James Baquet In early 1942, America was on edge. The previous December, the Empire of Japan had launched a sneak attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, causing over 2,300 American deaths and nearly 1,150 injuries, as well as the loss or damage of 19 ships and nearly 350 aircraft. Then, on Feb. 23, a Japanese Navy submarine bombarded the Ellwood Oil Field, a facility just north of Santa Barbara, California. The attack did minimal damage, but it caused a great deal of hysteria, raising the specter of a full-scale attack on the west coast. And so it was the very next night that witnessed what has become known as the Battle of Los Angeles, or the Great Los Angeles Air Raid. U.S. Naval Intelligence an-nounced on Feb. 24, 1942, that an attack was imminent within the next 10 hours. Flares and blinking lights were reported around some defense facilities in the Los Angeles area, causing an alert to be declared from 7:18 to 10:23 p.m. Then, at 2:25 a.m., air raid sirens were sounded. To hide the city from manned bombers, a total blackout was ordered. It was enforced by a system of air raid wardens, part of a larger civilian defense force which would also treat injuries and fight fires, if need be. At 3:16 a.m., the professionals got involved. The 37th Coast Artillery Brigade opened fire with .50 caliber machine guns and 12.8-pound anti-aircraft shells, eventually firing over 1,400 rounds. The 4th Interceptor Command mustered its pilots, but they never took to the air. Firing continued sporadically until 4:14 a.m. At 7:21 a.m. the blackout was lifted and the “all clear” sounded. In all, five civilians died — three from car accidents caused by the chaos, and two from heart attacks, but none from enemy fire. So what had happened? We’ll never know for sure, but speculation involves the sighting of weather balloons. Conspiracy theorists prefer to think it was either a UFO sighting, or a “false flag” operation by the U.S. meant to stir up anti-Japanese sentiment. One thing’s for sure: After the war, an examination of Japanese war records confirmed there was no attack that night. Vocabulary: Which words above mean: 1. object of fear 2. non-military 3. people who make up stories about the causes of events 4. guardians 5. outburst of emotion or fear 6. done in a cowardly way 7. nervous 8. ship that travels under water 9. about to happen 10. intermittently, periodically | 