Most Americans are under the impression that the U.S. mainland has never been bombed by foreign powers.

Wrong.

Twice in 1942, a small Oregon town-Brookings (population 5,000)-was the target of a Japanese pilot in a submarine-based Zero floatplane. The pilot was named Nobuo Fujita, and his mission was to drop incendiary devices over the forests around Brookings, setting off huge mountain fires.

Fujita dropped both bombs, but nothing much happened. The forest fires never started. America won the war, and by 1962-in the interests of improving Japanese-American relations-the Jaycees in Brookings invited Fujita to come to the United States and to be grand marshal of the town`s annual Azalea Festival. (I just realized that this may be starting to sound like some kind of satire; believe me, it isn`t.)

At the 1962 Azalea Festival, Nobuo Fujita presented to his American hosts the samurai sword he had carried on his bombing missions; he told the people of Brookings that turning over the sword represented ''the final gesture of my surrender.''

Fujita, it turns out, is still alive. He is 76 years old, and works here in Japan as a manager at a factory that manufactures copper wires. With the assistance of the person who is helping me out on this trip, Chieko Kuriki, I prepared a list of questions for Fujita (he speaks only Japanese; I speak only English). I had been totally unaware that bombs had ever been dropped on our mainland. Graciously, Fujita agreed to answer.

''The purpose of my mission was to cause a big fire in the forest which would discourage American citizens to fight with Japan,'' he said. ''To make them feel anxiety-therefore to make them feel (as if they should) stop fighting with us sooner.''

Fujita said that his mission was strictly a result of a military directive: ''Personally, I didn`t hate Americans.'' But when his superiors told him to drop the bombs on Oregon, ''It is natural for me to obey.''

Question: All this time later, after all this history, does Fujita regret what he did?

''I don`t regret,'' he said. ''It was an order. If I had been killed, I wouldn`t have had any regret, either. In fact, I didn`t think I could return alive from the mission.''

Would he do it again?

''I don`t think Japan will fight with America again.''

And what went through his mind on those two missions-as he was approaching the West Coast of the United States, what was he thinking about?

''While I was flying over the sea, I was thinking only this: not to be shot down before I flew over the land. Otherwise, my mission was going to be a total failure. If (the plane made it) over the land, I thought, it would cause at least a small fire or something.

''While flying, I saw the sun rising from the mountains. It was so huge, so wonderfully gorgeous. I was knocked down by the sight. It was probably only for five minutes. I was flying, and watching at the same time if any plane would come to attack me. But I couldn`t ignore the sun. The rising sun made the mountains first in red, then later orange with yellowish tone. The whole scene was so impressive. I`ll never forget it.''

He said that the bombings of Oregon were not planned as the first step in a series of attacks on the U.S. ''It was a mission assigned to me. We had six bombs prepared. So the mission was going to continue until we used up all the bombs.'' He said he was selected for the attack because ''I was a very good pilot.'' After the first two missions failed, the project was called off. When, in 1962, the town of Brookings invited him to its Azalea Festival,

''I was simply surprised and couldn`t figure out why they wanted to invite me. They wrote me that after the war U.S. and Japan must become friends.''

So he came back to America. ''I`ll never forget my visit,'' he said.

''I flew over the forest by small airplane.'' That`s right-the people of Brookings flew him over the same wooded areas he had unsuccessfully bombed.

''The pilot offered me to fly, so I flew.''

Here`s where the story really gets good. During that 1962 trip to Brookings, Fujita promised that someday he would finance a trip to Japan for several Brookings youngsters. But the company he owned at the time went bankrupt, and Fujita became totally broke. Still, for more than 20 years he worked his way back up the Japanese corporate structure, saving every yen so that he would not default on his promise to the citizens of Brookings. ''I

(was) not famous,'' he said. ''I don`t talk a lot about my background. If

(people in Japan) ask, I will say yes. But I don`t tell them first.''

By 1985, Fujita had saved enough money. Three teenagers from Brookings-Robyn Soifeth, 17; Lisa Phelps, 16; and Sarah Cortell, 17-visited Japan as the guests of the pilot who had once tried to bomb their small town.

''It was a short visit,'' Fujita said. ''But at the (Tokyo) airport, on the day they returned to Brookings, they cried. I felt like crying, too. Please write this: As long as I am fine, I`ll take care of anyone from Brookings if they visit Japan. They are indeed very, very good people.''