Balloon bomb that exploded over Dundee one of many that made its way to U.S. during WWII
The United States Military shot down three high-altitude objects in three days recently - following the takedown of a Chinese spy balloon. The incidents remind historians and Nebraskans of an incident that occurred in Dundee during World War II.
On April 18, 1945, a Japanese balloon bomb – one of thousands released toward the U.S. – exploded over Dundee at the intersection of 5oth and Underwood.
"The people in the area of 50th and Underwood reported hearing an explosion. They thought it was fireworks; some saw a bright light and came out to investigate and just assumed it was an anomaly and went to sleep," UNO Professor of History Mark Scherer said.
Scherer added context to the incident.
"The event that occurred here in Omaha was a reflection of a much larger campaign being waged by the Japanese in the last month of the war."
Jerry Penry spent three years researching for his book "Nebraska's Fatal Air Crashes of WWII," in which he learned of 60 crashes across Nebraska during WWII aviation training.
Unrelated to the Dundee incident, Penry explained Nebraska's importance to WWII as it relates to military aviation.
"I think Nebraska was very crucial because it was located in the center of the U.S., and they felt it was relatively safe here," Penry said.
During an interview with KETV Penry references another book – "Japan's World War II Balloon Bomb Attacks on North America" – and explains that the Dundee event wasn't the only explosion.
"In this book, they chronicle five known places in Nebraska that had at least pieces of the balloon bombs," Penry said. "They went from west to east, and as far east as Michigan they found pieces."
In Dundee, a plaque commemorates the event. It reads, in part, "The Japanese military hoped the device would create an incident, which if reported, would allow them to chart a course for other weapons."
Scherer explained that the balloon bomb explosions went unreported in the United States because the government didn't want Japan's military to know any of their actions were successful.
"They wanted to deprive the Japanese of any knowledge of and satisfaction of any sort of success on their end," Scherer said.
Other locations of balloon bombs exploding in Nebraska were Schuyler, Burwell and Chadron.
An Atlas Obscura article details more of the incident. Find that here.
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