PENDLETON, Ore.-Pendleton is now an official American World War II Heritage City.
The National Park Service (NPS) announced the designation recognizing the Pendleton community’s extraordinary contributions to the nation’s World War II home front, and its ongoing commitment to preserving that history on October 16.
During World War II, Pendleton served as a training ground for Army Air Forces crews and a launching point for some of the war’s most important missions.
“Pendleton’s contributions to World War II included two extraordinary chapters in American military history: the daring Doolittle Raid and the pioneering service of the Triple Nickles,” said Jessica Bowron, Comptroller Exercising the Authority of the Director of the NPS.
Beginning in 1941, Pendleton Field was home to the 17th Bombardment Group, whose crews flew B-25 medium bombers.
When the Army needed volunteers for a secret mission in early 1942, crews from Pendleton were selected for their experience with the new aircraft, according to the NPS.
The secret mission turned out to be the famed Doolittle Raid, and on April 18, 1942, the B-25s launched from the carrier USS Hornet, hitting targets inside Japan in the first-ever launch of Army medium bombers from an aircraft carrier.
Later in the war, Pendleton Field was also the home of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, known as the “Triple Nickles,” the Army’s first all-African American parachute infantry unit.
Originally trained for combat as paratroopers, members of the unit were retrained as smoke jumpers as the Army worked to fight fires caused by Japanese balloon bombs that reached the Pacific Northwest, according to the NPS.
The Triple Nickles participated in Operation Firefly, responding to fires and helping protect communities and forests threatened by the balloon attacks.
“This designation recognizes the community’s important role in the war effort and its continued dedication to preserving the stories of courage, service and sacrifice that helped shape our nation’s history,” said Bowron.
Pendleton’s civilian population contributed to the war effort by conducting blackout drills beginning in 1942, operating a USO center to support service members, and exceeding the city’s Fourth War Loan Drive goal by 142 percent in 1944.
Umatilla County’s agricultural economy also played an important role in the war effort, producing more than 10 million bushels of wheat annually during the war years.
Pendleton’s World War II history is now preserved and shared at the Heritage Station Museum, Pendleton Air Museum, historic wayside exhibits and annual commemorations of Veterans Day and the Doolittle Raid.
Local students in Pendleton also learn about the Doolittle Raiders, the Triple Nickles and Pendleton’s home-front experience.
Administered by the NPS, the American World War II Heritage City program was signed into law by President Trump in March 2019.
Only one city or local jurisdiction in each state and territory may receive the honorary American World War II Heritage City designation, and the 2026 designees are located in Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Oregon, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and West Virginia.
