Duchess of Weaselskin

Bayfield, Colorado - Has the weather calmed down some in the Heartland of Oklahoma this week? Durango, Colorado was suppose to get up in the 80's this week. NW Okie has been heating up her portable greenhouse, purchasing some blooming tomatoes and herb plants from our local Bayfield, Colorado nursery. AND . . . someone mentioned that hummingbirds have been spotted around here. Everything is arriving earlier than usual, it seems!

We have heard from someone through a comment in our Vol. 14, Iss. 5 of the OkieLegacy, who has two old maps that cover Oklahoma only and terminates at the Kansas border. They said that by 1890 the Santa Fe was in existence and trails were no longer listed. In 1884 there were many unnamed trails shown that reached the border in that general area.

Sandie Olson with the Waynoka Historical Society says, "The map with unnamed trails would be very interesting to see. I have a few early maps that show the railroad when Waynoka was named Keystone. The name was changed in 1887 because the post office department said there was already a Keystone in Oklahoma."

Tell the GOP, "Stop the War On Women, Senior Citizens & the Poor!"
Good Night & Good Luck! View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

100 Years Ago Today - April 23, 1912

America - n The Washington Herald, dated Tuesday, April 23, 1912, out of Washington, D.C., we found a photo of Maj. Arthur Peuchem and his family who survived the sinking of the Titanic.

The headlines read: "Reputation Saved By A Piece of Paper," going on to say, "All of whom were saved from the Titanic. Maj. Peuchem is an officer of the Queen's Rifles, of Toronta, Canada, and woes his life to the fact that he was given a place in one of the lifeboats full of women and children because he was an expert oarsman. He bears a signed statement from Second Officer Lighbody, of the Titanic, sustaining this fact, and adding a compliment to the major's heroism. This little piece of torn paper, on which the statement was written while in the lifeboat, is called by the major his certificate of life. Left to right in the photos: Miss Jessie Peuchem, Maj. Arthur Peuchem, and Mrs. Arthur Peuchem, lower right, Alan Peuchem." View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

NW Okie's Corner

Bayfield, Colorado - A few weeks ago someone contacted us about a German/English booklet they had found at a secondhand store in Germany to see if we wanted it. It was interesting to this NW Okie because on the inside cover it had stamped on the upper-left corner, "Camp Alva 23.4.45." It has 100 brief English for export and Import.

On that same page in the center it was stamped with a German POW's name and POW number, stating "Prisoner of war camp, Camp Polk, LA, Personal property of Gerhard Widmann, 8WG-16811, By order of the stockade commander."

I am wondering which POW World War II camp came first: Camp Polk in Louisiana or Camp Alva (23.4.45) in Alva, Oklahoma. I would love to find out more about they Gerhard Widdmann and what happened to him and his family after World War II. Has anyone run onto any POW camp records in Louisiana and Oklahoma showing the time that POW's were listed?

I do know that in December, 1941, Uncle Bob McGill was leaving Leesville, Louisiana via train through New Mexico to San Francisco, before being deployed to Hawaii. As to NW Okie's Uncle Robert Lee McGill WWII timeline, Robert McGill was in training at Leesville, Louisiana around 1941. In a letter dated 19 December 1941 to his mother Constance Warwick McGill. Uncle Bob mentions that he was on a train from Leesville, Louisiana headed west towards San Francisco and passing through New Mexico. He gave is mother instructions as to car keys, insurance, etc. that he left in Leesville with a LT. Robert Kalbfell at 753 tk bn.

Tell the GOP, "Stop the War On Women, Senior Citizens & Poor!"
Good Night & Good Luck searching your family ancestry! View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Highland County Virginia - Land Ownership

Highland County, Virginia - [The photo on the left is a penny postcard sent by R. B. Doyle, Vanderpoole, Virginia, 6 September 1907, to Miss Constance Estella Warwick, received 10 September 1907, in Alva, Oklahoma.]

We have learned that the letter of the law, the unoccupied lands of colonial Virginia belonged to the king, as a personification of the state. The public domain was parceled out to private individuals in a way very much like the homestead law by which a great part of the West had been settled during the last half-century.



Old Postcards IV - Virginia
Those hunting land had a tract set off by the county surveyor, and this survey being the basis on which a patent was issued after a lapse of one, two or perhaps more than a dozen years. The patent was signed by the royal governor as the king's proxy. The fees for the survey and patent were small, but the head right, without which the land seeker might not lawfully enter a selection, was dependent on his having paid his passage from Europe.

