees were planted at the site on the incident's 50th anniversary in 1995.
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May 5, 1945 was a Saturday. Music critic and historian Kurt Loder was born.
These baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 7-3 at Fenway Park. The Yankees scored 5 runs in the top of the 1st inning, including a home run by Oscar Grimes.
* The New York Giants swept a doubleheader from the Boston Braves, 15-5 and 6-4 at the Polo Grounds.
* The Brooklyn Dodgers swept a doubleheader from the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-1 and 12-8 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.
* The Washington Senators beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 7-3 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.
* The St. Louis Browns beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-0 at Briggs Stadium (later renamed Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. Jack Kramer pitched a 4-hit shutout.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-3 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
* The Chicago Cubs beat their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-1 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.
* And the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds were rained out at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on June 5. The Reds won the opener, 4-0. Ed Heusser pitched a 7-hit shutout. The Pirates won the nightcap, 9-1.
And while England's Football Association had shut Football League and FA Cup competition down for the duration of the war, there was Football League South play.
Arsenal and West Ham United played to a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane in Middlesex.
Yes, The Arsenal used the ground of their arch-rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, because their home, Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London was appropriated by the government for defense purposes. The London Government Act 1963 redrew the boundaries of the city of London (not to be confused with "The City of London") so that White Hart Lane was inside the city for the first time.
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