prisoner of war camp

[Stu90]

Hello,

I have been thinking about getting a metal detector for a while now - i figured before i take the plunge it might be best to do a little home work on my local area to see if there are any good potential sites.

So , i'm searching around the internet and i find there has been a German POW camp on the edge of town (i have lived here all my life and never herd about this ) there isn't to much information but there is pictures from a magazine that was issued to the prisoners in the camp.

Here is a drawn pictures of the POW camp from the magazine:


Armed with this image i hit google earth and am pretty sure if found the site - i know this spot but sadly it is now a caravan site & i cant imagine getting permission on there would be easy so i ruled that out. Not all hope is lost though, as there was a POW sports field as you can see from the google earth image below there is what looks like two possible locations for this sports field out side the caravan site.

google earth image:


Thanks for looking,
Stu.

 

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[roswellborn]

Very cool! Some neat possibilities there.

There were POW camps here in the US, too. Hmmmm.

HH
Nan

 

[Hillbilly hunter]

yes there are some Here one i know for a fact is located in crossville Tn i spent many weeks there in the summer it was turned into a summer camp for the 4-h club the have a small museum on site have always wanted to Md that site since becoming an adult and taking up the hobby.

 

[TXDIRTFISHER]

At Papago Farms in AZ there was a POW camp where the German U-boat prisoners were held. I've been out there but not for any MD activities. It is part of an Indian Reservation so your chances out there are slim to none....more like none.

Were there POW camps in the civil war?

 

[dingode]

At Papago Farms in AZ there was a POW camp where the German U-boat prisoners were held. I've been out there but not for any MD activities. It is part of an Indian Reservation so your chances out there are slim to none....more like none.

Were there POW camps in the civil war?

Do a google for Fort Delaware. Also known as pea patch island.

Erin

 

[WilliamBoyd]

During WW2 there were 350,000 German, 50,000 Italian, and 5000 Japanese POWs in camps across the USA.

My mom met some at San Francisco's Treasure Island.

These POWs were treated better than the current ones being held in Guantanamo and Iraq.

 

[GrayCloud]

There was a POW camp north of Bastrop, La. during WWII. As to the quality of the camps, Do you think our captured Soldiers are kept in a Hyatt Regency? No pity or bleeding heart liberal here!!!

 

[idighistory]

There was one somewhere in southern Michigan anyone have any info on that? Added, my grandma who just turned 92 told me a story about having P.O.W's working the fields near her farm during ww2. One that was kind of funny was this guard was keeping watch over the prisoners he dozed off and one of the prisoners woke him up because he noticed his boss was coming down the road.

 

[windrun]

POW camp? I knew several places in Kansas. Most of them were private property, own by the farmers. One of them in the city, I see that place is flat, right near by the park & softball field. I am thinking to go out there and see what is in the ground. When WW2 over, all German soldiers went home, then POW camp building torn down and filled up the dirt since.

I remembered that my grandparent lived on the farm in the middle of Kansas and hired some German soldiers from the POW Camp to help the wheat harvest, pick up the hays, etc. My mom was a kid and help my grandma to the job site for lunch. My mom remembered that they spoke German lanuage and tried to speak with English. I wish to ask my grandparent about where is the German POW Camp at. I asked my mom and she didn't know. I asked her oldest brother - he didn't know where someone send the German POW from, they always to bring them to the farm in the morning till late in the afternoon, they bring them back to the POW camp.

Richard

 

[ole_grisley]

how about the camps that housed the people who lived here when the wars broke out as there was thousands of Asian and german's who was detasined in camps here in the US even tho they was citizens the govt held them in camps because they was afraid of them being symphatetic to the enemy. many lost thier jobs homes and even families. it is a sad time in our history but those camps would be woth detecting even for the historical finds that might be there .

 

[earl1120]

wikepedia search engine lists pow camps in America

 

[Stryker_FO]

My Wife is from germany and her grandpa and great uncles used to tell her stories and also I hear stories from her grandma..


There were also POW camps in florida .. which is where my wife's grandpa was held..

They used to pick oranges on the huge groves for work and they would have to whistle all day so the guards could tell if they were eating any oranges.. if it got a little quiet then they knew someone was eating an orange..

I was also told that most of the POW's at that camp like that camp better than they liked being forced to fight.. The family over there does nothing but tell of how well the POW's were treated.

Its alot of interesting stories that I have heard over the last 10 years form her family and none have anything bad to say about their stay here in the US

 

[stefen]

Several German POW camps in Canada, as well.

 

[BigRon]

Camp Swift, outside of Bastrop Texas was an old POW camp. Now, there is a State Park( no MDing) a Federal Prison and a National Guard training area on the old site.

 

[get-r-dug]

These weren't really 'soldier' POW camps though, were they? Weren't they just for the people who lived in the US already and were of German, or Asian descent (sp)? Thought or afraid of them being sympathizers? (sp) as stated in an earlier post. Not to say there wouldn't interesting finds there. I just don't believe you'd find many military related items. I just can't see the US shipping POW's back to the US from overseas to imprison them back in the WWII days. Just my thoughts for what they are worth. Probably not much.

Good luck and happy hunting!!

 

[Scott (Mich)]

These weren't really 'soldier' POW camps though, were they? Weren't they just for the people who lived in the US already and were of German, or Asian descent (sp)? Thought or afraid of them being sympathizers? (sp) as stated in an earlier post. Not to say there wouldn't interesting finds there. I just don't believe you'd find many military related items. I just can't see the US shipping POW's back to the US from overseas to imprison them back in the WWII days. Just my thoughts for what they are worth. Probably not much.

Good luck and happy hunting!!

Two miles from my house is a former POW camp. It housed German WWII soldiers. The old timers in my local historical society tell the story of how a couple of captured soldiers tried to get away during the war but were caught.

Here is some information on POW camps. The camp I mention above is listed there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_POW_camps_in_the_United_States

HH,

Scott (MI)

 

[bulldozer1]

Fort Oglethorpe, Ga was a German POW Camp in World War 1 and World War 2. For WW I it was boat crews and citizens of German decent. During WW II Fort Oglethorpe housed Afrik Corp soldiers. Several tried to escape not to do harm to anyone or anything. They just wanted to stay here in the US. Once the war had ended the POW were sent to Tullahoma, TN to Camp Forrest. Most did not leave there until about 1948 or 1949. There are 109 buried in the National Cemetery in Chattanooga including a General. For those that know Fort Oglethorpe the POW camp I think is around where the Long John Silvers is located now. Or it was inside Chickamauga Battlefield, I have been told two different things.

 

[Slingshot]

There was a WWII POW camp in Camp Wheeler, the big infantry camp just outside of Macon Ga. That camp was used in WWI, and Korea also, but I don't know if they had any POW's there then. I've hunted on several sections here, but the POW camp area was so overgrown we never attempted any hunting in it. Lots of nice stuff has come out of there, and I'm sure much more is waiting to be found.

 

[BuffaloBob]

Very cool! Some neat possibilities there. There were POW camps here in the US, too. Hmmmm.
HH
Nan

The US had many German POW camps specifically for German Submariners. They were usually in agricultural areas where they could earn money helping farmers with their crops.

The main reason most people don't know about them is because they were restricted areas with no photos or news info allowed. In 1945 all German POW's were returned to Germany, by law. Some returned to the USA to marry or live. An interesting story. All camps were razed after the war. Colorado had more than 43 that I'm aware of.

 

[mrjosh]

There was a small POW camp in Paducah, Ky during WW 2. They were used to help build the floodwall.