The intent of this condition appears to have been the elimination of worthless persons, so that the land might be held by men who would make desirable citizens. The patent required that a least six per cent, of the entry be reduced to tillage within a specified time. The fulfillment of this condition was in favor of the genuine settler and against the land monopolist.

The survey could be transferred and was often patented by another person. Oftentimes, the size of the entry seemed very small, considering the unlimited appearance of the public domain. But in an age of hand labor, only a small tract could be made use of by a person controlling no labor but his own.

It was thought back then that proper and expedient to grant a large body of land to an individual or a company, who in turn would put settlers upon it within a stated time. So the governor and his senate would issue an Order of Council in favor of one, but usually a number of persons, authorizing the grantee or grantees to select 30,000 acres front he public lands. This would not be taken in a single body but in choice tracts, the cull lands being left on the hands of the state.

These choice selections were then sold to actual settlers at what might seem a nominal price, but which must have seemed none to light when money was not plenty and when a little would go a great way. But when, as in the case of the Bullpasture Valley, the surveyors found settlers already on the ground, their selections might at the pleasure of the grantee be confirmed to them without purchase.

Although the homestead regulations of the colonial and early state governments were generally good, the advantage of surveying a county by a regular system, such as was afterward used in the West, was not observed, and consequently the individual survey was likely to have some complex and perhaps absurd outlines. The line ran for different persons would often interfere with one another, and the patches of cull land would be left in shapes that would throw into the shade the figures on a crazy quilt. This utter lack of system was, therefore, a fruitful source of confusion and lawsuits.

At a later date the state was less careful of the rights of the actual settler, and huge areas would be conveyed to an individual or a company, the same being held indefinitely by absentee owners to the disadvantage of the counties in which they lay. This indefensible monopoly appeared in Highland in the Hollingsworth survey on the west side of the county, and the Chambers survey on the east side.

Before the crown government passed away in 1775, all the more desirable lands in Highland had passed into individual or corporate ownership. The second-class and the cull lands were gradually absorbed, being a long while before the entire area had come under private ownership.

The crown patent, under which all lands were conveyed by the state prior to American independence, was a cobweb of finely-spun legal verbiage. It seemed to have been the intent of the lawmakers of that age to throw a mystery into the processes of law, and to render them hard of comprehension to the uninformed. It was under our independence that a much simpler method of wording deeds came into use, though.

In the list of surveys and patents and dating from before 1790, compiled front he records in the Surveyor's office of Augusta and in the Land Office of Virginia, the name of the person for whom the tract was surveyed or patented was followed first by the number of acres, by the year of the survey or grant, and then by a description of its location. Unless this was followed by a capital P (Patent), the tract was a survey. Otherwise, it was a patent granted in the same year.

The descriptions on record were often vague, and sometimes of little or no service. Owing to this circumstance, doubtless a few of the tracts mentioned are really within the limits of Bath or Pendleton, while a few thought to belong to one or the other of those counties may belong really in Highland. The original descriptions have generally been followed, and sometime it was evidently better to give a landmark of the present day. The date of patent was not in every case given. This was not always owing to a difficulty in identification. Sometimes the tract has been thrown into an inclusive survey of later date. Many of the surveys toward the end of the period were not patented until after 1790.

Abbrevations: CP for Copasture; BP for Bullpasture and BPMn for Bullpasture Mountain; Jr for Jackson's River; CB for Crabbottom; BC for Back Creek; SC forStraight Creek; br for branch or draft; n for near; mo for mouth; NF for North Fork; SF for South Fork' SB for South Branch; h'd for head; adj for adjoining; for for corner; NW for northwest, etc. "Adjoining himself" referred to a tract surveyed or patented by the person at an earlier date.

Going down through the listing I did find a few ancestral names that married into my Warwick, Gwin and Hull (Hohl) ancestry. There were the ARbogast, Carlile, Estill, Given, Gum, Hines, Lockridge, Matheny, Seybert, Slaven, Steuart, Wiley, Lightner.

My 4th Great Grandfather, David Gwin, is listed as such:

1. (1) 48- 1780 JR - P. 1787.
2. (2) 380 - 1780 - n. h'd of BC - P. 1786.
3. (3) 56 - 1781 - BC, adj. Sam'l Gregory - P. 1787.
4. (4) 100 - 1789 - JR.
5. (5) 268 - 1789 - Dry Br. - P.

