![]() Naturally, such a chaotic scene unfolding in the sky above Los Angeles initially left its citizens fearful of any attack that was to come. Bray’s assistants located several flashlights in the Nicholas household and the delivery went on unimpeded.” Nicholas, it seems, was delivered in the glow of flashlights, it was disclosed yesterday … ‘Lights out, please,’ shouted an alert air-raid warden as he hurried down the street. The Los Angeles Times wrote in awe of the new baby: “oung Mr. Lastly, a pedestrian, Jesus Alferez, was struck by a vehicle and later died of his injuries.ĭespite these tragedies, there was also joy as “blackout babies” were born during the LA Air Raid, including a “robust eight pounder,” William Dallas Nicholas. In Long Beach, Police Sergeant Engebert Larson was killed in a head-on collision while reporting for emergency duty. Zeulah Klein of Arcadia was killed when her husband was driving during the blackout with their headlights off and collided with a milk truck. Three other individuals unfortunately died of traffic accidents as the blackout was in effect. Ayers, a driver for the California State Guard―died of heart attacks during the blackout. Though unrelated to the artillery barrage, the events of that evening were not without casualties. Additionally, “o bombs were dropped and no airplanes shot down and, miraculously in view of the tons of missiles hurles aloft, only two persons were reported wounded by falling shell fragments.” The explosions left a slew of shattered windows and countless amounts of shrapnel damage across Southern California. In all, the anti-aircraft guns fired more than 1,400 rounds of ammunition while large searchlights criss-crossed the sky looking for planes flying overhead. As one bystander described the events of that night: It wasn’t long after that when the firing started. Although the yellow alert was called off later that night, the city was on a full blackout order shortly after 2:00am. On the morning of February 24, Los Angeles awoke to a “yellow” alert, which signified that there was unidentified aircraft or naval activity nearby. Roosevelt indicated that the attack was intended to heighten nervous reaction following a full week of dismal news for the Allies.”Īgainst this backdrop, the stage was set for the events that would unfold the following evening. As one 1979 retrospective Los Angeles Times article recalled, “he fact that this occurred in the middle of a 7 p.m. Though the physical damage was minimal and no one was hurt, the true aim of this attack, to stoke fear of a West Coast invasion, had already been achieved. And on Februit happened―the Ellwood Oil Field, just outside Santa Barbara, was shelled by a Japanese submarine off the coast of California. So by late February 1942, there was already a great deal of fear that an attack on the West Coast would be next. was forced off the sidelines and formally joined the Allies in World War II. After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the U.S.
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