Archie E. Mitchell

The Reverend Archie Emerson Mitchell (born May 1, 1918 – disappeared May 30, 1962) was a minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA). He was born in Franklin, Nebraska. He attended Simpson Bible College and Nyack Missionary College. Mitchell Recreation Area was built after his pregnant wife and five Sunday school children died from Fu-Go balloon bombs in the only war-related deaths in the American continent in World War II. Mitchell served as a missionary to South Vietnam working on the staff of the Ban Me Thuot Leprosarium when he was taken captive by the Vietcong on May 30, 1962, along with Daniel Amstutz Gerber and Eleanor Ardel Vietti. None of the three have been seen since.

Early life Mitchell was born in 1918 in Nebraska to Glen Mitchell and his wife Daisy née Chaplin. The family moved to Ellensburg, Washington in 1939. He attended Simpson Bible College in Seattle, where he met his future wife Elsie Winters. led a Sunday School picnic up into the nearby mountains of southern Oregon. Accompanying Mitchell was his five-months-pregnant wife, Elsie (née Winters), and five children from the church. Up in the mountains, Mitchell drove the car around by the road, while the others hiked through the woods. While Mitchell was getting the lunch out of the car near Leonard Creek, the others called to him and said that they had found what looked to be a balloon. Unbeknownst to the group, this was a dangerous Japanese Fu-Go balloon bomb. As Mitchell was warning them not to touch it, there was a large explosion. Mitchell ran to the spot and found the whole group dead.

As I got out of my car to bring the lunch, the others were not far away and called to me they had found something that looked like a balloon. I had heard of Japanese balloons so I shouted a warning not to touch it. But just then there was a big explosion. I ran up there — and they were all dead. — Archie Mitchell, 1945 interview They were the first and only American civilians to be killed by enemy action in the continental United States during World War II.

In 1950, the Weyerhaeuser timber company built a monument at the site of the explosion. The Mitchell Monument is constructed of native stone and displays a bronze plaque with the names and ages of the victims of the balloon bomb explosion. Weyerhaeuser donated the monument along with the surrounding land to the Fremont National Forest in 1998. The monument site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Indo-China mission On December 23, 1947, Mitchell with his new bride Betty (née Patzke, the older sister of two of the children killed by the fire balloon in Bly) The Viet Cong planned to take Betty and the children captive as well, but were convinced by the missionaries that they would only fully cooperate if Betty and the children were left behind. The Viet Cong also ransacked the buildings for any supplies they could use, including linens, medicines, clothing, and surgical equipment. At around 10:00 p.m. that evening the Viet Cong left the compound taking the prisoners (Mitchell, Gerber, and Vietti) and supplies with them. This all happened without any shots fired or any bloodshed.

After their capture both American and South Vietnamese military intelligence agencies immediately discovered where the captives were probably being detained, and also confirmed that the Viet Cong used the missionaries' medical expertise to treat their own sick and wounded. While military intelligence was able to successfully track the movements of Mitchell, Gerber, and Vietti, the heavy and continuous Viet Cong presence in and around the area they were being held captive did not allow the military to mount a rescue mission. Missionary officials also attempted to negotiate for release of the captives. Although, by 1969, negotiations between the C&MA and some Viet Cong soldiers appeared close to securing their release, the negotiations collapsed and never could be reconstituted.