1. (1) 97 - 1772 - h'd of JR, at Osten's Camp - P. 1773.
2. (2) 160 - 1781 - CB, adj. himself - P.
3. (3) 341 - 1782 - CB, adj. himself - P.
4. (4) 198 - 1783 - CB.
5. (5) 198 - 1783 CB.
6. (6) 157 - 1785 Straight Fork?
7. (7) 115 - 1785 - CB.
8. (8) 32 1787 - h'd of N.F. on an "old path".

Titanic Officer Swears Wreck Due To Company's Neglect

Tacoma, Washington - According to The Tacoma Times, dated Tuesday 23 April 1912, in Tacoma, Washington, there was headlines that broadcasted that the "Titanic Officer Swears Wreck Due To Company's Neglect." A week after the sinking of the Titanic, we were hearing news stories of vivid stories told of how the great ship sank, 16 April 1912.

There was sworn testimony that neglect on the part of the White Star company to provide marine glasses for the lookout on the Titanic was responsible for the creates sea disaster of modern times was the sensation on this afternoon of 23 April 1912, in the investigation.

Frederick Fleet looked out in the crow's nest of the Titanic when the giant liner smashed into the iceberg, made oath that not a single lookout on the Titanic was provided with marine glasses and declared that had his request for such glasses in Southampton not been refused the Titanic might yet be afloat. Fleet was quoted saying, "I could easily have sighted the iceberg with marine glasses in plenty of time to have the vessel steered out of the way."

Although all other liners were so provided, Fleet swore his request was flatly refused and he was told there were no glasses for him. Third officer Pittman admitted that the Titanic had been warned that icebergs were prevalent but said he did not see any on the Sunday of the disaster. He declared that in his 14 years experience he had seen only one iceberg before.

Pittman started his testimony in a laconic and brusque manner. Comments on his stolidness were audible in every part of the room. Then the committee began questioning him on the scenes on the Titanic when it was found that there was no hope of saving the vessel. Pittman's demeanor underwent a complete change, and in a choking voice he begged the committee not to press him regarding the death cries of the trapped victims.

Pittman proclaimed, "The prayers and moans of the passengers arose in a mighty chorus of woe when they learned that hope had vanished. It was a continual moan for an hour, and it died away gradually. I wish you had not referred to this."

Pittman told of J. Bruce Ismay was standing near a lifeboat and he heard him ask about a boat loaded with women. Captain Smith followed out Ismay's suggestions in issuing orders." Pittman declared that his boat saved 40 passengers and six members of the crew. He heard four explosions just before the Titanic sank.

Officers admitted that if every lifeboat had been crowded they would have accommodated only 1,200 persons. He asserted that he transferred two men, a woman and a baby from his boat to lifeboat No. 7 at their request. Pittman said that when he retried at 10 p.m., the vessel was making about 21 1-2 knots. The Collision awakened him and he said it sounded as if the ship was coming to anchor. Pittmann was half asleep and wondered why. He rushed to the deck undressed, saw nothing and returned to his bunk in the belief that he had a nightmare.

The Fourth Officer Boxhall came to Pittmann's room and said the Titanic had struck an iceberg. When they got to the deck he found that the lifeboats were being lowered. He saw the firemen coming up from the engine rooms. Women were crawling over the hatch and Pittmann rushed out to help load the lifeboats. He helped to lower boat No. 5, which was assigned to Pittmann. A man in a dressing gown told Pittman, "You had better get those women and children over there and load them in that boat." Pittmann later learned that it was Mr. Ismay that had told him that. When the boat was almost filled, Pittman shouted, "Are there any more women?" There did not seem to be, so Pittmann let some men get on. First Officer Murdock shook hands with Pittmann, saying, "Good bye, old man, and good luck."

Pittmann never saw Murdock after that. He believed that only two or three of the compartments had filled and never had the faintest idea that the Titanic would sink. All the passengers in Pittmann's boat behaved admirably. Women in Pittmann's boat were not permitted to row, although some of them wanted to do so that they could keep warm. It was about 3 degrees above zero and very chilly.

Pittman declared, "If the impact had been bow on, the Titanic would be afloat now. If two or three steamers had collided with her, she would not have sunk. It would have required about six steamer to sink her by collision."

Pittman stated that he left J. Bruce Ismay on the Titanic and did not see him again until they were both on the Carpathia. Pittman went on to say, "I know that my boat might have held more and I told my men to try to pick up passengers from among those who were struggling in the waters. Many of my passengers begged me not to do this, fearing that the boat would capsize. I turned the boat around to go in the direction of cries which I heard. When I saw that the passengers thought the swimmers would swamp up, I did not go back to the spot where the Titanic sank. We took in our oars and drifted for an hour. Gradually the cries f=grew fewer and finally ceased."

