Avenue of Heroes: Ralph J. Mitchell

Prepared by: Belle Mitchell (granddaughter)

General Mitchell was born in New Britain, Connecticut. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis with the Class of 1915. During his time at the academy, he was the captain of the lacrosse team.

After World War I, he was assigned to Naval flight training. He completed the training and was designated Naval Aviator in the Marine Corps in June 1921. He won the Distinguished Service Cross in 1930 for leading Marine aviators against marauding bandits in Nicaragua’s northern provinces. Mitchell led an attack against a bandit stronghold that dislodged the insurrectionists, but not before they had put several holes in the wings of the attacking planes with their return fire.

In 1935, Mitchell participated in the fleet exercises aboard the USS Lexington and USS Ranger and was involved in developing the carrier aircraft operations.

Lieutenant Colonel Mitchell was listed as the technical advisor in the opening credits of the 1935 movie called “Devil Dogs of the Air,” which starred James Cagney and Pat O’Brien. General Mitchell, then a major in the Marine brigade stationed in Nicaragua, received a special medal from Nicaragua’s president, with 18 other American officers, for his role in directing earthquake relief work.

General Mitchell was director of Marine aviation at the outbreak of World War II. As director of Marine aviation, General Mitchell organized the expansion of the Marine air arm for the Pacific Campaign and commanded the First Marine Air Wing in the South Pacific. He commanded the First Marine Air Wing in the Solomons and the Philippines for more than two years and directed the allied air attacks that knocked out five airstrips at the port of Rabaul, a key South Pacific crossroads.

He later headed the South Pacific Air Forces, coordinating air operations of New Zealand and United States Army, Navy and Marine planes in the last months of the war.

General Mitchell retired in 1948 and moved back to Coronado so he could hunt, fish and play golf. He passed away in 1970. He is the father of Ralph Mitchell Jr., as well as the grandfather of Coronado residents Lorton Mitchell (deceased) and Belle Mitchell.

The Avenue of Heroes military service recognition program is sponsored by the City of Coronado. Introduced in 2014, the program has honored 246 hometown heroes to date. On November 4, 2023, another 16 were honored. City staff and volunteers from the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2422, the Coronado Historical Association and Third and Fourth Streets Neighborhood Association oversee its operation.

In 2011, the program was inspired spontaneously with the movement of two Navy SEALs to their final resting place. News spread quickly and the local Rotary Club passed out American flags. People lined Fourth Street to honor the fallen service members. As the procession approached the Coronado Bridge, a lone Navy SEAL stood at attention, saluting as he waited for the passage of his comrades. That moment made clear that Third and Fourth streets were already an Avenue of Heroes.

That spontaneous beginning launched the program in May 2015 with 18 banners. The Avenue of Heroes is a reminder that Coronado has a rich history and legacy of service to the country.