Saturday, February 6, 2010

In Passing, Remember (Continued) Some German Prisoners

Soldiers in a Hospital Train


Besides the American soldiers there were naturalized Americans, those Greeks, Italians, Spanish, even German, having emigrated to the United States, and volunteered for the duration of the war. There were also wounded German prisoners who lived in the enclosure of the camp and took part in the same life as their guards.

Toward the end of the war, there were many wounded arriving from the front. As the place was inadequate, the later arrivals were cared for in the trains which brought them.

As soon as the state of their health permitted it, the convalescents were authorized to go out and walk, to make a tour in the villages around.

For the local population it was a windfall to have a military camp so near, for the United States did not fail to furnish copiously their soldiers with foodstuffs, conserves, etc.

And when the camp was closed, when the soldiers were evacuated, there was a grand debauch of the American surplus, which finally gave back supplies to people deprived of things from the war.

However, during the activity of this military city, many of the people were employed there in the services of governing and administration.

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