Pittman said, "We sighted the Carpathia at 3:30, when she seemed about 5 miles away. This was at daybreak and all cries had stopped long before." The officer stated that he saw no bodies floating in the water. At 1:30 o'clock he said he saw a white light on the horizon but was unable to tell whether it was from a lifeboat or a steamer.

In that same newspaper in another article there were charges that the lookout on the liner Titanic was asleep when the vessel struck the iceberg which cost more than a thousand lives, and that members of the crew were drunk at the time from champagne given them by the stewards from the late banquet served to the first cabin passengers. Lewis Klein, a Hungarian who claimed to be a member of the Titanic's crew, was placed under arrest, 22 April 1912, and detained on a technical charge of mutiny, pending the arrival of a subpoena from the senate investigating committee. The arrest was ordered by Senator W. A. Smith, chairman of the committee. Klein did not speak English and his peculiar story was interpreted by the Austrian vice consul. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Highland Virginia Official Directory (1895)

Highland County, Virginia - The Highland Recorder, dated 27 September 1895, in Monterey, Highland County, Virginia, under the Official Directory column it mentions that the Judge 13th Judicial Circuit, was the Hon. Wm. McLaughlin, Lexington, Virginia. We mentioned Judge McLaughlin a few weeks ago in the OkieLegacy Ezine.

Other mentioned in the article were: County Judge, Hon. C. R. McDaunald, Warm Springs, Virginia; Circuit and County Clerk, J. C. Matheny, Monterey, Virginia; Attorney for Commonwealth, J. M. Colaw, Monterey, Virginia; Sheriff, E. M. Arbogast, Monterey; Treasurer, J. A. Jones, Hightown; Commissioner of Revenue, W. P. Campbell, Monterey. Sup't of Poor, A. T. Stephenson; Sup't of Schools, B. Hiner Hansel; Board of Supervisors, J. S. McNulty, chairman, and Jas. Terry and O. A. Stephenson.

The Mail from Staunton to Monterey arrived at Monterey at 7 p.m., leaving at 5 a.m. daily. The Horseshoe Route mail would leave Monterey at 5 a.m., via Vanderpool, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, leaving Monterey at 5 a.m., via Strait Creek on Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Timeline of World War II

America - The start of the world war II was generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland. Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. Other dates fro the beginning of war included the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937.

British Historian A. J. P. Taylor held that there was a simultaneous Sino_Japanese War in East Asia, and a Second European War in Europe and her colonies. The two wars merged in 1941, becoming a single global conflict, at which point the war continued until 1945. The exact date of the war's end was not universally agreed upon, but it had been suggested that the war ended at the armistice of 14 August 1945 (V-J Day), rather than the formal surrender of Japan (2 September 1945). In some European histories it ended on V-E Day (May 1945). But the Treaty of Peace with Japan was not signed until 1951.

World War II (often abbreviated as WWII or WW2) was a global military conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, which involved most of the world's nations, including all of the great powers. Eventually forming two opposing military alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, with more than 100 million military personnel mobilized. In a state of "total war," the major participants placed their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities at the service of the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. Marked by significant events involving the mass death of civilians, including the Holocaust and the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare, it was the deadliest conflict in human history, resulting in 50 million to over 70 million fatalities.

The war is generally accepted to have begun on 1 September 1939, with the invasion of Poland by Germany, and subsequent declarations of war on Germany by France and most of the countries of the British Empire and Commonwealth. Germany set out to establish a large empire in Europe. From late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or subdued much of continental Europe; amid Nazi- Soviet agreements, the nominally neutral Soviet Union fully or partially occupied and annexed territories of its six European neighbors. Britain and the Commonwealth remained the only major force continuing the fight against the Axis in North Africa and in extensive naval warfare. In June 1941, the European Axis launched an invasion of the Soviet Union, giving a start to the largest land theatre of war in history, which, from that moment on, tied down the major part of the Axis military power. In December 1941, Japan, which had been at war with China since 1937, and aimed to dominate Asia, attacked the United States and European possessions in the Pacific Ocean, quickly conquering much of the region.

