Mitchell Recreation Area is a small picnic area located in the Fremont-Winema National Forests,

Lake County, Oregon Lake County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,160. Its county seat is Lakeview. The county is named after the many lakes found within its boundaries, including Lake Abert, Summ ...

, near the unincorporated community of Bly. In it stands the Mitchell Monument, erected in 1950, which marks the only location in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

where Americans were killed during World War II as a direct result of a Japanese balloon bomb. The site is maintained by the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

and was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 2001.

History

On May 5, 1945, Reverend Archie Mitchell took his pregnant wife and five Sunday school children, from the

Christian and Missionary Alliance The Alliance World Fellowship is the international governing body of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (The Alliance, also C&MA and CMA). The Alliance is an evangelical Protestant denomination within the Higher Life movement of Christianit ...

church where he was minister, on a picnic and fishing trip. The group found the logging road they followed blocked, so they stopped next to Leonard Creek, eight miles (13 km) east of Bly near

Gearhart Mountain Gearhart Mountain is a high mountain in Lake County and Klamath County, Oregon, in the United States. It is located in the Gearhart Mountain Wilderness of the Fremont–Winema National Forest, northeast of the Sprague River valley and the to ...

. While Mitchell was unloading the food, he heard one of the children say, "Look what I found!" His wife and the children ran to see what had been found. Moments later, there was an explosion. Mrs. Mitchell and the boys were killed instantly; Joan survived the initial blast but passed away minutes later. Rev. Mitchell’s hands were burned from trying to put out Mrs. Mitchell’s dress which had caught fire."Mitchell Monument"
Pacific Northwest Region, United States Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Portland, Oregon, January 2012."", National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, National Park Service, United States Department of Interior, Eugene, Oregon, 31 December 2002. The children had found the remains of a Japanese balloon bomb, one of approximately 9,000 balloon bombs launched from

Honshū , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island sepa ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

between November 1944 and April 1945. The balloons drifted across the

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North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the C ...

via the

jet stream Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow, meandering air currents in the atmospheres of some planets, including Earth. On Earth, the main jet streams are located near the altitude of the tropopause and are westerly winds (flowing west to east). ...

in about three days. The hydrogen-filled balloons were in diameter and carried five bombs, four incendiaries and one

anti-personnel An anti-personnel weapon is a weapon primarily used to maim or kill infantry and other personnel not behind armor, as opposed to attacking structures or vehicles, or hunting game. The development of defensive fortification and combat vehicles ga ...

high explosive. It is believed that as many as 1,000 balloons may have reached the United States and

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. However, there were only 285 confirmed sightings on the west coast, and two balloons were later found in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. Except for Elsye (aka Elsie) Mitchell and the five children killed near Bly, the bombs caused no injuries. These six individuals were the only Americans killed in the United States during World War II as a direct result of an enemy balloon bomb detonation. In 1976, Sakyo Adachi, a Japanese scientist who helped plan the balloon offense, visited the site and laid a wreath at the monument. He later sent a letter of apologies to the Patzke family for the loss of their two children. In 1995, Japanese students sent 1,000 paper cranes, a Japanese symbol of peace and healing, to the families of the victims. Six cherry trees were also delivered to Bly to be planted at the site. One of the cherry trees was planted just north of the fenced monument site. The remaining trees were planted inside the fenced area. Later that year, over 500 people attended the 50th anniversary re-dedication ceremony at the Mitchell Monument site. The Mitchell Monument site was originally owned by Weyerhaeuser Corporation. In 1996, Weyerhaeuser donated land around the monument to the Fremont National Forest (now the Fremont-Winema National Forests). Additional property was added to the site in 1997. A small picnic area was developed around the monument. During the summer of 2021, the Bootleg Fire burned over the area surrounding Mitchell Monument. However, fire crews were able to save the historic site from the flames. As the fire approached, fire crews trimmed low hanging tree branches and built a fire line around the monument site. They also wrapped the shrapnel tree and the stone monument in a fire-resistant material similar to the material used for the firefighter’s emergency shelters. As a result, when the fire passed through the adjacent forest, the monument was undamaged.

Monument

The Mitchell Monument was erected by Weyerhaeuser in 1950. It was designed by Tom Orr, a Weyerhaeuser forester. The stone structure was built by Robert H. Anderson, a local monument builder and stonemason. It is constructed of native stone and displays a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

plaque with the names and ages of the victims of the balloon bomb explosion. It commemorates the "only place on the American continent where death resulted from enemy action during World War II".Richard, Terry
"Oregon connection to World War II"
''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1 ...

'', Portland, Oregon, 5 April 2007. Approximately 500 people attended the monument's dedication on August 20, 1950. Oregon Governor

Douglas McKay James Douglas McKay (June 24, 1893 – July 22, 1959) was an American businessman and politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. He served in World War I before going into business, where he was most successful as a car dealership owner in Salem ...

spoke at the ceremony."Germ-Filled Bomb Borne by Balloon, War Possibility", ''The Oregonian'', Portland, Oregon, 21 August 1950. Here are the words from the monument plaque:

Because it commemorates an important wartime event that occurred at the site, the monument is of significant historical value. Therefore, the Mitchell Monument site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 20, 2003.

Recreation area

Today, the Bly Ranger District maintains Mitchell Recreation Area as a day-use picnic area. The site covers . It is adjacent to Leonard Creek and is sheltered by large ponderosa pines. In addition to the monument, the site offers

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques ...

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histo ...

, and wildlife viewing opportunities. The site is normally open from mid-May until the end of October. Adjacent to the monument is the " shrapnel tree", a ponderosa pine still bearing scars from the explosion. In 2005, the State of Oregon designated the shrapnel tree at the Mitchell Monument site as an '' Oregon Heritage Tree''. File:Mitchell Monument site.jpg, Mitchell recreation site File:Mitchell Monument, Bly, Oregon (6149865447).jpg, Mitchell Monument File:Tree with World War II Shrapnel Damage (Lake County, Oregon scenic images) (lakDA0008).jpg, Shrapnel scarred tree File:Mitchell Monument, NRHP sign.jpg, Historic site sign

References

External links

Mitchell Monument Plaque
{{National Register of Historic Places Oregon National Register of Historic Places in Lake County, Oregon Monuments and memorials in Oregon United States home front during World War II Parks in Lake County, Oregon Protected areas established in 1950 1950 establishments in Oregon Weyerhaeuser World War II on the National Register of Historic Places Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon Fremont–Winema National Forest

History

Monument

Recreation area

See also

References

External links