Mitchell Recreation Area, Lake County, Oregon

Collection

Identifier: SHL201

Staff Only

Content Description

A package of documents related to the Mitchell Monument and Recreation Area in Lake County, Oregon. The documents include: National Register of Historic Places registration forms for the area, general narrative description of the Japanese balloon attacks on the inland areas of the United States, and in particular, the May 5, 1945 incident near Bly, Oregon. Also covered are boundaries of the Monument and related WWII Japanese attack sites in the U.S. Attached are scanned copies of photographs of the Mitchell Site. A separate collection dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the explosion: a cover letter, dated April 27, 2021, a commemorative booklet, A DVD of the event, and "One Day", a poem by Grammy Patzke, written on May 5, 1945, after the loss of her two children, and two small paper cranes

Dates

Creation: 2001-2021

Biographical / Historical

Bly, Oregon, is known as the site of the only World War II fatalities on the American soil. On May 5, 1945, one of the Japanese balloon bombs was found by a group of 5 children, accompanied by a minister’s wife. All of them were killed. The site has been since then marked by a monument. The Mitchell Monument is located in what is now Recreation Area in Lake County, Oregon.

Extent

1 folder ([describe boxes, items, etc. here])

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Mitchell Monument in the Recreation Area in Lake County, Oregon, marks the site of the only casualties of the World War II on the American soil. Collection contains documents related to the Monument and the history of Japanese balloon bomb attacks in 1945, and the 75th anniversary of the event.