The Axis advance was stopped in 1942 after the defeat of Japan in a series of naval battles and after defeats of European Axis troops in North Africa and, decisively, at Stalingrad. In 1943, with a series of German defeats in Eastern Europe, the Allied invasion of Fascist Italy, and American victories in the Pacific, the Axis lost the initiative and undertook strategic retreat on all fronts. In 1944, the Western Allies invaded France, while the Soviet Union regained all territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies.

The war in Europe ended with the capture of Berlin by Soviet and Polish troops and the subsequent German unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945. The Japanese Navy was defeated by the United States, and invasion of the Japanese Archipelago (Home Islands) became imminent. The war in Asia ended on 15 August 1945 when Japan agreed to surrender.

The war ended with the total victory of the Allies over Germany and Japan in 1945. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world. The United Nations (UN) was established to foster international cooperation and prevent future conflicts. The Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers started to decline, while the decolonization of Asia and Africa began. Most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to stabilize postwar relations. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

List of World War II Prisoner of War Camps in the USA

America - In the United States, at the end of World War II there were 175 Branch Camps serving 511 Area Camps containing over 425,000 prisoners of war (mostly German). The camps were located all over the US but were mostly in the South because of the expense of heating the barracks. Eventually, every state with the exception of Nevada, North Dakota, and Vermont had POW camps.

The following is an incomplete list of POW camps in the United States during World War II.

