(1)
Geneva Convention
a. Only Italian prisoners of war are interned.
b. There are no
officers.
c. Two officers (Marciello's)
are assigned duties as regiment commanders and his chief of staff.
d. Prisoners have been
organized on a regimental basis with much of the interanl
administration delegated to the prisoner of war leaders.
The organization is as follows: (1) One regimental commander (2)
Chief of Staff (3) One battalion commander for each compound (4)
One company commander for each prisoner of war company.
e. Treatment of PWs.
The camp is a model for friendly treatment of Italian prisoners
of war. The Company Commander maintains most friendly
relations with the prisoners and leaves to the spokesman and his
staff matters of discipline that ordinarily require the
attention of American personnel. The spokesman determine
punishments for all infractions of discipline or
regulations. These punishments are more severe than would
be imposed by the Company Commander. The Commanding
Officer, through daily conversations and visits with the
spokesmen, has impressed upon all the prisoners that the
regimental commander and his chief of staff are in absolute
charge of the prisoners in he compound. To insure complete
cooperation with his spokesmen, the Commanding Officer has taken
the regimental commander and his chief of staff to the homes of
his friends and has visited with them in his own quarters.
These spokesmen were observed to have a most courteous and yet
friendly attitude toward the Company Commander. Because of
the friendly spirit prevailing in the camp, it is doubtful that
any of the prisoners would desire to escape. For this
reason, the lack of security measures of the efficiency noted at
other camps may not be of great importance.
f. Labor
Detachment. Class I labor consists of the usual
internal administration of the camp. Class II labor has
included Post maintenance, agriculture and some
construction. There is as much demand for prisoner of war
labor both on the Post and n agriculture in nearby areas as the
prisoners will be able to meet for some time.
g. Food. The
kitchen and mess equipment are immaculate. Constant
inspection by the Commanding Officer has resulted in kitchens
that are absolutely spotless and dustless, in spite of the fact
that the prisoners themselves are naturally dirty.
The prisoners have substituted
in the ration an increase of about 25 per cent of flour instead
of meat. A fifty-acre farm on the reservation supplies
part of the rations for the camp. Ten to fifty prisoners
work on the farm. They raise tomatoes, corn and potatoes.
This officer was invited by
the Camp Commander to join a prisoner of war company in its
Sunday meal. The menu was as follows: Antipasto, cold
slices of ham and potato salad; Entree, a plate of Italian
spaghetti and meat sauce; Additional course, large plank steak
and a quarter of a chicken; Tomato and lettuce salad; Lemonade;
Dessert, chocolate cake and canned peaches. No complaints
about the food.
h. Clothing.
Prisoner of war clothing is marked properly with the letters,
"PW". However, an orange paint has been used and
with the constant wear the color of the paint has turned a dark
brown and is barely distinguishable from the rest of the garments.
Their national uniforms have been taken fro the prisoners with their
consent. They have been cleaned and stored for possible
use at funerals and for repatriation. No extra uniforms
have been received from the Red Cross. The clothing
furnished by the Quartermaster is adequate for all work details.
i. Sick Call.
The average sick call is about 100. The hospital has a
capacity of about 130. It consists of four wards inclosed
in a double fence. There are no guard towers but there is
a walking guard and interior guards within the wards, placed
there principally for the transfer of prisoners to other parts
of the hospital or return to the camp and for protection of
American nurses. Usually there are 70 to 95 prisoners in
the hospital. Most of these arrived at the camp with
previous injuries and were hospitalized immediately. There
are three prisoners wounded to the extent that they may be considered
for repatriation. The leg of one has been amputated close
to the hip. There are two mental or neurotic cases.
Prisoners have been assigned
as helpers in the compound dispensaries at the rate of one for
each dispensary. hey have received necessary training at
the camp. They had no previous experience. Some
stretcher bearers were received in the last shipment of
prisoners. These included six who had medical training in
Italy but who lacked about six months of completing their medical
course. They have been paid as medical assistants.
j. Mail.
Outgoing mail has been dispatched from the camp within twelve
hours after it has been submitted by the prisoners.
Incoming mail is delivered immediately. One-half of the
visitor's building has been used as a post office. There
is no delay of any kind concerning the mail.
k. Sanitation
throughout the camp is satisfactory.
l. Spike Camps.
There are no side camps. The contractor always furnishes
transportation for labor details since none is available a the
camp. An officer is sent ahead prior to the employment of
any prisoners.
2. General
a. Supplies and
Equipment. The camp has received all supplies and
equipment.
b. Recreational
Facilities. There is no motion picture
entertainment. The Camp Commander has secured, through
various sources, athletic equipment for football, volley ball,
basketball, boccie and boxing. No recreational equipment
has been received from the YMCA or from this office.
The Commanding Officer has
secured through donations and has purchased instruments for a
forty-piece band. These instruments were badly in need of
repair and many had broken parts. However, they were
repaired by the prisoners and are considered satisfactory.
The band is well trained and rendered several selections for
this officer. Their rendition would have done credit to
any band of comparable size in this country. The highlight
of the performance occurred when the Commanding Officer took the
place of one of the snare drummers and joined the prisoners in
an Italian march.
The three recreation rooms in
the camp have been well furnished from canteen profit.
There is a complete supply of
garden tools furnished by the Post. A carpenter shop has
been established and is well equipped with carpentry tools made
available by this office. One prisoner from each company
is assigned to the shop to make furniture and various items of
equipment.
The canteens are well stocked
and are arranged in an orderly manner. There are large
sales of cigarettes and also of Palmolive sop and Coco Colas
with which the prisoners previously were familiar.
In one compound there is a
hobby shop where prisoners can paint and indulge in other forms
of art. Several have shown talent. No outside work
is arranged for inclement weather but thee are many duties in
various shops which can keep the prisoners occupied.
c.
Processing. United States enlisted personnel,
assigned as cooks for the prisoner of war companies, have been
relieved of these duties and are used as clerks to maintain
headquarters and company records and to complete processing.
The Commanding Officer considers the use of these extra
personnel as necessary in order to maintain records, including
finance forms, that will be adequate in the event of any inquiry
regarding prisoner of war funds in future years. A copy of
each of the forms used at the camp was given to Captain Jessie,
of this office, upon his recent visit there. |
Page last revised
08/30/20222