Panic on the Pacific: How America Prepared for the West Coast Invasion

by Bill Yenne

Overview

The aftershocks of the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor were felt keenly all over America—the war in Europe had hit home. But nowhere was American life more immediately disrupted than on the West Coast, where people lived in certain fear of more Japanese attacks. From that day until the end of the war, a dizzying mix of battle preparedness and rampant paranoia swept the states. Japanese immigrants were herded into internment camps. Factories were camouflaged to look like small towns. The Rose Bowl was moved to North Carolina. Airport runways were so well hidden even American pilots couldn't find them. There was panic on the Pacific coast: the Japanese were coming.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781621574972
Publisher:	Skyhorse Publishing
Publication date:	09/06/2016
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	787,435
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Bill Yenne is the author of more than three dozen books on military, aviation, and historical topics, including Operation Long Jump (2015) and Alexander the Great (2010). WWII History Magazine wrote that his book B-17 at War (2006) “is a source of unending pleasure to the Flying Fortress fan,” and Air Force Magazine noted that his primer on strategic air power “deserves a place on any airman’s bookshelf.” He has contributed to encyclopedias of both world wars, and has appeared in documentaries airing on the History Channel, the National Geographic Channel, the Smithsonian Channel and ARD German Television. A graduate of the University of Montana and the Stanford University Professional Publishing Course, Yenne is also the founder of American Graphic Systems.

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

Prologue Dreadful Sunday xv

Part 1 Peaceful Coast

1 Three States on the Eve of War 3

2 The General: John Lesesne DeWitt 7

3 An Army Before Dawn 13

4 DeWitt's Army 19

5 A Distant, Vulnerable Land 31

Part 2 On the Frontier of a Great War

6 The Sudden Darkness of Fear 39

7 The Unthinkable Realization 47

8 A Theater or Woeful Shortages 61

9 The Japanese Next Door 71

10 The Battle of the California Coast 79

11 The Spies Next Door 89

12 Into the Cold Uncertainty of a New Year 101

13 In a Climate of Fear 111

14 The Cactuses of Goleta 127

15 The Battle of Los Angeles 133

16 The Boss Out Here 145

17 Hidden in Plane Sight 151

18 Illusion in the Emerald City 161

19 The Great Japanese Offensive 167

20 The Submarines Return 177

21 Bringing the War Ashore 183

22 The Final Blows Came from the Sky 189

23 The Waning Power of the Boss 199

Part 3 What Might Have Been

24 Pacific Vision 213

25 Invasion Day 221

26 The Battle Is Joined 231

27 Beyond the First Contact 245

Epilogue 253

About the Author 265

Acronyms 267

Bibliography 269

Appendix 273

Index 281