Archie E. Mitchell

Mitchell served as a missionary to South Vietnam working on the staff of the Ban Me Thuot Leprosarium[2] when he was taken captive by the Vietcong on May 30, 1962,[3] along with Daniel Amstutz Gerber[4] and Dr. Eleanor Ardel Vietti.

[10] They were the first and only American civilians to be killed by enemy action in the continental United States during World War II.

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.

[13] 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)[6] sailed to Indo-China for what was the beginning of two five-year terms of service as missionaries to the Vietnamese people of Da Lat.

At dusk, around 7:45 p.m., a group of 12 members of the Viet Cong entered the leprosarium grounds, which was located about nine miles from Ban Me Thuot.

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.

[14] 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.