Balloons
Do you think it can carry us?
Three of the military men in my book, The World War II Chain Letter Gang, worked on the home front during the war. I’m not sure how two of them were involved, but my dad, who was exempt, was a Civil Defense Guard with all the attendant accoutrements. He underwent the training, read all the paperwork he received, and was quite ready for any attacks along the Eastern seaboard. A block from the ocean and only a few miles from Fort Monmouth, Fort Hancock, Sandy Hook, and the Naval Ammunition Depot Earle (commissioned on December 13, 1943, supplied the Allies during the war, particularly for the D-Day invasion of Normandy) called for many people to help out who were not in the service.
Those home front workers, along with many other duties during WWII, kept their eyes peeled to the skies and over the sea. They helped with the building and deployment of the blimps searching for submarines — yes, already spotted along the NYC inlet . Mom, of course, helped out too. She worked in a leather factory. That’s where she met my dad. They made those Ike jackets that Eisenhower himself requested be made and wore. You saw many officers and airmen wearing them all during the war and to this day. Other civilians, like my Aunt Margaret, worked at Fort Monmouth in the secretarial pool at the time, and later she helped soldiers be processed in and out of the service. I remember when she retired years later.
Even the young Girl Scouts contributed significantly to the war effort during WWII. They were seen participating in various positions around the neighborhood. For instance, they sold war bonds, collected scrap metal and fat (like bacon grease to be rendered into glycerin, which was a crucial ingredient in making explosives and ammunition), and tended Victory Gardens. America was urged to grow their own vegetables and fruit. You would even see the scouts operating bicycle courier services. In hospitals they provided much support by helping around the stations and aiding the nurses; they worked as farm aides, and they also assisted with emergency services. They didn’t need to be asked to help out. Their fathers, brothers, and neighbors needed help. They volunteered.
The Boy Scouts were seen basically involved in the same activities. But some went on to become Alamo Scouts who gathering intelligence behind enemy lines. They did much on the home front, and there are many websites you can research telling of the good work accomplished by the Boy Scouts of America during the war.
Here’s the thing. We think of the home front as being only in the United States. In England, there was an immense home front policy carried out. I won’t
A recovered fugo balloon, reinflated to
its geometry and function
U.S. Navy Photograph 80 G 32 63 53
describe that here and will save that for another blog. What might be of interest, though, is the home front procedures that were put into place by Japan, our WWII enemy.
Japan’s home front policies during WWII mainly focused on total mobilization of the population and its resources. This entailed control of the political, social, and economic arenas of their country. Japan promoted strict censorship and labor mobilization. All areas of life had to be carried out in an effort to support the war. Dissent or government opposition was suppressed as well as promoting national unity. The Imperial Rule Assistance Association was created removing sectionalism and factionalism from politics and economics. Now there was a totalitarian one-party state in order to maximize the efficiency of Japan’s total war effort.
All citizens had to dedicate their entire lives to the war effort. That was the only purpose of national unity. The government now had complete control over media which helped to suppress dissent, and this gave way to promoting propaganda under the new 1938 Mobilization Act. This 1938 mobilization law also gave the government control over industry and resources. Food, clothing and other necessities were rationed. As you can imagine, a black market emerged to meet demand.
The Japanese draft placed men into the military or factories. Interestingly, 1.5 million Koreans were also enlisted to work in Japanese factories. There has been an estimate of as many as 5.4 million Korean civilians were forced to work for the Japanese war effort, most for little or no pay. Korean labor during this period remains an issue between South Korea and Japan to this day, seeking compensation for the victims. There are still ongoing discussions and lawsuits abound. Japanese women were made first to concentrate on childbirth and then they were to enter into the workforce.
Now we get to the point of this blog, the balloons.
We are talking about, remember, the home front of our wartime enemy, Japan. Let’s discuss child labor.
Andy Ludlum, a library volunteer, wrote an article about the schoolgirls on the home front of Japan. In his article, titled Japanese School Girls Assembled the Paper Balloons wearing headbands to designate themselves as the Student Special Attack Forces. He said they made a total of approximately 9,300 of these, ah, balloons. They were 33 feet in diameter and could lift approximately 1,000 pounds. They were sent out over the Pacific seas via the jet stream. About 342 reached North America.
How nice.
See: Japanese Balloon Bombs hit USA & Canada | Pacific Paratrooper
Why? Japan sought revenge after the Doolittle Raid. It highlighted their vulnerability to their own people about America’s air power. So, Japan tasked the 9th Military Technical Research Institute, also known as the Noborito Research Institute, with finding a way to reach the U.S. mainland. As a result, they created the Fu-Go balloon bomb.
Since most of the Japanese men had already been conscripted into their military, the government needed to draft schoolgirls to build the Fu Go balloons. So, the Japanese authorities drafted these girls to work in factories to build balloon bom
