File:"Balloon Bomb" informational sign at a rest stop on OR 140, 30 miles west of Lakeview, Oregon.jpg

English: In case it's hard to read, text on the sign reads, "May 5, 1945 dawned bright and clear. Eager to make the most of the beautiful spring day, Reverend Archie Mitchell, his pregnant wife Elsie, and five of his Sunday school students set out for a fishing trip near here.

Upon reaching Leonard Creek, on Gearhart Mountain, Elsie and the children set out to explore the creek while Archie parked the car.

As he turned off the engine, Archie heard his wife call to him to look at what they had found. He observed the group huddled around some foreign object and saw one of the children reach for it.

Before he could even step out of the car, an explosion shattered the serene morning. Archie Mitchell was the sole survivor.

These were the only civilian casualties of the war within the continental United States.

The bombs were launched from Japan, 6000 miles away, in retaliation of the US bombing raids on Japanese soil. The Japanese military hoped the balloons would ignite mass fires on the West Coast, creating terror and panic. Even though many balloons reached North America (nearly 10,000 were launched and at least 300 made it across the Pacific), the mission was ultimately deemed a failure.

Few bombs did any real damage, and most detonated over remote areas. The US government ordered the media to keep silent about the balloon bombs. Japan not knowing the balloons were reaching the West Coast abandoned the attack."