Balloon Bomb - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

give no publicity whatsoever to balloon incidents. This
voluntary censorship was adhered to from coast to coast,
a remarkable self-restraint in a free-press-conscious
country. Three months later, in a strictly confidential
note to editors and broadcasters, the Office of Censorship
stated:
Cooperation from the press and radio under
this request has been excellent despite the fact that
Japanese free balloons are reaching the United
States, Canada, and Mexico in increasing
numbers.... There is no question that your
refusal to publish or broadcast information about
these balloons has baffled the Japanese, annoyed
and hindered them, and has been an important
contribution to security.
The success of the security measures was indicated by
an Associated Press release on 2 October 1945, following
the surrender, that contained these comments:
The Japanese listened eagerly to radio reports,
hoping to hear of the bombs' effectiveness. But
American editors voluntarily kept the information
to themselves and so discouraged the Japanese that
they abandoned the project.
The Japanese learned of only one bomb landing
in the United States. It was one which came down
in Wyoming and failed to explode.
The voluntary censorship, ironically, made it difficult
to warn the people of the bomb danger. The risk seemed
justified as weeks went by and no casualties were
reported. On 5 May 1945, however, five children and a
woman were killed near Lakeview, Oregon, by a balloon
bomb which exploded as they dragged it from the
woods.
This tragic accident caused the government to
abandon its campaign of silence. On 22 May, a joint
statement by the war and navy departments was issued
which described the nature of the balloon bombs and
warned all persons not to tamper with any such objects
that they might find. The balloon weapon was said to
constitute no serious military threat to the United
States, because the attacks were "so scattered and
aimless." The statement continued by stating "that the
possible saving of even one American life through
precautionary measures would more than offset any
military gain occurring to the enemy from the mere
knowledge that some of his balloons actually have
arrived on this side of the Pacific." An educational
campaign was instituted at once to warn all persons,
particularly children, of the danger of tampering with
strange objects found in the woods.
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