I became interested in the last few years about the idea of German POWs in the U. S. during World War II. I knew generally that some German prisoners had ended up here, but I didn’t know much more than that.
It turns out that about 425,000 German soldiers ended up in some 700 camps here, including 21 camps in Oklahoma and four in Ohio.
I’ve had a general story idea rattling around in my head about German POWs for a while, but it’s the barest whisper of a plot, something about a bunch of them trying to bring about the Fourth Reich somehow. I never seem to be able to focus on the idea long enough to even guess at what research to do.
I learned recently that a lot of German POWs stayed in the U. S. after the war, and that more than a few died over here from various causes. But I’d never read much about escapes.
At any rate, I was checking the “Links To Real But Arcane WWII Facts” thread at SOCNET the other day and came across a post about Georg Gärtner, AKA Dennis F. Whiles. Captured just weeks after his arrival in North Africa in 1943, he was sent to Camp Deming in New Mexico. In September, 1945, he escaped from the camp and made his way to California.
He was the last German POW to be found, finally surrendering in 1985.
His story, in just under 15 minutes:
Perhaps unsurprisingly, he wrote a book, though it’s long out of print.
Memorial May
No, that’s not a typo.
The month also marks National Military Appreciation Month and includes Peace Officers Memorial Day.
The end of May brings us to Memorial Day, set aside to remember those who died in service to their country. That amounts to about 1,354,664 men and women from 1775 to the present day. I always feel like I should put together an appropriate post for the occasion but I rarely do, sometimes sharing something someone else wrote.
I seem to acknowledge Veteran’s Day more than I do Memorial Day for some reason, and I’m not exactly sure why that is. Plenty of family members served their country. At least one died in service, just days after he arrived in France during World War I.
Odd, that.
If on this weekend, you’re mourning the loss of a brother or sister in arms, I wish you an extra measure of peace and strength.
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