Interesting Facts about the Pacific Theatre in WWII

William Stewart-Houston, like many young men during World War II, decided to help the fight for his country by joining the United States Military. You might think, “Oh, there’s nothing strange about that.” But, William was born as William Patrick Hitler. Hitler’s nephew. After meeting his uncle on a visit to Germany and realizing his dislike for the man, William started writing articles about him that, according to Hitler, “portrayed him in a bad way”. William did return to Germany a total of three times during the war, and in 1939 he took his mother and left for good, fleeing to the United States where he started his lecture tour. He joined the US Navy in 1944 after receiving permission from the former president, Franklin D. Roosevelt. He served as a pharmacist’s mate in the Pacific Theatre and received a Purple Heart for a shrapnel wound. He moved back to America where he married, had kids, and lived out the rest of his life, where no one knew he was Hitler’s nephew.

William Stewart-Houston

Japan made over 9,000 balloon bombs during World War II. Balloon bombs carried two incendiary bombs along with an anti-personnel bomb, were seventy feet tall, and hydrogen inflated. They bear some resemblance to hot air balloons. A few of them even traveled as far as Michigan, US. About 285 sightings of the bombs were reported in America. The US government fought to keep news of the bombs from spreading to the public, until they brought about the deaths of five people.  The balloons were the cause of the only continental American civilian casualties as a result of the war. Some picnickers in Oregon died when they dragged one from the woods and it exploded. 

Balloon Bombs

World War II ended in 1945, bringing worldwide triumph and celebration. But not to Hiroo Onoda. To this Japanese Lieutenant, the war hadn’t ended until 1974. Hiroo had hidden in the jungle of Lubang, a small island in the Philippines for almost thirty years. He had been sent there to destroy a pier and the only aircraft runway on the island, along with any enemy crews and planes that tried to land. He had failed his mission and retreated into the wilderness with the rest of the troops to escape the advancing enemy. After a while, only three of his fellow soldiers stayed with him. Hiroo was committed to staying in the jungle instead of sacrificing himself to the enemy that he thought was still there. Once it was found out that he was still there, photos of his family, leaflets telling them the war was over, newspapers dropped overhead, search parties, and jets were used to try to coax Hiroo and his comrades from the woods, but they believed them to be fakes and dismissed them. The only man that had still stayed with him after all of that, Kinshichi Kozuka, had been shot by local police, leaving Hiroo completely alone. Then he met Norio Suzuki, a Japanese explorer who was the one who finally convinced him that the war was over. He did so by bringing Hiroo’s commanding officer to give him direct orders to leave the island and lay down arms on March 9th, 1974.

Hiroo Onoda

“HITLER-WILLIAM | the United States Navy Memorial.” Navymemorial.org, 2025, navylog.navymemorial.org/hitler-william.

“Balloon Bombs: Japan’s Answer to Doolittle.” National Museum of the United States Air ForceTM, www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196210/balloon-bombs-japans-answer-to-doolittle/.

‌“Balloon Bombs.” Www.oregonencyclopedia.org, www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/balloon_bombs.

Balmont, James. “Onoda: The Man Who Hid in the Jungle for 30 Years.” Www.bbc.com, 14 Apr. 2022, www.bbc.com/culture/article/20220413-onoda-the-man-who-hid-in-the-jungle-for-30-years.