Volume 8 , Issue 7

WWII - Alva POW Camp...

by - Rod Murrow, Freedom, OK

I know there are several folks with an intense interest in the old POW camps that were located in the USA during World War II, one of which was 'Camp Alva' located south of Alva, Oklahoma in the area now occupied by the Woods County Fairgrounds.

I believe it would be a worthwhile project to compile a database and/or photographic file of all of the remaining buildings from that camp, including the ones still on the old site (including the old VFW building and the water tower), but also including the buildings that were sold and moved from the site. (If such a project has ever been undertaken, it is being kept a secret!).

I know of at least three buildings that can be accounted for:

• The home that my grandparents owned in Dacoma (one block south and one block east of Whittet's Cowboy Grill, just across the street west of the baseball diamond) was one of the barracks buildings from the POW camp;
• The Freedom United Methodist Church is actually TWO of the buildings, joined together in a 'T' shape, though another addition was built along the west side of the facility in more recent years.

There must be more of the old POW camp buildings scattered about Woods county or elsewhere. I honestly believe that some sort of documentation of these historic structures should be made - to the point that perhaps a permanent marker could be placed at each location (with permission of the present owner/owners) and the location of each one identified on a map or listed in a brochure.

Such a thing could easily become a 'booster' for the tourist/historic interest in the area and might be of interest to Oklahoma Today or similar magazines, certainly to the 'Red Carpet Country' annual publication.

I'll do what I can to get you pictures of the two (actually three) that I have mentioned here. I'll also make further inquiries to learn what the original use of the buildings were (barracks, dining, recreation, etc.).   |  View or Add Comments (1 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

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