Picnic Honor's Chapel's Builders
Couple started restoration of the church constructed by Camp Atterbury POWs
by Jennifer Marmon Pruitt - correspondent - Edinburgh, Ind.

A modest wooden cross peeks above the tree line of a heavily wooded area of Camp Atterbury in southern Johnson County.  Rounding the corner, as the woods give way to a meadow, the small white chapel marked by the cross appears.

Out of 145 buildings constructed during World War II at the Edinburgh military facility to house or serve prisoners of war, the chapel is the only one still standing.

And it was the only one built by the captives, not the captors.

Italian war prisoners, desiring a place to worship, gathered building scraps and paint to build the historical structure known as the "Chapel in the Meadow" during the summer of 1943.

About 200 members of the Italian Heritage Society of Indiana gathered Sunday for an annual Mass and picnic at the chapel in honor of the Italian soldiers and their dedication to building their own house of worship.

The size of a typical bedroom, the chapel is decorated with hand-painted frescoes on the walls and ceilings.  With limited art supplies, the POWs mixed dyes from berries, flower petals and, according to Camp Atterbury legend, their own blood for the paintings.

Cherished by the prisoners, the chapel nearly had been forgotten until a New Whiteland family generated interest in restoring it.

Ed and Betty Suding were scouting Camp Atterbury for a suitable site for their 1987 family reunion when they came upon the chapel.

"We had read about it but never realized it was still there," said Betty Suding, who is blind.  "There were weeds all around it, but I knew it was beautiful.  Ed placed my hands where the alter used to be......I could have just broken down and cried."

Suding started writing letters to Atterbury officials hoping to find funding to restore the chapel.  She found support in Col. Jorg Stachel, who was then the post commander.

"The chapel had deteriorated badly.  Over the years hunters had been using it as a shelter," Stachel said.  "It was on the list to be torn down."

But so much of the World War II history at Camp Atterbury had been destroyed that Satchel was able to secure funding to restore the Italian chapel.

"This is exactly the was it was in the 1940s", Stachel said, gesturing to the restored frescoes.  "We could barely see the outlines of the paintings when we started (cleaning and repainting the frescoes).

Even though the chapel builders were imprisoned at Camp Atterbury, the Italian-American community around Indianapolis embraces it as part of its heritage.

"In some cases, the Italian POWs were treated so well, they did not want to go home when they were released," said Sol Petruzzi, who worked at Atterbury during World War II.  "They worked on farms around here and got to know the people well.  Some had it better here than at home."

Petruzzi of Indianapolis, who organizes the picnic for the Italian Heritage Society on Indiana, said attendance has grown every year as more people hear about the chapel and appreciate its historic value.

Now that it has been restored, the Sudings visit the chapel in the meadow each month to pray.

"I feel like when we come back here, it's like getting back to the basics," said Betty Suding, who was honored at the ceremony Sunday for her efforts in the restoration.  "This chapel is part of our life now."