Nobuo Fujita was the Japanese pilot who conducted not only a bombing raid against Brookings, Oregon, in World War II but also a peace mission there many years after the war. Woven throughout this history of Imperial Japan and World War II in the Pacific are the events in Fujita's life that led to his bombing mission.
During World War II in 1942, the Imperial Japanese Navy ordered Fujita, an experienced and dependable pilot, to firebomb a forest in southern Oregon to cause tremendous damage. In one of the very little-known incidents of the war, Fujita became the only enemy combatant in history to bomb the United States mainland.
Long after the war, in the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation, the Brookings, Oregon, Junior Chamber of Commerce decided to invite none other than Nobuo Fujita to serve as the guest of honor at the 1962 Azalea Festival. Thunderstruck by this invitation, Fujita had no idea if it was genuine or possibly a trap to arrest him for war crimes.
Having escaped danger unscathed on numerous occasions, an older Fujita prepared to embark on a much different mission. This trip to Brookings would be the exact opposite of his bombing mission in 1942. Fujita prepared to apologize to the people of the town for the bombing. He would bring his centuries-old samurai sword with him as a gift to show that he was truly sorry. Before he departed from home, Japanese officials warned that there would be nothing they could do to help him if the locals in Oregon were hostile. Nobuo Fujita's life is a moving story about war and reconciliation.
