# How many US states suffered attacks during WW2 **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 22, 2016, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-us-states-suffered-attacks-during-ww2/755377 "2016-05-22T17:26:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-us-states-suffered-attacks-during-ww2/755377/21 "2016-05-23T14:50:46Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > If you’re counting all of these then you must also count the Philippines, a US Commonwealth at the time, attacked and occupied by Japan for three years. Not really; the [Commonwealth of the Philippines](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_the_Philippines) was a protectorate of the United States, not a US territory. The entire point of the Commonwealth government was to transition to full independence, prior to that it was a US territory from 1901-35 under the [Insular Government of the Philippine Islands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insular_Government_of_the_Philippine_Islands). ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-us-states-suffered-attacks-during-ww2/755377/22 "2016-05-23T15:04:22Z")
> [@Dissonance](#): > > Not really; the [Commonwealth of the Philippines](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_the_Philippines) was a protectorate of the United States, not a US territory. The entire point of the Commonwealth government was to transition to full independence, prior to that it was a US territory from 1901-35 under the [Insular Government of the Philippine Islands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insular_Government_of_the_Philippine_Islands). Please define “US Territory” and please explain why Wikipedia lists the Philippines among the [Territories of the United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territories_of_the_United_States) among the “Areas formerly administered by the United States”, including entire Commonwealth era. ETA: Also, please explain why the Philippines is included on the National World War II Memorial on the Mall in Washington, DC. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-us-states-suffered-attacks-during-ww2/755377/23 "2016-05-23T15:28:02Z")
> [@Tibby or Not Tibby](#): > > To the U-boat commander’s great credit, when he surfaced to finish off the tanker, he realized that missed shots could endanger civilians attending Jacksonville Beach’s amusement park. So, at great risk, [he maneuvered his boat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Gulfamerica) between the tanker and the shoreline so that missed shots would go out to sea and not into people spinning on the Ferris wheel or getting herpes at the kissing booth. The commander, [Reinhard Hardegen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinhard_Hardegen), visited Jacksonville in 1990 and was received as an honored guest. > > Even Nazis could show compassion and their enemy doesn’t always hold a grudge. Reinhard Hardegen, by the way, is still alive and in excellent health. Two months ago, he turned 103. > **[Reinhard Hardegen wird 103 Jahre alt](https://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/menschen/reinhard-hardegen-wird-103-jahre-alt-14131021.html)** > > Reinhard Hardegen, im Krieg U-Boot-Kommandant, dann Bremer Abgeordneter für die CDU, wird 103 Jahre alt. Berühmt wurde er durch die Operation „Paukenschlag“. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-us-states-suffered-attacks-during-ww2/755377/24 "2016-05-23T17:30:25Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > Please define “US Territory” and please explain why Wikipedia lists the Philippines among the [Territories of the United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territories_of_the_United_States) among the “Areas formerly administered by the United States”, including entire Commonwealth era. You could say that under the Insular Government (1901–35) the Philippines was a US Territory. But not so under the Commonwealth Government (1935–1946). ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-us-states-suffered-attacks-during-ww2/755377/25 "2016-05-23T18:03:12Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > Please define “US Territory” and please explain why Wikipedia lists the Philippines among the [Territories of the United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territories_of_the_United_States) among the “Areas formerly administered by the United States”, including entire Commonwealth era. Why? Alaska and Hawaii were territories which later became states. Midway, Wake and Guam are still US territories. The Commonwealth of the Philippines was the transitional government to complete political independence from the United States. The [Philippine Army](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Army#World_War_II) had a notional strength of ~110,000 men organized in 12 divisions on December 7, 1941. The Commonwealth of the Philippines government in exile signed the [Declaration by the United Nations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_by_United_Nations) in 1942. So no, if I’m counting all of these (Midway, Wake, and Guam), it doesn’t mean I must also count the Commonwealth of the Philippines. Feel free to disagree with my reasoning. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-us-states-suffered-attacks-during-ww2/755377/26 "2016-05-24T01:52:53Z")
