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re: WW2 German POW Camp Ruston LA
Posted on 11/3/23 at 1:32 am to Bison
Posted on 11/3/23 at 1:32 am to Bison
My great grandfather was a German immigrant farmer in SWLA. He was a fluent German speaker and my grandfather told stories of him being summoned to translate to German POW. Those POW worked on the farms in the area. We always assumed it had to be WWII POW but the dates don’t match up with the years my great grandfather farmed and the dates when Gerstner Airfield was active. The POW that were held at Gerstner Airfield just outside of Lake Charles had to have been WWI POW. I’ve tried finding information on it on the internet but have never turned up anything about POW held at Gerstner.
Gerstner Field
If you know where to look on Google Earth you can see the old cement slabs that remain out in the fields where Gerstner field once stood.
30°07'03"N 93°06'13"W
LINK
Gerstner Field
If you know where to look on Google Earth you can see the old cement slabs that remain out in the fields where Gerstner field once stood.
30°07'03"N 93°06'13"W
LINK
This post was edited on 11/3/23 at 5:42 am
1
Posted on 11/3/23 at 3:16 am to Nuts
Very interesting story
Posted on 11/3/23 at 3:35 am to TheArrogantCorndog
That was a hell of a story, thanks for sharing. Disengaging the drive shaft to get the alternator turning was brilliant.
Posted on 11/3/23 at 3:50 am to redstick13
That is interesting. I dated a Brazilian once and her Grandfather was a Germany scientist during WWII. He and his brother ended up with like 5000 acres in Brazil, which started their family farming business. All I can say is she was blonde hair and blue eyes and the pick from their farm had many $100k plus tractors, combine or whatever the helm they are.
Posted on 11/3/23 at 3:53 am to crookedicat
The POW could have been WWII as well, my great grandfather would have been alive then too but Gerstner field was gone. So maybe they were being held somewhere else but all the stories from the area talk about Gerstner being a POW camp at one time.
Posted on 11/3/23 at 3:59 am to AUstar
quote:
Just regular German army (probably mostly conscripts).
A lot of them were Rommel’s Afrika Corps. Captured early on. They were involved in agriculture all over Louisiana.
Posted on 11/3/23 at 4:57 am to Bison
My mother would tell stories of German POW’s held in Port Allen
Posted on 11/3/23 at 5:26 am to Bison
Ft. McClellan in Anniston, AL also held Germans during WW2. They built several rock bridges and buildings while there.
Posted on 11/3/23 at 5:51 am to Nuts
quote:
German POWs in SW Louisiana
Was that camp in Edgerly, Louisiana which is in between Sulphur and Vinton? I remember when I was a kid some older folks from that area speaking about that German camp and some interaction with them. The one thing they remembered was the roses that one of the pow’s planted inside the camps perimeter and for years after those roses survived there.
Posted on 11/3/23 at 6:06 am to HillabeeBaw
There was one in Aliceville, Alabama, too.
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/alabama/german-pow-camp-al/
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/alabama/german-pow-camp-al/
Posted on 11/3/23 at 6:10 am to Nuts
quote:
Alcascian region, which is where part of my ancestors' origins are.
Interesting history to say the least.
Strasbourg is still a very German looking town. In France.
Alsace is something the Germans wanted back in both ww's. Very interesting history, pretty area.
Posted on 11/3/23 at 6:10 am to Bison
quote:
didn't realize we keep POWs on US soil.
They were kept all over the US in both world wars. German civilians were also placed in internment camps.
There was one in the NC mountains in Hot Springs.
This post was edited on 11/3/23 at 6:13 am
Posted on 11/3/23 at 6:36 am to Bison
I learned about Ruston pow’s after moving to Memphis in 1976 and learning about the pow’s there. Shelby County Penal Farm is near the site of a large German and Italian camp.
Posted on 11/3/23 at 6:40 am to Fencepimp
St Charles Parish
I heard some of these stories from older people who were kids during the war saying they used German POWs to fix a levee breach in the same area. I guess I'll spend my day down the rabbit hole now.
quote:
The courthouse area served as the site of a German prisoner of war camp.
I heard some of these stories from older people who were kids during the war saying they used German POWs to fix a levee breach in the same area. I guess I'll spend my day down the rabbit hole now.
Posted on 11/3/23 at 7:24 am to GetCocky11
quote:
didn't realize we keep POWs on US soil.
German officers were held at a camp in Carriere/Picayune MS.
Posted on 11/3/23 at 7:31 am to Wildman 22
There was a POW camp in Opelika, AL during the war and, in addition to the Tuskegee Airmen, Polish flyers trained at the airfields around Tuskegee -- there were several, but only Moton Field is still active.
My FiL was in school at Auburn then and said the Poles were known to fly their planes very low through the Quad to try to look in the coed's windows.
We tried to separate the nazis from the regular Germans. The regular German soldiers were used as general laborers and were basically lucky to be POWs. Many gained weight, learned English, and lived to tell about it.
My FiL was in school at Auburn then and said the Poles were known to fly their planes very low through the Quad to try to look in the coed's windows.
We tried to separate the nazis from the regular Germans. The regular German soldiers were used as general laborers and were basically lucky to be POWs. Many gained weight, learned English, and lived to tell about it.
Posted on 11/3/23 at 8:26 am to Bison
There's a WW2 POW camp in Hearne, TX. Right outside College Station. I saw it about a month ago and never knew it was there. Apparently you can take a tour.
Posted on 11/3/23 at 8:35 am to Bison
LINK
As another poster pointed out, the 505 U Boat at The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago is well worth the visit. Highly recommended. It initially sat outside in the weather and they eventually dug a hole and lowered it underground to make an enclosed museum setting.
As another poster pointed out, the 505 U Boat at The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago is well worth the visit. Highly recommended. It initially sat outside in the weather and they eventually dug a hole and lowered it underground to make an enclosed museum setting.
Posted on 11/3/23 at 8:38 am to Fencepimp
Posted on 11/3/23 at 8:45 am to HillabeeBaw
quote:
Ft. McClellan in Anniston, AL also held Germans during WW2. They built several rock bridges and buildings while there.
There were several smaller “satellite” POW camps across Alabama.
quote:
During World War II, the state of Alabama was home to approximately 16,000 German prisoners of war (POWs) in 24 camps. The internment of these POWs significantly affected the social and economic history of Alabama. Indeed, with the German soldiers interacting with American guards and Alabama residents, the presence of Axis POWs brought the war to the Alabama homefront in a unique way.
LINK
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