A well-kept secret in World War II concerned 30 live foxes that were painted to glow in the dark. The idea was that they would scare the Japanese prior to a ground invasion of Japan by U.S. forces.

Feeding on Japanese Superstition

According to my father’s book, Para(graph) Trooper for MacArthur, these foxes fed into Japanese superstition that luminescent foxes, especially those on their hind legs, foretold of calamity. This plan was the brainchild of the Office of Strategic Service, a predecessor to the CIA. But career Army and Navy officers involved in it remain embarrassed when ad­mitting its existence.

Foxes on the Beach

The cloak and dagger OSS main­tained the war might have been shortened by months if they could have gotten the foxes to the beaches of Japan. Actually, it was some university researchers who conceived the idea. Psychological warfare experts sought a way to create panic among the Japanese people ahead of the landing of Allied forces. So they called upon some anthropology professors for advice and assistance.

Glowing Spirits

Dad wrote, “OSS officers were told that the most widely accepted and terrify­ing superstition in Japan had to do with fox spirits. For a Japanese citizen to see a fox in daylight wasn’t all that bad–comparable to a black cat crossing one’s path in America. But to see a fox spirit at night, glow­ing with luminous light, was a sure sign of pending calamity.

“Still worse,” he continued, “to see one running around on its hind legs, glowing like a Christmas tree, signaled an early and permanent disaster of ma­jor proportions. The professors’ claims were borne out by fact. Mil­lions of Japanese share this superstition. And some claim to have seen a ‘night-blooming fox’ just prior to the devastating earthquake of 1923.”

Several Tries

The first effort to treat the foxes with luminous paint didn’t work because the foxes, very clean animals, just licked it off. They also were a little frightened themselves of the paint. Foxes hadn’t seen glowing cohorts before either! So it was back to the lab for something that would not be removed easily. Getting the foxes to walk upright was tougher. In fact, it was impossible.

So taxidermists developed stuffed foxes that could be strapped to the backs of the live foxes. The idea was the 30 live foxes and their stuffed cohorts would scare the Japanese and help the Allies win the war.

Tried Out in a Washington, D.C., Park

The experimental foxes were let loose in a Washington, D.C., park so the “brass” could see how all this worked. According to my father, many wide-eyed lovers were scared off park benches and some drunks in the bushes swore off drink after seeing these green glowing creatures cavorting in the area. So the foxes were shipped off to land in Japan.

Never Implemented, However

But before the OSS officers could try their scheme, President Harry Truman decided to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And the Japanese surrendered. The 30 foxes found new homes in zoos. First, though, they were shaved to prevent poisoning from the radioactive paint. But this was all useless for the ones that had already been stuffed by the taxidermists!