The Man Who Bombed Oregon, and an Incredible Story of Redemption

75 years ago today, during World War Two,  a Japanese plane dropped two incendiary bombs near Brookings, Oregon.  It is the only time that a foreign adversary bombed  the mainland of the United States during wartime.  The plane had taken off from a submarine parked off the coast of southern Oregon that no American even knew was there.  Less than a year after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese goal  was to ignite raging fires in the massive forests of the northwest.  They hoped that the fires would divert resources away from fighting the war, and send Americans into a state of panic.  Because the woods were damp, they had little success.  The fires were both small, and put out fairly easily.  They would try it again a few weeks later.  After the second attempt was also a failure, they gave up on the idea. They did use it…