Few living people know what it truly feels like to experience the paralyzing fear, debilitating stress, and complete helplessness when their homeland is invaded. Of the few that do know what it feels like, most of them are elderly, and their numbers are dwindling every day. Millions of people from across the world experienced invasions during World War II. The United States of America was no stranger to invasion, with Alaska and several US territories in the Pacific Ocean being invaded and occupied by the forces of the Empire of Japan. One little-known invasion, however, occurred on the mainland United States, and the unknown aggressor is theorized by many to be otherworldly.

On the morning of February 25th, 1942, thousands of Americans witnessed something in the sky that no one, not even the US military, could ever decisively explain. Tensions were already high along the California coastline from an attack on February 23rd in which a Japanese submarine surfaced and shelled a US military fuel depot. Additionally, a warning was issued during the day on the 24th that a Japanese attack was expected that day.

Early on the morning of February 25th, sirens alerted all residents of Los Angeles to an air raid. Many scrambled for shelter as a blackout was in effect. The blackout was intended to prevent the airborne enemy from easily navigating and identifying American targets.

Soon, antiaircraft batteries spotlighted and began firing at an object in the air. It is reported that nearly 1,500 airburst antiaircraft shells were fired at the illuminated object. Yet, despite the heavy barrage, the object continued to press through the sky at a slow pace. A lucky photographer even took a photo of the object, which circulated in the newspapers soon after the event. The object eventually departed Los Angeles airspace and disappeared when the sun’s light began to illuminate the sky. 

Years later, during an inquiry conducted by the US government, it was reported that a weather balloon had been released that night in the vicinity of the action. Officially, this was the cause of the initial alarms, according to the US government. However, many residents of Los Angeles saw the object in the sky as it was being fired at by antiaircraft artillery, and they reported at the time that the object was not an airplane, nor was it a weather balloon. Other explanations abound, which may indeed warrant a more thorough inquiry into the events of that morning. 

Regardless, for many, there is still doubt as to the origin of the flying object. If it were a weather balloon, why didn’t the antiaircraft artillery bursts, with their razor-sharp shards of shrapnel and expansive explosion radii, penetrate the balloon and bring it down? Why did many eyewitnesses describe an object that was not close to anything in any country’s military arsenal at that time? Many questions still abound, and, with the perpetual passing of time, so do the chances of discovering the truth of the Battle of Los Angeles.