P.W. PRISONERS OF WAR During World War II there was storage of people to pick the local fruit because our men were in the war and the women were working the factories. In late summer of 1943 and 1944, German Prisoners of War were housed near Benton Harbor Airport, in the Benton Harbor Armory and in a camp at the intersection of Oxbow and River Roads, near Sodus, Michigan. They were made available to pick the local fruit. I remember my father, Peter John Koehler and myself going up to the Zech apple orchard, on Edison Road, where there was a group of German Prisoners picking apples in the Zech orchard. There was a stub of a windmill and the guard climbed to the top of it (about 15 to 20 feet high) and sat on a board, with his rifle, to guard the prisoners. My Dad, who spoke fluent German, Russian and English, carried on a conversation with the prisoners. My Dad would have been about 50 years of age and I was a wee lad of 8. The prisoners seemed to be happy as they picked apples and they sang songs and carried on conversations. We also used prisoners to pick peaches on our farm. The prisoners always wore blue clothes with a large PW on the back or the shirt and on the pant legs. One day 2 prisoners escaped and took off into the fields. They were captured near Buckhorn Store at the corner of U.S. 31 and Rockey Weed Road. Mr. Shalon, who ran the Buckhorn Tavern and store, seen them come out of the fields and held them at bay, with his shotgun until the guard came and retrieved them. They were asked why they took off and they said they “just wanted to see if they could do it”! Buckhorn store was just about 1 mile from the apple orchard. After the war, some of these prisoners came back to this area and settled here to raise their families and became a part of this community. ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

During WWII, prisoner of war camps were set up all through the Midwest and mountain states. There was one in my home town on Billings Montana located on south 27th street near the sugar beet refinery. The enlisted men were loaned out to local farmers, many of whom were Germans from Russia. There are several interesting articles in the archives of the Billings Gazette for anyone interested. My father, who was about 17 at the time, befriended one of the prisoners and carried on a correspondence with him after the war. I think most of the camps were enlisted men only. It seems I read the officers were kept at special camps which were very isolated since the officers were duty bound to try to escape. I know there was a camp for officers somewhere in Texas. Allan R. Lenhardt 240 East Drive Baton Rouge, LA 70806 (225) 344-1424 (225) 223-3121 (cell) Life is God's novel. Let him write it. Isaac Beshevis Singer in Voices for Life (1975) -----Original Message----- From: ger-volga-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:ger-volga-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of PKoe662885@aol.com Sent: Monday, July 09, 2007 6:25 AM To: AHSGR-VILLAGE-COORDINATOR-L@rootsweb.com; GER-VOLGA-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [GV] German Prisoners of War P.W. PRISONERS OF WAR During World War II there was storage of people to pick the local fruit because our men were in the war and the women were working the factories. In late summer of 1943 and 1944, German Prisoners of War were housed near Benton Harbor Airport, in the Benton Harbor Armory and in a camp at the intersection of Oxbow and River Roads, near Sodus, Michigan. They were made available to pick the local fruit. I remember my father, Peter John Koehler and myself going up to the Zech apple orchard, on Edison Road, where there was a group of German Prisoners picking apples in the Zech orchard. There was a stub of a windmill and the guard climbed to the top of it (about 15 to 20 feet high) and sat on a board, with his rifle, to guard the prisoners. My Dad, who spoke fluent German, Russian and English, carried on a conversation with the prisoners. My Dad would have been about 50 years of age and I was a wee lad of 8. The prisoners seemed to be happy as they picked apples and they sang songs and carried on conversations. We also used prisoners to pick peaches on our farm. The prisoners always wore blue clothes with a large PW on the back or the shirt and on the pant legs. One day 2 prisoners escaped and took off into the fields. They were captured near Buckhorn Store at the corner of U.S. 31 and Rockey Weed Road. Mr. Shalon, who ran the Buckhorn Tavern and store, seen them come out of the fields and held them at bay, with his shotgun until the guard came and retrieved them. They were asked why they took off and they said they "just wanted to see if they could do it"! Buckhorn store was just about 1 mile from the apple orchard. After the war, some of these prisoners came back to this area and settled here to raise their families and became a part of this community. ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GER-VOLGA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message