Of Fog and War A Comparative Analysis of Two Japanese...

Of Fog and War: A Comparative Analysis of Two Japanese Bombing Attacks on the United States during WWII Warfare, unfortunately, is an essential part of mankind. It has been witnessed since time immemorial. What is comforting to know, however, is that it does not always end with blood baths, or similar devastation. Sometimes warfare ends with two enemy forces forgiving one another. This happened years after the Lookout Air Raids, when the Japanese bomber who carried out a series of bombings over the Siskiyou Mountains in Oregon, returned there years afterwards to apologize. During the early stages of World War Two, the Japanese engaged in warfare with the United States numerous times. Two of these engagements had many similarities†¦show more content†¦It was a blessing in disguise for the Japanese, because they unknowingly avoided interception from the American Warhawk Fighters on that cloudy night. The series of circumstances seemed favorable for the two Japanese flyin g boats, except the fog of war was relentless: The air raids commander, Lt. Hashizume, radioed his wingman to make an unexpected left turn around the island to attack its northern side. The wingman, whose name was Sasao, did not hear the message, and flew to the southern coast of Oahu, instead (Op. K n.pag.). Although both pilots realized they lost one another, they bombed Hawaii on their own volition. As the American P-40 Warhawks unsuccessfully searched for the bombers within the obsidian blankets of night clouds, Lt. Hashizume loomed skyward over Honolulu at 15,000 ft., and prepared to drop his bombs. He could barely see a thing since Hawaii was in the midst of a blackout for reasons of war. Hashizume released four bombs anyway, and they all fell off the target of Honolulu and landed on Tantalus Peak, an extinct volcano. The bombs did land near Roosevelt High School, shattering some of its windows. Lt. Sasao could not locate his bombing target in the cloudy night, and trie d to bomb a lighthouse he managed to see. His bombs fell into the Pacific, causing no damage. Both pilots flew to safety, and returned 6 days later to attack again. This time Hashizume was shot down by an American fighter jet. U.S. militia had