Central Oregon Daily▶️ Our favorite stories of 2022: A piece of WWII history saved...
▶️ Our favorite stories of 2022: A piece of WWII history saved from wildfire
Central Oregon DailyLocal Stories
"From the land, to the people, to the history, there are so many unique stories around Oregon. The story of the Mitchell Monument ticks all of those boxes, and it's a story I've wanted to tell for over a decade. In May of 1945, the war hit home when a Japanese balloon bomb exploded killing six people in the forest outside of Bly. It was the only time American citizens died as a direct result of enemy action on the mainland. For some reason we in television news love nice, round-year anniversaries, so the 75th anniversary of the events outside of Bly in May of 2020 was the perfect opportunity to tell this forgotten story. But COVID put a damper on the public remembrance ceremony, then in the summer of 2021, a wildfire threatened to torch a piece of Oregon's World War II history. So when 2022 rolled around I had to tell the story and luckily was able to connect with the some of the people closest to the incident, the site, and the efforts to save a piece of Oregon's history." – Steve Kauffman, Central Oregon Daily News Storyteller
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