Wartime Wednesday: Project Fugo

In my blog on December 22, I wrote about one of the few attacks made on U.S. soil during WWII. A second series of attacks occurred in the Pacific Northwest by the Japanese between November 1944 and April 1945. Dubbed Project Fugo (literally “balloon bomb”) the attacks sent bomb-carrying balloons from Japan to set fire to American forests, in an effort to create havoc, dampen American morale and disrupt the U.S. war effort.

The thirty-three foot diameter, hydrogen balloons were made of lightweight paper fashioned from  tree bark and designed to ride the Pacific jet stream from Japan to the West Coast of North America. The trip took several days. Attached to a sixty four foot long fuse was either one thirty-three pound antipersonnel bomb or one twenty six pound incendiary bomb combined with four eleven pound incendiary devices.

Ultimately unsuccessful, (there were only six deaths during one incident) more than 9,000 weapons were released over a period of time and landed from northern Mexico to Alaska, and from Hawaii to Michigan. The attacks occurred at particular time of year because the period of maximum jet stream velocity is November to March. Unfortunately for the Japanese, this is also the time of year for maximum precipitation in the targeted area.

Since the end of the war these explosive devices have surfaced in numerous places. In November 1953, a balloon bomb was detonated by an Army crew in Edmonton, Alberta, and in January 1955, the Air Force discovered one in Alaska. The Sentinel reported that a bomb had been discovered in southwest Oregon in 1978. And as recent as October 2014 a bomb was recovered in British Columbia. Fortunately, to date no one has been injured or killed by these seventy year old war relics.

Mystery Monday: The Disappearance of Glenn Miller

Musician. Band leader. Soldier. Missing in action.

In 1942, at the age of 38 Glenn Miller was too old to be drafted. Wanting to support the war effort, he applied to the Navy but was rejected. He finally found acceptance with the Army who then transferred him to the Army Air Forces. As a Captain, Miller served as assistant special services officer for the Army Air Forces Southeast Training Center where his role was to support morale of the troops and civilian workers.

Playing trombone with the Rhythmaires, Miller appeared in service halls and recreation clubs in Maxwell, Alabama. He then formed a military marching band and wrote multiple successful songs that were aired on the radio. By the time he was granted permission to take his fifty piece orchestra to England, Miller had been promoted to Major.

On December 15, 1944 Miller boarded a small military plane and set out over the English Channel  for the newly liberated France where he would entertain the Allied troops. He was never seen again.

Over the years, theories abounded as to what happened. Conspiracy theories surfaced: Miller never got on the plane and was assassinated during a secret mission; the trip was unauthorized and the plane went down in the fog, the plane was destroyed by friendly fire; his death of a heart attack at a bordello was covered up.

According to Dennis Spragg, a senior consultant to the Glenn Miller Archive at the University of Colorado Boulder and author of “Resolved: The Disappearance of Glenn Miller,” the small plane probably crashed in the English Channel within seconds of take off after fuel intakes froze. The steel-framed, wood and fabric plane all but disintegrated, sending its heavy Pratt-Whitney engine plunging to the bottom.

Spragg is confident about the veracity of his theory. He spent more than four years and made dozens of trips to Washington, D.C., London and U.S. Air Force archives. According to Sprague documents from the investigation were boxed up after the war, sent to the United States and locked away.

At the time of his death, Miller left behind his wife and two children.

Selah Saturday: Unplugging the Christmas Machine

If you are reading this, you "survived" Christmas.

I'm not being facetious. For many of you getting to the other side of Christmas is your main goal for December. The holiday holds difficult memories, or you belong to what you feel is one of America's premiere dysfunctional families. (My siblings and I claim that our family put the "fun" in  dysfunctional). You spend the day or days with a family that argues, or you max out your credit cards trying to provide the perfect gifts for your loved ones.

You are not alone. My internet search for "self-help books" + "Christmas" returned over seven million hits. Granted, not all of them were applicable, but the list included dozens of books aimed at helping folks make it through Christmas and the associated hoopla. (An interesting aside: when I exchanged Chanukah for Christmas I didn't get any applicable results)

Years ago, while living in the Washington, DC area, I read Jo Robinson's book "Unplug the Christmas Machine." Originally published in 1991, since then it has had thirteen printings - thus indicating that people continue to search for ways to handle the holiday.

