Evidence of a German POW Camp from World War 2. There were over 500 in the US, here's the Story.

Here in Door County Wisconsin, some POWS returned to live several years after the war because of their fond memories of living here safely ensconced in the heart of America during a time of war. We are a lovely and kind country.

Great story! Well done. My dad was on B-26 Marauder air crew in WWII. He decided that he wanted to be buried at Ft. Custer National Cemetery. I remember visiting there with him before he died and upon determining that his most likely final resting place would be a short distance from where the German PW's who died here were buried, the irony was very powerful to both of us. Thanks again for a valuable story.

I remember hearing about POW's working on farms near Clarksville MI. My uncle owned a farm near Clarksville and I am not sure if the POW's worked on his farm or on a neighbor's farm but they got to know some of them. I also remember hearing about POW's who did not want to go home.

This was fascinating. My wife was relaying that we had POW up in the UP as well. Seems so different from the Michigan we live in today. After 80 years nature has reclaimed that campground. Pretty amazing.

I didn't realize how many there were in Michigan...again learning more from you both about our state then in school..safe travels..love ya both..💜

There’s so many POW camps here in Michigan

My great grandparents farmed west of Alma in Sumner twp. My great grandma told me about having some of POWs working their farm. She spoke very highly of them, and was sad to see them leave. She told me that on their last day working on the family farm. My great grandpa butchered a hog and she prepared a large "thanksgiving" style dinner. According to her, these particular POWs were housed at the Armory in Alma and the fairgrounds behind the armory.

I never knew we had POW camps in Michigan. Always learning something new about Michigan. Enjoy your videos. Thanks again....Pete

Always learn something from your videos. Thank you

I used to camp near there in the late 60's and early 70's. There were still buildings at that time. And still cactus. We brought a plant home and had it for years.

50 years ago I had a fraternity brother in Indiana whose dad was a POW housed in Ft Wayne. The camp there was ran very loosely, letting the men , who were not Nazis, work at numerous jobs in the Ft Wayne area. It was there where a young German man named Miller, met a beautiful local girl ( who happened to be of German ancestry herself) After the war he was sent home to Germany, only to return the next year where he married that young girl, and settling in Ft Wayne. Five years later, my friend was born. And they are still there, four generations later.

So interesting. My mom was married to an NCO and he was stationed in Louisiana near a POW camp, WWII. she had a charcoal picture portrait that one of the POW's made for her. Again, interesting Michigan history. Would be fun to metal detect this area.

As a native Michigander (hoping to return someday very soon) I never knew any of this, and that seems like a real shame. My grandfather was in the Navy, drafted after Pearl Harbor, and as a veteran myself it makes me proud of how well we treated the PWs, especially knowing how poorly the Germans and Japanese treated ours. It’s great to hear some of those stories, and learn our history. Shame the camp was left derelict and eventually torn down though, would be a nice memorial today, and probably a great little park/campground. On that count, I think we could do better…

My uncle's house in Sparta, MI was once officers' quarters for the POW camp. I didn't know it when I was a kid, but my cousin was able to give some details of what remained of the camp when he grew up there (in the '60s). My mom & Aunt were teens when Grampa had some POWs from the camp come to help on his farm. I'm told the prisoners weren't allowed to talk to them.

My Pappy fought in the ETO as a Combat Engineer in WWII. Before going overseas he trained in various states in the South. Here is a letter he wrote to my Mom from Camp Swift, Texas on Tuesday, 14 September, 1943: Phyllis Darling, I haven’t heard from you in such a long time that I decided to call you. The operator said there would be a two or three hour delay, so here I am writing. This letter won’t be nice because I’ll save the nice things for the telephone. My Company arrived here yesterday morning. Since that time I have received 38 more men, and I’m going to get 45 more of them. By wednesday noon I will have more than 250 men in the Company. I have a big motor pool and shops of my own a Company area just across the street from a big PX, a WD Theater, and about a block from the two swimming pools. Post Hq is only 3 blocks away, and all of the [2] supply branch buildings are across from my motor pool. The barracks are modern. The only bad thing is that were only going to be here 6 weeks, then we go back to Van Dorn. Wish you could travel now [Mom was pregnant] and you would already have a telegram telling you to come down to stay in Bastrop until we left for Miss. At least we could be together about five evenings a week for six weeks. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? It really seems to[o] good to be in the west again. Were only about 150 miles from Brownwood. Look on your map and see where I’m at. Swift is only about four miles out of Bastrop Texas. My new address is Co “A” 164th Engr. C Bn. 3rd Army mine School Camp Swift, Texas. [3] What do you think of that big long handle? Wish you were here now and you could take care of those old income tax blanks. Called Major Pirrung today & told him about our set-up here. He was very pleased and quite a bit Surprised when I told him I was getting another one of his platoons for the Company. I will soon have more men in the Company than he will have left in the Battalion. He should feel slighted. Hope you don’t mind Catipallers crawling all over the paper. The darned things are all over. The roaches are thick in here to[o]. They are even in my desk, and in the kitchen ____ they nearly ran of[f] with [4] it. There are a bunch of German Prisoners of war just across the street. They are really beautiful Physical specimens. There being worked like the devil to[o]. There is one German 1st Lt. in charge of the men, but guards are in charge of the Lt. My men are working like the devil, and they are beginning to look like real soldiers. Even the new men who transferred from “B” and “C” Company are liking the Company. They say we work a lot harder than they did before, but they don’t mind cause the’re learning something. Well there isn’t much news except that we had a good trip down here. Wish I could see you. Always, Glade [ED: I have made edits in brackets. Camp Swift was named after MG Eban Swift (May 1854—Apr 1938). During WWII a portion of the Camp was used to house German POWs; 10,000 at the peak. “Decided to call ….” During the war, contacting someone by long distance phone was “iffy.” See the back of the Camp Swift brochure below for the explanation (the graphics I added to this letter when I transcribed it did not copy when I posted this comment). Guessing: During WWII Walt Disney (WD) produced training and propaganda films for the public and military. I wonder if the theater mentioned here was for showing such films. Pappy’s handwriting is so bad that it took me until 07.02.2017 to find the correct spelling of MAJ G R Pirrung’s last name. He was the C.O. of the 164th ECB when it was activated.]

I grew up on Lake Allegan, my parents made us mow the lawn of a old lady that lived nearby. She married a pow that didn't want to go home

Back in the early 1950's we lived in what was once a German POW camp in New Mexico. It was called Orchard Park and was primarily used for housing lower ranking enlisted Air Force personnel stationed at Walker AFB. My dad was a SSgt at the time. The barracks were halved and turned into duplexes. I was about 4 years old at the time but still have some pictures of the place. We were only there maybe a year or so before we were sent to the UK. Mom was British and she didn't think much of the desert and New Mexico.

Shelby mi up near silver lake had a pow camp also. The pillars where the gates were are still there. It’s now Shelby high school. Some of the prisoners were let out to work for farmers in the area. After the war, many prisoners returned to Oceania county and started their lives over as Americans.

POWs from Allegan worked on my Grandfathers farm. One of the POWs named Otto was able to stay and work for him for many years after the war.

I really enjoyed your video. I didn't know some of those stories about the PWs. My dad trained in an infantry unit that went to Europe in 1943. He was having some health issues, so the army assigned him to a PW camp in Trinidad, Colorado. He served for 33 months. You talked about everything he told me and then some. The prisoners were treated with dignity, and most were happy to be out of the war. Thanks for sharing and doing the research. 5 Stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️