Volume 6 , Issue 2

Fort Reno & Fort Sill - WWII...

Fort Sill's telephone line installed in 1879 soon linked Fort Reno and the Darlington Agency and eventually Fort Supply; Amelia Earhart landed her autogiro at the Fort Reno airstrip in the 1920's; During WWII the famous Lipizan horses were held at the Fort Reno riding hall for a period of time; Black Jack, the riderless horse in President John F. Kennedy's funeral procession was born and raised at Fort Reno.

The German WWII internment camp was erected in 1943 on the eastern edge of the Fort property. Prisoners began arriving July 4, 1943. By August 30 of that same year, 1000 prisoners arrived at Fort Reno POW Camp. It included 65 temporary structures including an administration building, barracks, hospital, canteen, guardhouse, shops and mess halls. Originally the POW Camp was intended for Japanese soldiers, but the increasing numbers of German and Italian prisoners captured by the Allied Forces in North Africa changed the nationality of the occupants. The 435th Military Police Escort served as guards for the camp and included 130 men and two officers. The only remaining landmark of the Fort Reno POW Camp is the concrete water tower. There were over 1000 Germans who were captured in North Africa that were imprisoned at Fort Reno. It was during this time that the German POW's were hired as laborers by local farmers and worked as farm hands for the Remount Station, and built the Fort Reno Chapel located on the north side of the Parade Grounds. The west side of the Fort Reno Post Cemetery is the location of the POW Cemetery where 70 former prisoners are interred. 61 of the 62 Germans came from POW camps located in Oklahoma. The 8 Italians came from the POW camp locaed in Herford, Texas. The most famous German buried at the Fort Reno POW Cemetery was Johannes Kunze of the Tonkawa Camp. Kunze was beaten to death by fellow POW's who accused him of being a traitor. Those charged with Kunze murder were found guilty, executed and buried. The death of Kunze is the subject of a novel by Vince Greene entitled Extreme Justice.

The WWII POW's worked at a variety of locations and were paid 80 cents per day. Many worked as farm laborers at Fort Reno. Local farmers paid the government $1.50 per prisoner per day. The government paid the prisoners 10 cents per hour in script money which could be used to purchase items from the Canteen. The farmer provided transportation to and from the camp for the prisoners and a guard. Other prisoners worked at Tinker Field and Douglas Modification Plant in Oklahoma City. 250 to 260 German prisoners each day performed jobs at Fort Reno that included carpentry, bakery, shoe repair, auto mechanics, tailoring, butcher, and hay hauling. The prisoners constructed two buildings at Fort Reno... Lucas Hall, the Chapel and enlarged the Officers' Club. The German POW's planted trees on both side sof the entrance road to the Fort Reno post.   |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

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