I currently manage the front of house (read dining hall) for a boarding high school. The students leave for two weeks from the Saturday before Christmas to the Monday after New Years. In the past, I have spent the two weeks catching up on everything I didn't get done during the year: reports and year-end stuff at work as well as deep cleaning the house, sending out New Years cards because I don't have time to do Christmas cards, and the many other tasks that pile up.

This year my husband and I swapped our timeshare for a condo on the Maine coast where we stayed for the week of Christmas. It is a lovely place overlooking the ocean in Wells, Maine.

When we first decided to go away for Christmas I was overwhelmed with guilt. Was something wrong with us? Who goes away for the holiday without seeing family? Even as we were pulling out of the driveway I had second thoughts.

It was dusk when we arrived at our destination. The sun was setting over the harbor, and the stars were beginning to dot the darkening sky. We checked in, and I was impressed to discover the front office would be closed for Christmas day. The resort was actually giving their employees the day off! If a company could "unplug" for Christmas, maybe I could, too.

The following morning, after a restful night of ten hours of sleep (not sure the last time THAT happened), I awoke refreshed. The guilt was gone. Our remaining vacation days were a mixture of reading, writing, walking, playing games, watching football, and "lollygagging."

I was blessed with the opportunity to get away. Perhaps you were not. Or perhaps, your Christmas was the stuff of nightmares and "made for TV movies." I urge you to take an hour to recover. It won't be enough, but it's a start.

Make the time. Now.

Get out your calendar, and schedule an appointment with yourself. Send the family out for dinner without you. Or go to your favorite spot in the house and lock to door. Post a do not disturb sign on the door and do something that revives and rejuvenates you. Read. Write a letter. Stare out the window. Breathe deeply. Listen to music. Drink a cup of your favorite tea or coffee. Pray.

Repeat. Yep, that's right. Pull out your calendar again. Schedule another appointment with yourself. You won't believe the difference it makes.

May you have a blessed 2016.

Talkshow Thursday: Paradogs

Welcome to Talkshow Thursday. Ruth Brown (fictional war correspondent) reporting on the unusual use of dogs by the British in their efforts to win the war again the Germans.

Reports are conflicting as to when the government began its war dog training, but by 1942 several locations had been created. British War Office sent out appeals over the wireless asking dog owners to lend their pets to the war effort. Because of rationing and the dearth of food, it wasn’t long before the Office was overwhelmed with dogs. (An interesting aside: because of anti-German feelings, German Shepherds were renamed Alsatians).

After approximately two months of intensive training, the dogs were used to locate and identify landmines, and keep watch and warn about enemy troops. The animals were also used as guard dogs at airfields, ammo dumps and prisoner-of-war camps.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the National Canine Defence League and the Animal Protection Society of Scotland and Northern Ireland cooperated in the recruiting of dogs, as well as made the arrangements for exams and registration of the animals.

Troops often parachuted behind enemy lines. The Army soon realized that in order for the dogs to accompany the men, the animals would need to be delivered the same way. Training the dogs to leap from the airplanes was challenging because of the canines innate sense of self-preservation (I’d hazard a guess a large percentage of the men felt the same way!). Eventually, the dogs learned they would be rewarded with a piece of meat upon landing. They were also trained to become familiar with (and unfearful of) loud noises and the acrid smell of cordite (the explosive powder in bombs).

At the end of the war many of these gallant dogs were awards the Dickens Award – often referred to as the animals’ Victoria Cross.

Traveling Tuesday: Ellwood Oil Field

Many (dare I say most) Americans are unaware that attacks were made on U.S. soil during World War II. I only discovered the information in the last few years while conducting research for my stories. It certainly wasn’t taught during any of my history classes in school.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in December 1941, seven Japanese submarines patrolled the American West Coast. They sank several merchant vessels and skirmished twice with U.S. Navy air and sea forces. At the end of December, the submarines returned to friendly waters to resupply.

On February 23, 1942, a lone Japanese submarine returned and slipped into a channel near Ellwood Oil Field, a large oil field well and storage facility outside of Santa Barbara, California. The vessel was captained by Kozo Nishino, a former merchant ship commander who had used the Field's fueling services prior to the war. At 7:15 PM he gave the order to surface then shot sixteen shells at Ellwood Beach from the sub's single deck gun before submerging and fleeing to the open ocean.

