1 00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:03,560 Speaker 1: Okay, we've all dealt with false alarms, right, Maybe a 2 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:06,720 Speaker 1: fire alarm is pulled in school, or your car or 3 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:10,240 Speaker 1: house alarm goes off for no reason. But what happens 4 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: when a whole city faces a false alarm that has 5 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:17,840 Speaker 1: the entire population in a panic. It's Los Angeles, early 6 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:23,280 Speaker 1: nineteen forty two. I'm Patty Steele. What led to citywide hysteria? 7 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:31,760 Speaker 1: That's next on the backstory? The backstory is back. First 8 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:34,800 Speaker 1: of all, got to thank backstory listener Will Kushner from 9 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:37,640 Speaker 1: West Orange, New Jersey for filling me in on this 10 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:41,760 Speaker 1: interesting story. Yeah, we've all faced a false alarm, right. 11 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 1: It's kind of nerve racking, but depending on the circumstances, 12 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:49,839 Speaker 1: it's easy to understand overreacting. It's a bit of PTSD. 13 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:53,920 Speaker 1: Maybe it comes after an actual disaster that has people 14 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:57,480 Speaker 1: skittish about what could happen next, similar to what folks 15 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:00,680 Speaker 1: went through after nine to eleven. But that's really what 16 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:03,959 Speaker 1: this story is about. It's in Los Angeles and it's 17 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,440 Speaker 1: a night that shook the city to its core. Okay, 18 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:09,760 Speaker 1: let's take a look at where the nation was in 19 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:12,919 Speaker 1: February of nineteen forty two. It was just a couple 20 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:16,560 Speaker 1: of months since the US had literally been shocked into 21 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:19,960 Speaker 1: World War II with the early Sunday morning attack on 22 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,520 Speaker 1: Pearl Harbor. It happened on the Hawaiian island of Oahu 23 00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:28,039 Speaker 1: on December seventh, nineteen forty one. Two thy four hundred 24 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 1: three people were killed, including sailors, soldiers, marines, and civilians. 25 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:36,679 Speaker 1: At the time, the US was still a neutral country 26 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 1: in the war, so the attack was even more unexpected. 27 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:44,560 Speaker 1: Two frantic months later, in February of nineteen forty two, 28 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:48,720 Speaker 1: the shock hasn't even remotely begun to wear off. Plus, 29 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 1: now the US has declared war, so it's full steam ahead, right. 30 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:56,760 Speaker 1: People are on edge, they're thinking what's ahead. A lot 31 00:01:56,760 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 1: of folks are sure that enemy air raids on the 32 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:02,560 Speaker 1: US mainland are on the way. In fact, two days 33 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:06,680 Speaker 1: after Pearl Harbor, just a rumor of approaching enemy aircraft 34 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:10,560 Speaker 1: causes invasion panic in New York City, But the only 35 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: thing torpedo that day was the stock market. On the 36 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 1: West Coast. People mistook fishing boats, logs, and even whales 37 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: for Japanese warships and submarines. It didn't help that the 38 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:26,240 Speaker 1: Secretary of War warned the public that US cities should 39 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:30,840 Speaker 1: be prepared for what he called possible blows from enemy forces. 40 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: Now it's February twenty third, nineteen forty two, and a 41 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:39,000 Speaker 1: Japanese sub has surfaced off the coast of Santa Barbara, California. 42 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:42,959 Speaker 1: It fires about a dozen artillery shells at an oil 43 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:46,920 Speaker 1: field and refinery. Nobody's heard, and there isn't a whole 44 00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:50,480 Speaker 1: lot of damage, but now the threat looks even more real. 45 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:54,160 Speaker 1: The next day, nerves on edge leads to one of 46 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 1: the craziest home front incidents of the war. It's late 47 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:01,240 Speaker 1: in the evening and naval intel Jens tells units on 48 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 1: the coast to ready themselves for a possible Japanese attack. 49 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:10,119 Speaker 1: Everything stays calm for several hours, but you can imagine 50 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 1: the tension while you play that waiting game. Right Then, 51 00:03:13,919 --> 00:03:18,120 Speaker 1: just after two am on February twenty fifth, military radar 52 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:21,960 Speaker 1: picks up what looks like some sort of enemy contact 53 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:25,040 Speaker 1: over the water about one hundred and twenty miles west 54 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:28,840 Speaker 1: of Los Angeles. Now, air raid sirens are going off 55 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:32,840 Speaker 1: and a city wide blackout goes into effect. Within minutes, 56 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:37,760 Speaker 1: troops man anti aircraft guns and sweep the skies with searchlights. 57 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: It must have looked incredible. Finally, just after three am, 58 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:46,600 Speaker 1: the shooting starts. Following reports of an unidentified object in 59 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 1: the sky. Troops in Santa Monica start pumping out a 60 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 1: barrage of anti aircraft and machine gun fire. Soon other 61 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 1: coastal defense weapons begin to open fire. Stop and think 62 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 1: about what this looks like when you're already on edge. 63 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:07,840 Speaker 1: Hundreds of powerful searchlights flashing through the sky, anti aircraft 64 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:13,040 Speaker 1: AMMO everywhere with its deep orange explosive bursts. It seems 65 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: that Los Angeles is under attack and it's total chaos. 