1. Newton D. Baker, Martinsburg, West Virginia
2. Boston Port of Embarkation, Boston, Massachusetts
3. Camp Antigo, Wisconsin
4. Bradley Field, Connecticut
5. Camp Adair, Oregon
6. Camp Albuquerque, New Mexico
7. Camp Algoma, Idaho
8. Camp Algona, Iowa
9. Camp Aliceville, Alabama
10. Camp Allen, Norfolk, Virginia
11. Camp Alva, Oklahoma
12. Camp Andrews, Boston Harbor, Massachusetts
13. Camp Angel Island, California
14. Camp Ashby, California,
15. Camp Ashford, West Virginia,
16. Camp Atlanta, Nebraska,
17. Camp Atterbury, Indiana,Housed 3,500 Italians and later 10,000 Germans
18. Camp AuTrain, AuTrain, Michigan,
19. Camp Barkeley, Texas,
20. Camp Barron, Wisconsin,
21. Camp Bassett, Arkansas,
22. Camp Bastrop, Texas, Kurt Richard Westphal escaped in August 1945 and was recaptured in Hamburg, Germany, in 1954.
23. Camp Bayfield, Wisconsin,
24. Camp Beale, California,
25. Camp Beaver Dam, Wisconsin,
26. Camp Billy Mitchell, Wisconsin,
27. Camp Blanding, Florida,
28. Camp Bowie, Texas,
29. Camp Brady, Texas,
30. Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky,
31. Camp Briner, North Carolina,
32. Camp Bullis, San Antonio, Texas,
33. Camp Butner, North Carolina, Kurt Rossmeisl escaped on 4 August 1945 and surrendered in 1959.
34. Camp Cambria, Wisconsin,
35. Camp Campbell, Kentucky,
36. Camp Carson, Colorado,
37. Camp Chaffee, Sebastian County, Arkansas,
38. Camp Chase, Ohio,
39. Camp Chickasha, Grady County, Oklahoma,
40. Camp Chilton, Wisconsin,
41. Camp Claiborne, Louisiana,
42. Camp Clarinda, Iowa,
43. Camp Clark, Missouri,
44. Camp Clinton, Mississippi,
45. Camp Cobb, Wisconsin,
46. Camp Columbus, Wisconsin,
47. Camp Como, Mississippi,
48. Camp Concordia, Kansas,
49. Camp Cooke, California,
50. Camp Croft, South Carolina,
51. Camp Crossville, Tennessee,
52. Camp Crowder, Missouri,
53. Camp David, Maryland,
54. Camp Dawson, West Virginia,
55. Camp Deming, New Mexico, Georg Gärtner escaped on 21 September 1945, and finally surrendered in 1985. He was the last escapee, having remained at large for 40 years.
56. Camp Dermott, Arkansas,
57. Camp Douglas, Wyoming,
58. Camp Eau Claire, Wisconsin,
59. Camp Edwards, Falmouth, Massachusetts,
60. Camp Ellis, Illinois,
61. Camp Eunice, Louisiana,
62. Camp Evelyn, Alger County, Michigan,
63. Camp Faribault, Minnesota,
64. Camp Fannin, Tyler, Texas, Located on the campus of the now University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler.
65. Camp Florence, Florence, Arizona, Largest all-new prisoner of war compound ever constructed on American soil.[2] It is now used as United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).
66. Camp Fond du Lac, Wisconsin,
67. Camp Forrest, Tullahoma, Tennessee, First attempted escape by two German POWs on 5 November 1942.
68. Camp Fox Lake, Wisconsin,
69. Camp Fredonia, Little Kohler, Town of Fredonia, Wisconsin,
70. Camp Freeland, Michigan,
71. Camp Galesville, Wisconsin,
72. Camp Gene Autry, Ardmore Army Air Field, Oklahoma,
73. Camp Genessee, Wisconsin,
74. Camp Germfask, Germfask, Michigan,
75. Camp Grant, Rockford, Illinois,
76. Camp Greeley, Greeley, Colorado,
77. Camp Green Lake, Wisconsin,
78. Camp Gruber, near Muskogee, Oklahoma,
79. Camp Hale, Pando - Leadville, Colorado,
80. Camp Gueydan, Louisiana,
81. Camp Hartford, Wisconsin,
82. Camp Hearne, Hearne, Texas,
83. Camp Hereford, Deaf Smith County, Texas
84. Camp Hobart, Oklahoma,
85. Camp Hoffman, Maryland, Close to Fort Lincoln and held over 5,000 confederate soldiers Camp Hood, Texas,
86. Camp Horseshoe Ranch, Hickory, Oklahoma,
87. Camp Hortonville, Wisconsin,
88. Camp Houlton, Maine,
89. Camp Howze, Texas,
90. Camp Hulen, Palacios, Texas,
91. Camp Huntsdale, Pennsylvania,
92. Camp Huntsville, Texas,
93. Camp Indianola, Nebraska,
94. Camp Janesville, Wisconsin,
95. Camp Jefferson, Wisconsin,
96. Camp Jerome, Arkansas,
97. Camp Kaplan, Louisiana,
98. Camp Lake Keesus, Wisconsin,
99. Camp Las Cruces, Las Cruces, New Mexico, Werner Paul Lueck escaped in November 1945 and was recaptured in Mexico City in 1954.
100. Camp Lee, Virginia,
101. Camp Livingston, Louisiana,
102. Camp Lockett, California,
103. Camp Lodi, Wisconsin,
104. Camp Lordsburg, Lordsburg, New Mexico, 1942-1945: held Japanese-American internees, and then German and Italian POWs.
105. Camp Mackall, Hoffman, North Carolina,
106. Camp Markesan, Wisconsin,
107. Camp Marshfield, Wisconsin,
108. Camp McAlester, Oklahoma,
109. Camp McCain, Mississippi,
110. Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, German POWs
111. Camp McKay, Massachusetts, Constructed for prisoners, later reused for housing after the war
112. Camp McLean, Texas,
113. Camp Mackan, North Carolina,
114. Camp Maxey, Texas,
115. Camp Mexia, Texas,
116. Camp Milltown, Wisconsin,
117. Camp Myles Standish, Taunton, Massachusetts,
118. Camp Monticello, Arkansas,
119. Camp Montgomery, Minnesota,
120. Camp Natural Bridge, West Point, New York, (German)
121. Camp New Cumberland, Pennsylvania,
122. Camp New Ulm, New Ulm, Minnesota, Fortuitously located outside a city where many locals still spoke German. The camp buildings are preserved in Flandrau State Park and are available for rent as a group center.
123. Camp Oakfield, Wisconsin,
124. Camp Ogden, Utah,
125. Camp Oklahoma City, On site of Will Rogers World Airport, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,
126. Camp Ono, San Bernardino, California, (Italian)
127. Camp Opelika, Alabama
128. Camp Owosso, Shiawassee County, Michigan,
129. Camp Owatonna, Minnesota,
130. Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia,
131. Camp Papago Park, Arizona, Germany's "Great Escape" was from a 200-foot (61 m) tunnel by 25 prisoners on 24 December 1944.
132. Camp Pauls Valley, Oklahoma,
133. Camp Peary, Virginia,
134. Camp Perry, Ohio,
135. Camp Philips, Kansas,
136. Camp Pickett, Virginia,
137. Camp Pima, Arizona,
138. Camp Michaux, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Near Pine Grove Furnace State Park (same commander as Gettysburg Battlefield camp)
139. Camp Plymouth, Wisconsin,
140. Camp Polk, Louisiana,
141. Camp Pomona, California,
142. Camp Popolopen, New York,
143. Camp Pori, Upper Peninsula, Michigan,
144. Camp Pryor, Oklahoma,
145. Camp Raco, near Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan,
