The Real Life Battle of Los Angeles

The Battle of Los Angeles is not merely the title of a recent popular movie. In fact, it was a real life artillery battle conducted by the U.S. National Guard against an unidentified flying object. Most that were alive to bear witness to the event have since passed on. Those who remain among the living will likely never forget; though the topic is generally only discussed in tight quarters on the anniversary of the event.

Around 2:00 a.m. on February 25^th, 1942, several unidentified object were observed hovering over the California coast. One object in particular maintained its position directly over Santa Monica. It was described as round and domed with a diameter of roughly 100 feet. Available National Guard units, in position to defend against America’s World War Two enemies, engaged the object with a barrage of artillery fire. The ensuing one-sided firefight lasted over an hour. Strangely, even after sustaining numerous direct hits from well-placed ordinance, the object remained stationary in the sky, seemingly unaffected by the mêlée of over 1,500 shells. Eventually, it departed under its own power and retreated toward the Pacific Ocean.

Within 24 hours, the War Department, predecessor to the Department of Defense, issued a memo to the President of the United States detailing the event. The official record implicated possible unidentified airplanes flying at various speeds. Of course, witnesses discounted this explanation for logical reasons. Firstly, no group of commercial or recreational pilots would have dared to invade military controlled airspace at the height of World War Two. Moreover, the object in question bared no resemblance in appearance or maneuvering capabilities to a conventional aircraft. Also, the fact that the object remained at a hover, even after sustaining direct artillery strikes, affirmed that it was not an airplane. The memo further stated that the investigation was ongoing. However, the U.S. Army immediately declared thereafter that the object had, in fact, been a weather balloon. Indeed, long range weaponized balloons had been developed in Japan and reached U.S. soil during the war. However, the precarious movements of the object seemed to contradict their claim. This became even more evident in later years when this same convenient excuse was used to explain the infamous Roswell Incident in New Mexico. Is it better to inform the public that there are aircraft operating, possibly under intelligence, that we do not understand or to provide an easy solution and hope they take the bait? The Battle of Los Angeles is widely regarded as the first official denial of UFOs and alien intelligence by the U.S. government.