On Paper Wings
On Paper Wings
| 04 May 2008 (USA)
On Paper Wings Trailers

In the spring of 1945, a Japanese balloon bomb claimed the lives of the only people killed on the continental U.S. as the result of enemy action during WWII. Forty years later, the decision to fold a thousand paper cranes would unite the Japanese and American civilians who were involved in and affected by this incident. “On Paper Wings“ is the story of four Japanese women who worked on balloon bombs, the families of those killed in the U.S., and the man whose actions brought them all together forty years after WWII, and the balloon bomb project.

Reviews
peejay-14

I saw this documentary at the 2008 International Film Festival in Tacoma, WA. The film-maker was present at the festival, and she sold me a DVD which I have donated to my local library. It is a well researched and produced account of one way in which the Japanese tried to derail America's WW II effort. The Japanese knew that the prevailing westerly winds could be used to carry a balloon-based weapon to our west coast. So,they formulated a plan to send fire bombs to damage our forests. Schoolgirls were enlisted to make parts for the balloons.The girls proceeded to do their patriotic duty, but after the war when they learned that only one of the bombs had done damage, and that it had killed innocent children in Oregon, they made contact with our authorities and later visited to apologize for their actions. The film shows a remembrance ceremony. The anti-war message is unavoidable. Everyone should see this film.

... View More