146. Camp Reedsburg, Wisconsin,
147. Camp Reynolds, Pennsylvania,
148. Camp Rhinelander, Wisconsin,
149. Camp Ripon, Wisconsin,
150. Camp Jos. T. Robinson, Arkansas,
151. Camp Rockfield, Wisconsin,
152. Camp Roswell, 14 miles SE of Roswell, New Mexico, 1942-1946: German POWs.
153. Camp Rucker, Alabama,
154. Camp Rupert, Idaho,
155. Camp Ruston, Louisiana,
156. Camp Santa Fe, New Mexico,
157. Camp Thomas A. Scott, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Camp Scott held more than 600 German POWs from the Afrika Korps from late 1944 until the camp closed in November 1945.
158. Camp Scottsbluff, Nebraska,
159. Camp Shanks, (Point of embarkation) New York, camp in McMillan Woods, Gettysburg Battlefield, Pennsylvania, same commander as Camp Michaux camp
160. Camp Sheboygan, Wisconsin,
161. Camp Shelby, Mississippi,
162. Camp Sibert, Alabama,
163. Camp Sidnaw, Sidnaw, Michigan,
164. Camp Somerset, Maryland,
165. Camp Stark, New Hampshire,
166. Camp Stewart, Georgia,
167. Camp Stockton, California,
168. Fort Strong, Boston, Massachusetts,
169. Stringtown POW Camp, Atoka, Oklahoma,
170. Camp Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin,
171. Camp Sturtevant, Wisconsin,
172. Camp Sutton, North Carolina,
173. Camp Swift, Bastrop, Texas,
174. Camp Thornton, Illinois,
175. Camp Tipton, Oklahoma,
176. Camp Tishomingo, Oklahoma,
177. Camp Tonkawa, Oklahoma, Site of murder of Johannes Kunze by five fellow German POWs, who were subsequently tried, found guilty, hanged, and buried in the Fort Leavenworth Military Prison Cemetery.
178. Camp Tooele, Utah, POW Camp, Co.1, Tooele (original postage)
179. Camp Trinidad, Colorado, A 150-foot (46 m) electrically-lighted escape tunnel was discovered by authorities.
180. Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi,
181. Camp Wallace, Galveston County, Texas,
182. Camp Warner, Utah,
183. Camp Washington[disambiguation needed ], Washington (near Peoria), Illinois, Reinhold
184. Pabel escaped on 9 September 1945 and was recaptured in Chicago in March 1953
185. Camp Waterloo, Michigan,
186. Camp Waterloo, Wisconsin,
187. Camp Waupun, Wisconsin,
188. Camp Waynoka, Oklahoma,
189. Camp Weeping Water, Nebraska,
190. Camp Wells, Minnesota,
191. Camp Weingarten, Between Farmington and Ste. Genevieve, Missouri,
192. Camp Wharton, Wharton, Texas,
193. Camp Wheeler, Georgia,
194. Camp White, Oregon,
195. Camp White Rock, Dallas, Texas,
196. Camp Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin,
197. Cushing General Hospital, Massachusetts,
198. Camp Wolters, Texas,
199. Corpus Christi Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, Texas,
200. Drew Field, Florida, Now Tampa International Airport and Drew Park Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland,
201. Eglin Army Air Field, Florida,
202. Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana,
203. Fort Benning, Georgia,
204. Fort Bliss, Texas,
205. Fort Bragg, North Carolina,
206. Fort Campbell, Kentucky,
207. Fort Crockett, Galveston, Texas,
208. Fort Curtis, Virginia,
209. Fort Custer, Michigan,
210. Fort Devens, Devens, Massachusetts,
211. Fort Dix, New Jersey, Harry Girth escaped in June 1946 and surrendered to authorities in New York City in 1953.
212. Fort Drum, New York,
213. Fort DuPont, Delaware,
214. Fort Eustis, Virginia,
215. Fort Gordon, Georgia,
216. Fort Jackson, South Carolina,
217. Fort Kearny, Rhode Island,
218. Fort Knox, Kentucky,
219. Fort Lawton, Washington, A riot by Negro soldiers took place over preferential treatment given to Italian and German POWs. One Italian POW was lynched, and Leon Jaworski was the military prosecutor. The Italian and one German POW who committed suicide rather than be repatriated are buried just outside the post cemetery boundaries.
220. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas,
221. Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri,
222. Fort Lewis, Between Olympia and Tacoma, Washington,
223. Fort McClellan, Alabama,
224. Fort Meade, Maryland, Fort Meade housed about 4,000 German and Italian POWs during World War II. Thirty-three German POWs and two Italian POWs are now buried in the post cemetery. The most famous of those buried on the installation is German submariner Werner Henke, who was shot while trying to escape from a secret interrogation center at Fort Hunt, Virginia. The captain is the sole German Navy officer buried among enlisted German Army soldiers.
225. Fort Niagara, New York,
226. Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia,
227. Fort Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska,
228. Fort Ord, California, A 120-foot (37 m) nearly-completed escape tunnel was discovered by authorities.
229. Fort Patrick Henry, Virginia,
230. Fort Reno, Oklahoma,
231. Fort Riley, Kansas,
232. Fort Robinson, Nebraska,
233. Fort Rucker, Alabama,
234. Fort D.A. Russell, Texas,
235. Fort Sam Houston, Texas,
236. Fort Sheridan, Illinois,
237. Fort Sill, Lawton, Oklahoma,
238. Fort Sumner, New Mexico,
239. Fort F.E. Warren, Wyoming,
240. Glennan General Hospital, Oklahoma
241. Grider Field, Pine Bluff Arkansas
242. Halloran General Hospital, New York,
243. Hammond Northshore Regional Airport, Louisiana,
244. Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation, Virginia,
245. Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, Pennsylvania,
246. Holabird Signal Depot, Maryland,
247. Lovell General Hospital, Massachusetts,
248. McCloskey General Hospital, Texas,
249. Memphis General Depot, Tennessee,
250. Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Milton, Florida,
251. New Orleans Port of Embarkation, Louisiana,
252. Olmstead Field, Pennsylvania,
253. Port Johnson, New Jersey,
254. Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas,
255. Richmond ASF Depot, Virginia,
256. Tobyhanna Military Reservation, Pennsylvania,
257. Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Valley Forge General Hospital, later the Golf Course area
258. Waltham Memorial Hospital, Waltham, Massachusetts,
259. Westover Field, Massachusetts,
260. Windfall Indiana World War II POW Camp, Indiana,
261. Camp Tyson POW Camp, Paris, Tennessee
262. Rose Hill[disambiguation needed ] Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Colorado