66 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:21,520 Speaker 1: But if you look past the searchlights and exploding US AMMO, 67 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: it doesn't look like there are any planes, said one colonel. 68 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,960 Speaker 1: Imagination could have easily disclosed many shapes in the sky 69 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:33,560 Speaker 1: in the midst of that weird symphony of noise and color, 70 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 1: but we couldn't see planes of any type in the sky, 71 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:41,560 Speaker 1: friendly or enemy for a while. That doesn't matter. People 72 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:46,400 Speaker 1: are convinced, and reports pour in describing Japanese aircraft flying 73 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:52,000 Speaker 1: in formation bombs, falling even enemy paratroopers. One report claims 74 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:55,359 Speaker 1: that a Japanese plane has crash landed in the streets 75 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:59,720 Speaker 1: of Hollywood. The barrage continues for over an hour by 76 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:02,440 Speaker 1: the time time a final all clear order is given 77 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:06,760 Speaker 1: later in the morning, LA's artillery batteries have fired over 78 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 1: fourteen hundred rounds of anti aircraft AMMO into the sky, 79 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:14,880 Speaker 1: along with an uncounted amount of machine gun fire. But 80 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:18,240 Speaker 1: it was only after the sun rose that American military 81 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:22,840 Speaker 1: units realized there appeared to have been no enemy attack. Sure, 82 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:27,160 Speaker 1: there were conflicting reports, but after a thorough investigation, it 83 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:30,480 Speaker 1: was clear no bombs were dropped and no planes were 84 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 1: shot down. The only damage came from friendly fire. Shrapnel 85 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:39,320 Speaker 1: from the anti aircraft barrage had rained down across the city, 86 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:42,840 Speaker 1: shattering windows and a few homes that were damaged by 87 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:48,240 Speaker 1: artillery shells, but there were no serious injuries from the shootout. Unfortunately, 88 00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: at least five people died due to heart attacks and 89 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:55,360 Speaker 1: car accidents that happened during the blackout. On top of that, 90 00:05:55,880 --> 00:06:01,640 Speaker 1: authorities arrested around twenty Japanese Americans for trying to signal 91 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:06,760 Speaker 1: the enemy aircraft, which were of course nonexistent. That hysteria 92 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:11,000 Speaker 1: accompanied the interment of one hundred and twenty thousand Japanese 93 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:15,600 Speaker 1: Americans as ordered by President Roosevelt. That same week, at 94 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:18,240 Speaker 1: the end of the day, it seems jittery nerves were 95 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:22,880 Speaker 1: to blame. Look, it's understandable. Problem is fear is a 96 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:26,880 Speaker 1: really powerful component when it comes to making rash decisions 97 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:30,280 Speaker 1: about what we think is going on around us. The 98 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:34,080 Speaker 1: Japanese military later said it had never flown aircraft over 99 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:37,680 Speaker 1: LA during World War II. So then there were the 100 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:41,520 Speaker 1: conspiracy theorists who blamed the government, and even visits by 101 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:47,120 Speaker 1: UFOs and extraterrestrials. When documenting all of this in nineteen 102 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 1: forty nine, the US Coastal Artillery said a meteorological balloon 103 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:55,000 Speaker 1: was sent up at one am that night, and it 104 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:58,160 Speaker 1: seems to have started all the shooting. They said, once 105 00:06:58,279 --> 00:07:02,800 Speaker 1: the firing started, imagine created all kinds of targets in 106 00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:06,720 Speaker 1: the sky, and everybody joined in. When all was said 107 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:09,600 Speaker 1: and done, it was time to pause and take a 108 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:13,240 Speaker 1: deep breath. The Great Los Angeles Air Raid, as they 109 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:17,680 Speaker 1: called it, appears to have been a case of war nerves. Again. 110 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 1: I want to thank Will Kushner of West Orange, New 111 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:23,800 Speaker 1: Jersey for letting me know about this wild story. I 112 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:26,640 Speaker 1: hope you like the backstory with Patty Steele. Please leave 113 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:29,440 Speaker 1: a review. I would love it if you'd subscribe or 114 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:33,280 Speaker 1: follow for free to get new episodes delivered automatically, and 115 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:35,960 Speaker 1: feel free to DM me if like will you have 116 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:38,440 Speaker 1: a story you'd like me to cover? On Facebook, It's 117 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:45,240 Speaker 1: Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. 118 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:49,360 Speaker 1: The Backstory is a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the 119 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:53,280 Speaker 1: Elvis Duran Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is 120 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:57,080 Speaker 1: Doug Fraser. Our writer Jay Kushner. We have new episodes 121 00:07:57,120 --> 00:08:00,160 Speaker 1: every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to reach out to 122 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:03,920 Speaker 1: me with comments and even story suggestions on Instagram at 123 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:07,400 Speaker 1: Real Patty Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks 124 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:10,640 Speaker 1: for listening to the Backstory with Patty Steele, the pieces 125 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:13,160 Speaker 1: of history you didn't know you needed to know.