Creekbank Stories Curt Iles, Storyteller
Order copies of Where I Come From at Amazon
Download your companion e-book, “Medic!“ on Amazon.
CHAPTER 50 EXCERPT From the Curt Iles book, Where I Come From.
The German POW Graves
Author’s note: I have photographs of the five POW graves. I’ll post later.
I scoffed when I first heard it: Five German POWs buried in the Alexandria National Cemetery located in Pineville, Louisiana. It contains over 10,000 American veteran graves laid out with Arlington-like precision.
There are five German POWs buried among these American graves. I was determined to find them in the eight-acre cemetery. I wandered around until a worker took me to the spot in the southeast corner.
There they were:
Ernst Eggert
Paul Kalks
Willi Kneip
Walter Phelahn
Franz Lohman.
I have a multitude of questions:
Where and how did they die?
Why were they buried in an American military cemetery?
Did their families in Germany know their fate?
A historical marker at the cemetery sheds some light: The five POWs were initially interred at Camp Fannin, Texas. At some point, they were moved to Alexandria. The United States has a longstanding tradition, dating to the Civil War, of proper burial of all soldiers. POWs who died in America were buried “following their national customs.” Unless claimed by family or country, their graves remain the responsibility of the United States government to this day.
* * *
I’m determined to delve deeper into the story of these five German POW graves.
Internet Sleuths: you’re invited to dig with me into the story of these five German POWs as well as the history of POW Camps in Louisiana.
If you unearth any clues, contact me at creekbank.stories@gmail.com
Teachers, this sounds like a great school project!
Order copies of Where I Come From at Amazon
