Evening star., 1941-12-10
By THOMAS r. HENRY.


An innocently intended telephone
inquiry at noon yesterday threw
the Atlantic Coast from Portland,
Me- to Norfolk into confusion
which, in some places, bordered on
hysteria.
Somehow, somewhere-so the story
went-an unidentified enemy air
plane had been sighted over the sea.
Army patrol planes took to the
air. Schools were dismissed. Cit
les and towns began ordering black
outs. Newspaper Offices were be-
seiged with inquiries. In some cases,
office employees were sent home.
Families were piled into cars to
seek safety in the country. From
hour to hour the confusion grew.
Men who had smiled incredulously
at the first reports of "a japanese
plane two hours from New York
began to feel that. however fantas-
tic the story, something out OF the
ordinary was taking place.
Comedy Of Errors.
It was all an extraordinary COM
edy of errors superimposed on
people stunned by the events of the
last two days into an exceptional
state of suggestibility. Here is what
happened, as the story now can
be pieced together:
Shortly after noon man tele-
phoned First Army Headquarters at
Governors Island, New York, and
asked if there were any truth In
report that bombers had been
sighted. He said he had heard it in
a radio broadcast from Washington.
The man-said to be fully identi-
fied-presumably had misunder-
stood. No Washington station, in
quiry reveals, broadcast any such
report.
This was the first the Army Off
GERS at Governors Island had heard
about it. 1t is their dut yto check
anything of the sort.
They called the Office of the As
sociated Press in New York and,
presumably, the Offices of the other
news services. These Immediately
checked with the War Department,
which denied it had originated any
such report.
Meanwhile, another officer at Gov
ernors Island called Mitchell Field,
Mineola, Long Island, headquarters
for the interceptor planes which
guard the city. 1t was, OF course,
entirely possible that instructions
had been telephoned directly to the
Air Corps in the face of threatened
emergency.
Taken as Warning.
Apparently the inquiry was mis-
understood as warning from
Washington. washington" means
only one thing to any Army officer
the War Department. So the COM
mander of the field, Maj. Gen.
Herbert A. Dargue, was informed
that the War Department had an
nounced that an enemy plane was
approaching the coast.
Obviously, his job was to act first
and verify the report afterwards.
The interceptor planes took to the
air. The field was gotten ready for
action. Families were evacuated.
New York newspapers and press
service Offices inquired about this
and were told of the report.
In Washington the War Depart
ment could neither deny or confirm
the story-other than to say that
it did not originate here.
Pressed further, public relations
officers said that all air force sta
tions were on the "alert" because
of the emergency. Quite naturally
the rumor and the precautions were
tied together.
The story grew from mouth to
mouth. Newspapers and radio sta
tions could not deny it. They could
get no authentic information one
way or another. The War Depart
ment's statement that it had not
originated the report could not be
interpreted as denial.
Could Have Been True.
/. 1t was hard to believe that Japan
or a possible ally could have gotten
an aircraft carrier into the Atlantic
probably the only possible way for
Japanese plane to be of the East
ern Coast. On the other hand, the
country was at war, anything might
happen, and it would be terrible
responsibility to jeopardize millions
If the story were true
Local officials and civilian defense
authorities were in an even worse
position. They could get no con-.
flrmation or denial. A plane two
hours out Of New York was also
two hours, or less. from nearly every