by Sally Matheny
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| Hope Presses Through Hardships |
Betty Patzke's story exemplifies this.
When Betty Patzke’s brother, Jack, enlisted in the Army Air Forces in November 1942, her hope of seeing him again remained strong.
The first of many heartbreaking ordeals for the Patzke
family occurred on April 8, 1945; the day German soldiers killed Jack. The end
of WWII was only five months away.
One month later, Betty lost two more siblings to the war. Her brother Dick, age 13, and her sister Joan, age 11, died from the explosion of a Japanese balloon bomb. The bomb was the only attack on American soil causing death.
Betty’s pastor, Archie Mitchell and his pregnant wife
had taken the Pantzke children and three other teens in their Sunday school
class to the beautiful Gearhart Mountain of Oregon for a picnic. Arriving at
Leonard Creek, Rev. Mitchell let everyone out while he parked the car. In a
matter of seconds, lives changed forever when an explosion pierced the air.
Almost 10,000 balloon bombs were launched from Japan on
November 3, 1944. The Japanese military designed the bombs to travel the
Pacific Ocean via the jet stream. They hoped the bombs would wreck havoc on American soil. Only 400 of the balloon bombs, called
fugos, reached North America.
The one landing on Gearhart Mountain brought death to 26 year old, Elsie Mitchell and her unborn child, as well as all five Sunday school students ranging from age eleven to thirteen.
The one landing on Gearhart Mountain brought death to 26 year old, Elsie Mitchell and her unborn child, as well as all five Sunday school students ranging from age eleven to thirteen.
Reeling from losing three siblings in one month, how would Betty Patzke press through such devastation?