Camp Polk, Louisiana

America - Fort Polk is a United States ARmy installation located in Vernon Parish, 10 miles east of Leesville, Louisiana and 30 miles oath of DeRidder, Louisiana. It was named in honor of the Right Reverend Leonidas Polk, the first Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Louisiana, and a distinguished Confederate general in the American Civil War.

The post encompasses 198,000 acres. of this, 100,000 acres are owned by the department of the army and 98,125 acres by the US Forest Service, mostly in the Kisatchie National Forest. Fort Polk is the only combat training center that also trained and deployed combat units. It began as a base for the Louisiana Maneuvers in the 1940s.

Construction of Camp Polk began in 1941. Thousands of wooden barracks sprang up quickly to support an Army preparing to do battle on the North African, European and Pacific fronts. Soldiers at Polk participated in the Louisiana Maneuvers, which were designed to test U.S. troops preparing for World War II.

Until 1939, the Army had mostly been an infantry force with supporting artillery, engineer, and cavalry units. Few units had been motorized or mechanized. As U.S. involvement in World War II became more likely, the Army recognized the need to modernize the service. But it also needed large-scale maneuvers to test a fast-growing, inexperienced force. That is where Fort Polk and the Louisiana Maneuvers came in. The Maneuvers involved half a million soldiers in 19 Army Divisions, and took place over 3,400 square miles (8,800 km2) in August and September 1941. The troops were divided equal armies of two notional countries: Kotmk (Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Kentucky) and Almat (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee). These countries were fighting over navigation rights for the Mississippi River.

German POWs . . . While primarily a training facility, Camp Polk also served as a military prison for Germans captured during World War II. The first prisoners of war (POWs), who began arriving in Louisiana in July 1943, were from the Afrika Korps, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's troops who fought in North Africa. They were housed in a large fenced-in compound in the area now encompassing Honor Field, Fort Polk's parade ground. Finding themselves captured, transported across the ocean, and imprisoned in the middle of summer was made to hurt their spirits.

The POWs picked cotton, cut rice, and cut lumber. They also helped sandbag the raging Red River in the summer of 1944. Prisoners were not forced to work, and some refused. Those who worked earned scrip for their labor, with which they could buy such necessities as toothpaste or snacks at their own Post Exchange. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe