02.16.06
Posted in WWII at 8:51 pm by NW Okie
I do have question concerning army personnel (guards) at the Alva camp. My biological father, James E. Kern, was stationed at the Alva Camp. I have been trying to locate him for over 35 years to no avail. Do you know of any list of army personnel that was stationed at the Alva Camp or of anyone I might contact that could provide that type of information? I have previously conversed with local Alva personnel who worked at the camp but no one remembers my father being there? I would greatly appreciate any information or suggestions you might have. Thank you. — Larry Johnson - Email: VillainMoonquake@worldnet.att.net
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Posted in WWII at 8:49 pm by NW Okie
The story about the Waynoka Ice Plant and the POW’s was of interest to me. I was especially interested in the names of the escapees and attemptees.
When the one man who slipped away from the Plant was captured just south of the Cimarron he protested vehemently that he was in Mexico and therefore couldn’t be legally brought back. They generally had no idea how big this country was, no conception of the distances involved.
The roster of prisoners approved for work-release at the plant may well have comprised 100 but I’m certain that there were never more than 60 on-site at any given time. Also they assuredly never “operated” the ice plant. That was always the job of American citizens since ammonia (the refrigerant in use) was both poisonous and violently explosive if not handled with due care and caution. All operations involving refrigeration equipment, cranes, compressors, condensers, pumps, cooling towers, conveyors, elevators and electrical switchboards were strictly off-limits to POWs.
They were used to handle bulk ice in receiving-room, storage, sidetrack dock and the main elevated icing dock and were always under guard by the US army and under supervision by civilians (including me) as well as working in icing crews which included civilian men and boys from the community.
The folks who operated the plant were Fletcher Kysar, James A Linder, Charles Fry, four stationary engineers, six crane-operators and three conveyor operators.
The plant itself was built, owned and operated by Railways Ice Co of Chicago who had a longterm contract for icing and services with AT&SF Railways at Chicago IL, Kansas City MO, Waynoka OK, Belen NM, and Needles CA.
In the view of our army the POWs were undoubtedly ‘hardliners’ since the bulk of them were elite troops of Rommel’s Afrika Korps.
I certainly remember Gene McGill as he once took me flying as part of his support of our WHS (Waynoka High School) Aeronautics class. That was my first flight and he let me take the stick briefly on straight and level. That’s it for the memory bank today.” — Jim Linder
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Posted in WWII at 8:43 pm by NW Okie
The War Years – With the acceptance of the first buildings by the camp commander, Col. Wilfrid M. Blunt, the war-time post was in business. Two days later, on June 4, 1942, Maj. Gen. William H. Gill arrived to assume command of the 89th Infantry Division. The first troops of the 89th arrived from Jefferson Barracks, Missouri on June 15 and one month later the division was activated.
During World War II, a total of 104,165 soldiers trained at Camp Carson. Along with three other infantry divisions — the 71st, 104th and 10th Mountain — more than 125 units were activated at Camp Carson and over 100 other units were transferred to the mountain post from other installations.
The camp trained nurses, cooks, mule packers, tank battalions, a Greek infantry battalion and an Italian ordnance company — soldiers of any and every variety. Toward the end of the war, after the departure of the divisions and established units, Camp Carson trained replacement troops and provisional companies. The peak troop strength of the installation was in late 1943 when approximately 43,000 military personnel were stationed at the camp.
The POW Camp – The internment camp, opened on the first day of 1943, was later re designated a POW camp. Located just inside Gate 3 between the service and supply area and Highway 115, it originally housed 3,000 prisoners. In 1945, an additional 5,000 prisoners were housed in barracks located east of Pershing Field in the area now occupied by Division Artillery. A total of nearly 9,000 German, Italian, and some Japanese prisoners of war were interned at Camp Carson during World War II.
During 1944, POWs alleviated the manpower shortage in Colorado by doing general farm work, canning tomatoes, cutting corn, and aiding in logging operations on Colorado’s Western slope. They earned 80 cents a day. In the winter months at Carson, they worked in the Ouartermaster Laundry and other places on and off post. About 3,650 POWs worked at 17 branch camps located throughout the state. At Camp Hale, near Leadville, about 400 of the most incorrigible members of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Corps were confined under tight security. Each of the compounds of the camp had a canteen where prisoners could purchase personal necessities and a few luxuries. The prisoners built the canteens and made their own furniture in a prison woodworking shop.
The prisoners also published their own newspaper, a 20-page mimeograph magazine-size publication called “Die PW Woche.” The paper, printed in German, was staffed by seven of the internees. The staff had many American newspapers and magazines for reference purposes. Restrictions imposed on the paper were few. There was no board of censors as such, but Camp Carson personnel discussed the paper with the prisoners before it was composed.
A cemetery was set aside for POWs who died here. After the war, their bodies were shipped to their homelands. Only one POW strike is recorded. The day after the war in Europe ended, Americans took all the food and cigarettes out of the canteen. The only items left were books and papers, and the POWs were decidedly miffed. The strike ended a couple of days later when the prisoners were told that if they returned to work, food and cigarettes would be returned to the canteen.
In January, 1946, there were still a large number of German prisoners at Carson. By July 21, 1946, all had been returned to Europe or released.
I lived in Alva, Oklaoma as a child. My next door neighbor was a guard at the POW camp. One day, he took me out there and I saw the outside of the camp. I remember the POWs marching down the street to the train to be sent home after the war. I lived in Alva, OK, at the end of the war, VJ Day. I was a kid then. A happy crowd gathered in the town center in the evening. One very drunk fellow celebrated by setting his hat on fire in the middle of the street. Others added their hats and soon, no hat was safe. The policeman lost his cap too. People would go up to passing cars and demanded hats from passengers. It was a happy day, but not for hats. Graham Kendall - Email: grahamkendall74135@yahoo.com
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