 

There were no injuries, and damage was minimal - a derrick and pump house were destroyed. However, the attack led to public panic. Myriad witnesses reported seeing offshore enemy signal lights, and some newspapers referred to the incident as the "Bombardment of Ellwood" escalating the level of fear. The Federal government's internment of Japanese-Americans began a week later. The following year, an "Avenge Ellwood" fund-raising campaign was created for a war bond drive.

Today Santa Barbara County owns the site of the oilfield equipment damaged by the Japanese. The Sandpiper Gold Course is on the beach below the area. A historical marker is posted on a rock on the Golf Course grounds recounting the incident.

Forensic Friday: The Art of Forgery

I recently started reading “The Art of Forgery” by Noah Charney. Part textbook, part true crime, the book is an intriguing look into the dark side of art. According to the author “art has been copied, misattributed and forged since before biblical times.” He also states that “beyond deliberate fraud, there are many noncriminal reasons why a work of art might be misattributed, sometimes to the benefit of the owner.”

So, how is art authenticated?

For years, the industry relied on connoisseurship. Individuals became “connoisseurs” or experts about an artist or artists by seeing and studying his or her works. The experts examined brushstrokes, the application and thickness of paint, and the way artists painted certain recurring themes. This was the widely accept method to determine authenticity and value until the early 20^th century.

According to Charney “copying art has always been the way young artists learned their trade - copying or imitating another artist's style is only a crime if someone tries to pass off the copy as an original.” History is littered with cases of this type.

The first time science was used to convict a forger was in 1932 at the trial of Otto Wacker. A German art dealer, Wacker commissioned and sold forgeries of the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh. At the trial, the prosecutors brought forth two Van Gogh experts to testify. However, a wrench was thrown in the works when the experts could not agree on which, if any, of the pieces were genuine. To make matters worse, one of the experts repeatedly changed his decisions.

Enter Martin de Wild – a Dutch chemist and author of the 1929 book “The Scientific Examination of Pictures.” He tested the oil paint from several of Wacker's Van Goghs. Resin and lead, chemicals that make oil dry faster, were found to be mixed into the paint. Wacker was convicted based on this evidence and sentenced to a year in jail. He appealed the decision, and his sentence was raised to nineteen months. Probably not the result he expected.

Science continues to be used to authenticate art. And art forgers continue to improve their techniques in an effort to beat science at their own game.

Wartime Wednesday: Propaganda

Propaganda.

Webster's New World Dictionary defines the word as “any widespread promotion of particular ideas, doctrines, etc.” To some people the word holds negative connotations.

However, during WWII, propaganda was used in a positive way throughout the United States. Posters were plastered in bus stations and on subway walls, in grocery stores, and many other public locations. The posters were also reproduced on full pages in newspapers and magazines.

“You buy 'em. We'll fly 'em.” (Defense war bonds)

“Your scrap brought it down.” (Scrap collecting)

“Food is a weapon, don't waste it.” (Rationing)

“I've found the job where I fit best.” (Women in the workforce)

“Sailors beware, loose lips can cost lives.” (Confidentiality)

In addition to the posters, the government produced documentaries and fictionalized accounts of the war. Several of Hollywood's most successful directors, including John Ford, Frank Capra, John Huston, and George Stevens, enlisted in the Armed Forces. Many of the films were narrated by or featured big name stars such as Jimmy Stewart, Spencer Tracy, Ronald Reagan, Clark Gable, and Katherine Hepburn. The Office of War Information coordinated the efforts of the various film-making entities.

Some of the movies were short training films aimed at the newly-minted soldiers, sailors and airmen. Topics ranged from “How to Fly a B-17” and “How to Shoot a Rifle” to “Materials Handling in AAF Depots.” Others, such as Capra's “Why We Fight” series informed the troops about the Axis powers. “Prelude to War” is the first in the series and won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Roosevelt felt “Prelude to War” was so important he ordered that it be distributed to movie houses all over the country.

Other movies were directed at the general public. Prior to the attack at Pearl Harbor, a high percentage of U.S. citizens held isolationist views. Afterward, many felt the U.S. should focus on defeating Japan rather than get involved in the war in Europe. As a result, the government produced films to specifically gain support for their decision to partner with England and the other Allied countries to defeat Germany.

Propaganda is still used today in books, movies, and other avenues. Can you think of a book you've read or movie you've seen that would qualify?