Attack on the U.S.

Enemy ships could swoop in and shell New York; enemy planes could drop bombs on war plants in Detroit; enemy troops could attack Alaska.

The man who said these things could be done was Franklin Roosevelt, at a press conference. Asked a newsman: Aren't the Navy & Air Force strong enough to deal with anything like that? Said the President: Certainly not.

Secretary of War Stimson added a significant footnote. Said he: "The only way I know to prevent these attacks is to mass our forces in offensive action and carry the war to the enemy." And that, he said, is exactly what the U.S. means to do.

The words scarcely had a chance to sink into the awareness of the U.S. public when the West Coast, on guard and tense along 3,250 miles of shore, received the first attack on continental U.S. soil. A submarine emerged from the sea about seven miles north of Santa Barbara, Calif., and for 20 minutes lobbed shells at an oil refinery. First reports: little damage; no one was injured; no fires were started; most of the 25 shells fired exploded in a field; frightening horses; one went over Highway 101, burst in the foothills. The attack began at 7:15 p.m. (Pacific Coast Time) on Monday night, just as President Roosevelt was well into his address to the nation (see col. 2).

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