Once there, Fujita offered his family’s katana to the mayor, as a token of remorse and humility.
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Hours before sunrise off the coast of Oregon in September of 1942, there was movement on a submarine. It was nine months after the attack on Pearl Harbor and a team of Japanese sailors were quickly assembling a seaplane on the deck.
Next to them was a catapult for takeoff and a crane to pick the wheel-less plane from the sea after the mission – they were going to bomb the coast as retaliation for what was known as the ‘Doolittle raids’ which had struck Tokyo months prior.
30 year-old fighter pilot Nobuo Fujita had wanted to bomb LA or San Francisco – but had been told by his superiors to target Brookings, Oregon.
Fujita would ignite the forest, engulfing a chain of towns, drawing valuable resources away from battle and inciting fear throughout the West Coast.
But Oregon conditions wouldn’t allow it. It was wet and the bombs fizzled in the damp woods.
The crew packed away the plane and headed back West.
20 years later, a group of Brookings businessmen invited Fujita back for the towns’ Memorial Day celebrations.
When Fujita arrived, he gifted his families prized 400-year-old samurai sword to the town.
Brookings and Fujita forged a bond that lasted the next 3 decades. The town made him an honorary citizen in 1997. He passed away just days later at 85 years old.
A tree had been planted in the place where Fujita dropped the bombs, his daughter spread his ashes at the location. She said she felt his soul would be flying over the forest forever.

#41 A Boy Stares At A TV Screen For The First Time, 1948

#42 Children At An Early 1900s Playground

#43 Woman Taking A Selfie In 1900. The Camera She Is Holding Cost $1

#44 The “Hasanlu Lovers” Died Around 800 B.c. And Were Discovered In 1972. They Died In What Seems To Be An Embrace Or Kiss, And Remained That Way For 2800 Years

#45 World War 1 Observation Posts Disguised As Trees

 

#46 A Child’s Carseat From 1950s

#47 A Room From The Excavated Ruins Of Herculaneum – Destroyed During The Eruption Of Mount Vesuvius In 79 A.d

#48 Archeologists And Workers Pose In 1894 In Front Of The Well Preserved Statue Of Antinous (130 Bc). It Was Unearthed Near The Temple Of Apollo In The Sanctuary At Delphi, Greece

#49 A ‘Knocker-Up’ In London (1929). Before Alarm Clocks, People Were Paid To Wake Up Clients For Work By Knocking On Their Doors And Windows With A Stick

#50 Welsh Royal Guard Falling Down Due To The Extreme Heat, None Of The Others Rescued Him To Not Break Their Rules, 1957