You still haven’t defined “US territory”. Is Washington, DC a US territory? Is Puerto Rico US territory? Is the Navajo Nation US Territory? ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-us-states-suffered-attacks-during-ww2/755377/27 "2016-05-24T02:18:46Z")
Here’s what the US Department of State has to say: [ACQUISITION OF U.S. NATIONALITY IN U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS](https://fam.state.gov/FAM/07FAM/07FAM1120.html): > [@](#): > > **7 FAM 1121 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND** > > **7 FAM 1121.1 How Territories and Possessions Were Acquired** > (TL:CON-66; 10-10-96) > > a. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, U.S. sovereignty was extended to overseas territories. These territories (unlike those of the western United States, Alaska, and Hawaii) were not considered a part of the United States, and the Constitution was held not to be fully applicable to them. > > b. The territories came under U.S. control in a number of ways: > > (1) Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. After the Spanish-American War, Spain ceded Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States by the Treaty of Paris of 1899 (30 Stat. 1754)(“Treaty of Paris”). The treaty came into force in April 11, 1899. The Philippines ceased being a U.S. territory upon its independence on July 4, 1946; > > […] > > **7 FAM 1121.2-1 Definition of Terms** > (CT:CON-315 09-03-2009) > > **Territory:** an area over which the United States exercises sovereignty. The term is so used in Article IV, Section 3 of the United States Constitution, which provides that Congress shall have the "power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States”. > > **Incorporated Territory:** the territories to which the Constitution is fully applicable are called “incorporated territories”. It has been held that persons born in these territories on or after the date they became part of the United States could claim U.S. citizenship under the 14th Amendment. Section 1891, Rev. Stat., stated that: > > · The Constitution…shall have the same force and effect within all organized Territories and in every Territory hereafter organized as elsewhere in the United States > > **Unincorporated Territory or Outlying Possession:** An “unincorporated territory” or “outlying possession” is an area over which the Constitution has not been expressly and fully extended by the Congress within the meaning of Article IV, Section 3 of the United States Constitution. > > **Commonwealth:** The term “Commonwealth” does not describe or provide for any specific political status or relationship. It has, for example, been applied to both states and territories. When used in connection with areas under U.S. sovereignty that are not states, the term broadly describes an area that is self‑governing under a constitution of its adoption and whose right of self‑government will not be unilaterally withdrawn by Congress. > > **7 FAM 1121.2-2 Court Decisions** > (TL:CON-66; 10-10-96) > > a. In the first decade of the 20th century, in a series of court cases often called the “Insular Cases”, the Supreme Court developed the rationale that, absent specific Congressional legislation or treaty provisions— > > (1) The Constitution has only limited applicability to U.S. territories; and > > (2) Inhabitants of territories acquired by the United States acquire U.S. nationality‑but not U.S. citizenship. > > b. The Court ruled that: > > (1) Alaska and Hawaii were incorporated territories (Rasmussen v. U.S., 197 U.S. 516 (1905); Hawaii v. Mankichi, 190 U.S. 197 (1903); but > > (2) Puerto Rico and the Philippines, although they had become U.S. territory, were not part of the United States because Congress had not yet enacted laws incorporating them into the United States or making the Constitution fully applicable to them (Downes v. Bidwell, 182 U.S. 244 (1901); Dorr v. U.S., 195 U.S. 138 (1904)). ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-us-states-suffered-attacks-during-ww2/755377/28 "2016-05-24T13:54:43Z")
If US territorial waters count, a German U-boat [sank](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-507#2nd_patrol) a ship somewhere around the mouth of the Mississippi. So maybe we can include Louisiana? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2016, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-us-states-suffered-attacks-during-ww2/755377/29 "2016-05-24T14:02:57Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > On July 11th, 1944, two military planes crashed in Maine, killing 29 people, including 17 civilians. These were two separate unrelated incidents, one in [South Portland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Portland_A-26_Invader_crash) and the other on [Deer Mountain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Oxford,_Maine). To this day, these events are still the #1 and #2 worst plane crashes ever to happen in Maine. However, these planes were brought down by weather, not the Axis. I don’t see how this relates to the OP in any way whatsoever. There were thousands of US military planes that crashed in accidents over the US during the war. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-us-states-suffered-attacks-during-ww2/755377.md?page=1)