By Rickey Robertson
By November 1943 the Allied Armies had broken the back of German General Erwin Rommel’s vaunted AFRIKA KORPS in the desert lands of North Africa. The island of Sicily had been wrestled from the Germans, and now American and other allied armies had landed in Italy and were beginning to advance up the Italian boot. The battles that had been won by the allies brought on something unexpected that had to be addressed . The problem was what to do with all the German Prisoners of War. They all could not be housed in England or in the captured territories. So the US Army began building 500 prisoner of war camps throughout the United States.
Few Americans know that from 1942 until 1946 over 400,00 German, 50,000 Italian, and 5,000 Japanese prisoners of war were housed in the continental United States. These German POW’s also would be able to help the war effort in America. How could they do that ? These POW had many trades and could be used to repair American uniforms and equipment, rebuild vehicles, work in the cotton fields of the south, cut sugar cane in Louisiana, be PX clerks at army camps, work in sawmills, factories, and other types of industries.
Here in western Louisiana, the US Army had established Camp Polk in 1941. This large sprawling base in western Louisiana housed a large contingent of German Prisoners of War until 1946. According to information I have gathered through interviews, in 1943, German POW’s began to arrive in Leesville, by rail. The POW’s would embark at the rail depot and would march several miles to their new home at Camp Polk. These German POW’s were veterans of the AFRIKA KORPS and had been captured in North Africa.
The POW’s were a long way from Germany, but they were still soldiers. In every camp the POW’s still underwent military rituals such as lights out, reveille, formations, marching, and other soldierly details. Authority was established by rank.
The German POW’s proved to be very good workers in Louisiana. Many were from farms and were good farm hands who knew how to milk cows, plant crops, harvest crops, and do odd jobs. They were eager to get out from behind the barbed wire. In Leesville, POW’s helped to paint many of the downtown buildings, with one German artist painting beautiful pictures of German topics. These still survive and are part of Leesville history. But did you know that German POW’s came into Peason, located in Sabine Parish.
In the Peason and Peason Ridge area, since 1941 the US Army had held large scale maneuvers and literally hundreds and hundreds of entrenchments had been dug everywhere. Here in Peason, Mr. Woodrow Herrington’s plow horse had gotten out of the field and was found dead with a broken neck in a deep entrenchment. A plow horse was a very important thing on a farm. It was decided to put the German POW’s to good use in our area. The US Army brought a large convoy of them from Camp Polk in the summer and fall of 1944 to Peason and set up a bivouac site. These POW’s were issued shovels, picks, hoe’s, cant hooks, and other tools and were advised to find and cover up all the open entrenchments. There were supposedly several hundred Germans who fanned out throughout the area and began to cover up these foxholes, trenches, mortar and artillery pits, and bunkers. After a day or so, a local farmer happened to see a group of men in German Army uniforms going through the woods at Peason. Very shortly the news was out to every farm that the Germans had landed and were in Peason. Every farmer grabbed a shotgun and headed out to do battle with the German Army. It didn’t take long to see the Germans were not armed and the American guards quickly advised everyone that these were prisoners of war from Camp Polk. After settling this problem so the farmers knew who they were, the Germans worked for nearly 3 weeks.
Throughout their stay at Camp Polk the Germans made many friends with local Americans that have lasted over the many years. By 1946 the POW’s were all on their way back to their homes in Germany. The POW camp was located just south of present-day La. Hwy. 10. Today at this site is HONOR FIELD where Fort Polk/Johnson conducts ceremonies of all types. Nothing is left of the old camp to make anyone think that during World War II there were German POW’s housed there.
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Publisher’s Note: When the old POW Barrack’s were torn down some murals on the walls were saved from demolition. They were once on display at the Military Museum on Ft. Johnson but are now believed to be stored at the Cultural Resources Building. That complex also houses materials from Heritage Families, Native Americans, and other groups with historical context to the post. Paintings from the old National Hotel in downtown Leesville, where some POW’s were once housed, are on display at the Museum of West Louisiana on Third Street.