Original: 1942 & ndash ; World War II : A Japanese submarine surfaces near the Columbia River in Oregon , firing 17 shells at nearby Fort Stevens in one of only a handful of attacks by the Japanese against the United States mainland .
Simplified: 1942 - World War II : A Japanese submarine surfaces near the Columbia River in Oregon , firing 17 shells at nearby Fort Stevens in one of only a handful of attacks by the Japanese against USA mainland .