Discover events in American history – plus the stamps that make them come alive.
Today’s Article
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February 23, 2026
First Attacks on US Mainland During WWII
On February 23, 1942, millions of Americans were gathered around their radios listening to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fireside chat. At almost the same moment — 7:15 p.m. Pacific time — a Japanese submarine surfaced one mile off the California coast and began shelling an oil field near Santa Barbara. The war had just arrived on the American mainland.
