US Army Training Center - Yearbook (Fort Bragg, NC)

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Some Members of the Dekachment, Men Who Have Served Overseas Interior View of the Headquarters P. O. W. Camp D Prisoners Doin g Carpeniry Work A Prisoners Working on Clothing Repair Prisoners Repairing Typewrifers and Olifice Machines

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nrt anfsosit OF an CAMP sim 1--W Exterior View Prisoner of War Camp Headquarters Q Right, left to right: Lt. L. M. Farr, Capt. T. A. McFarland, Major 21 J. Frese, Major M. F. Simmons, Capt. F. L. Leupp, Lt. A. E. Rose, Lt. S. L. Leblang, Lt. S. B. Odens. Q PHISU EH UF W H E MP The first contingent of the present group of prisoners of war at Fort Bragg made its appearance in May 1944, with the activation of the Prisoner of War Camp. These prisoners were not the first to be interned at Fort Bragg, however, for early in 1942 this Post was holding some of the very first German Prisoners of War to be captured by U. S. forces in the present war. At that time no attempt was made to Work the prisoners and late in 1.942 those prisoners that were here were transferred out and the Camp was in- activated. No more prisoners of war were confined here until May 19441. The Prisoner of War Camp is located in the Animal Area, on the south end of the reservation, covering approximately 42 acres. It includes barracks, day rooms, mess halls and the usual buildings found in a cantonment type camp. Since the activation of the camp, the increase in the number of prisoners of war sent here necessitated the establishment of three branch camps at Seymour-Johnson Field, New Bern, and Scotland Neck, all in North Carolina. When prisoners from a battle area are received at the camp, they are photographed, finger-printed, classified, and organized into companies. Clothing and toilet articles are issued and they are put to work. Prisoners are elassihed according to their civilian background and put to work on jobs that are similar to their civilian occupations. The prisoners are interned and worked according to the Geneva Convention of 1927. The provisions of this con- vention are scrupulously adhered to by the United States in order to give the enemy no excuse for mistreating any of our men that may be in their hands. Germany is a signer of the Geneva Convention. Prisoners of war at Fort Bragg have been employed on many projects. They operate the Post Bakery, and in the compound of the Camp there are shops operated entirely by them, supervised by American personnel. Their well- known mechanical ability is put to work repairing clothing, typewriters, tools, and other equipment. The Post Engineer detail builds boxes and other items made by carpenters. They operate a saw mill and perform many labor de- tails such as unloading equipment, clearing tire breaks, etc. ln the branch camps the prisoners work at harvesting crops, cutting wood, warehousing tobacco, and similar tasks. The prisoners are paid SOC a day for work that they perform. The full use of Prisoners of War' at Fort Bragg has resulted in the saving of thousands of dollars to the govern- ment and in the release to other more critical employment of hundreds of individuals. The good record made by Fort Bragg is due to its Prisoner of War Camp Commander Major Morgan 17. Simmons and his entire body of com- missioned and enlisted assistants.

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Headquarters Detachment Section No. I Deml. Sub Section: First Lt. Chester J. Krutul Commanding. Pay Day at HQ Det. Deml. 8: Sup. Det. No. I. STATIU EUMPLEME T DET EH E TS Recent headlines of the outstanding battle successes made by units equipped and trained at Fort Bragg have behind them a story that does not appear in the news accounts- a story of the achievements of the Station Complement troops. Although these achievements have not received the same public recognition as have the heroic deeds of our combat soldiers, they have been just as essential to our march to victory. That the Work done by these detach- ments. in servicing and equipping thousands of troops, is acknowledged by both tactical and non-tactical units trained here, is attested to by the numerous letters received from the commanding ollicers of these units. ln these letters they express the appreciation they feel for the services rendered them while they were stationed at the Post. No matter how alert or valiant its troops are, our Army is worthless unless it has the necessary equipment and tools with which to train. It is necessary that services, supplies, equipment, and training facilities be made avail- able to the troops in training, in order to prevent a break- down in their preparation for combat. It is necessary that these troops be kept physically, spiritually, and morally alert if they are to fulfill successfully the mission for which they are preparing. Station Complement personnel under- stand this, and in spite of the many difficulties encountered, and in spite of continual reductions of available personnel, they have persistently striven to maintain the high standard of efliciency so necessary to accomplish the duties and re- sponsibilities assigned to them. The diligent execution of these duties has resulted in the efliciency of operation which has been so characteristic of Fort Bragg during the present emergency.