Barton County’s first WW II casualty
The first Barton County resident to die in World War II was Cpl. John Gordon Mitchell from Hoisington.
The Hoisington High School graduate was the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Mitchell. He enlisted in the Army in October of 1939. According to the “Memorial Album of World War II - Barton County, Kan.,” published in 1946 by the Great Bend Tribune, Mitchell served with the 15th Pursuit Squad and was awarded the Purple Heart. He was killed Dec. 7, 1941, at Honolulu, Hawaii.
ABILENE — Seventy years ago today marked the “date that will live infamy.”
Just after dawn on Dec. 7, 1941, fighters and bombers belonging to the Empire of Japan swarmed over Pearl Harbor, America’s fortress in the Pacific, catching the men and women stationed there by surprise. The attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet drew the United States into World War II.
A new exhibit on display at the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene recalls the historic events surrounding this landmark assault, said Samantha Kenner, communications director for the center. Developed by the staff at the center to observe the 70th anniversary, it includes documents and artifacts from the Eisenhower holdings.
Through December, visitors will be able to view Pearl Harbor posters, buttons, sheet music, commemorative stamps and Japanese military memorabilia set up in the lobby. “There are a lot of interesting items,” Kenner said. There are also a number of color panels with a time line of events surrounding the attack.
“This is a major milestone anniversary,” Kenner said. “It was a turning point that got us into the war.
“This really hit America in the heart,” she said. “It was a 1941 version of 9/11, something we can all relate to today.”
The exhibit will be up through December.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt uttered the words “a date which will live in infamy” in the famous speech delivered to Congress the following day. On that infamous date, the U.S. Pacific Fleet was based at Pearl Harbor. As the Japanese Ambassador prepared to meet with the Secretary of State in Washington, D.C., the first wave of Japanese aircraft headed towards the island.
Though the American government expected war, it did not believe Hawaii would be Japan’s first target. Army Air Force planes were parked wingtip-to-wingtip, and Navy ships were moored side-by-side. In slightly over two hours, 2,400 Americans were killed and the Pacific Fleet sustained vast losses.
The library and museum are located in Abilene, the boyhood home of Dwight D. Eisenhower, who commanded Allied forces in World War II. The Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, a nonpartisan federal institution, is part of the Presidential Libraries network operated by the National Archives and Records Administration. Presidential Libraries promote understanding of the presidency and the American experience.
The center is open seven days a week, except for Christmas, from 9 a.m.-4:45 p.m. It is located at 200 SE Fourth Street. For more information, call 785-263-6700, e-mail eisenhower.library@nara.gov or visit eisenhower.archives.gov.
