98:. Originally thought to be impossible to tunnel through, the hard clay of the surrounding area turned out to be conducive to tunneling as it softened greatly when wet. Over time, the escapees dug a tunnel 176 feet long, three feet high and half as wide, without being detected. Though the guards proved easy to get past, the vast distances and desert terrain were insurmountable, resulting in most returning to the camp within a few weeks. One escapee turned himself in on seeing the camp’s planned Christmas menu. Indeed, most of the escapees were aware that returning to Germany was nearly impossible and had “escaped” as more of a prank. This did not mean all had abandoned any hope of making it home, and a few of the men brought along boards they intended to fashion into a raft. This would then be used to float down the
63:-crew inmates, Camp Papago Park was very different from Axis POW camps, especially with regard to how prisoners were treated: Inmates were not required to work or study, though many chose to as a means of combating boredom (though mostly the latter, as there were only 700 volunteers for labor tasks). The camp had a theater where films were screened twice a week and the camp choir could practice. Much of this was discussed, along with anything else the prisoners who wrote
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They brought in this little crippled boy. He didn't know anyone who could play chess with him, and he wanted to know if we knew how to play. I told
Reinhard, in German, to let the kid win, because I thought we might win favor with our captors. And this kid didn't look like he had long to live, so why
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During the course of her research, Eppinga said she was most surprised to see how
Drechsler — who had provided German secrets to U.S. Navy authorities — was handled when he arrived to the camp. "Why the Americans didn’t take better care of him is what is amazing to me... They knew that he would be
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When two escapees were recaptured, subsequent events further illustrated differences between Axis and Allied POW operations: The two men dined with a local customs official at his home. Later nearby residents came to see the escapees first-hand after their story appeared in the news, as did a
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There was not much information to be found at first. Eppinga said she used a
Freedom of Information Act request to access court-martial papers, which she finally found in the National Archives. "I went to Washington, D.C., and actually looked at the archives and folders and got copies of the
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Eppinga said she first stumbled on the topic about two decades ago. "I was reading a military book and saw that there was a footnote about an execution at Papago Park," she said. "The more I started looking, the more involved I became in it. It's such a strange story."
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Seven decades later, Eppinga said she finds that the topic of what happened at Papago Park still brings mixed reactions. "There’s still feelings, if you bring it up, of what was wrong or right in the case."
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recognized by his compatriots in Papago Park. He only lived about seven hours once he got to Papago Park."
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She also spoke to members of the military, such as
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not let him beat the great captured war prisoners? He could tell his friends about it later.
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Death at Papago Park POW Camp: A Tragic Murder and
America's Last Mass Execution
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Death at Papago Park POW Camp: A Tragic Murder and
America's Last Mass Execution
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and subsequent executions of seven men implicated in the crime.
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World War II prisoner-of-war camps in the United States
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Papago Park - Phoenix Parks and
Recreation Department
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59:—the land of milk and honey—by its mostly
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136:Writer Jane Eppinga published (in 2017)
67:the camp's newspaper, chose to include.
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44:Papago Park Military Reservation
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872:New Mexico during World War II
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142:Werner Max Herschel Drechsler
138:Death at Papago Park POW Camp
131:Death at Papago Park POW Camp
790:Poston War Relocation Center
923:History of Phoenix, Arizona
785:Parker Dam Reception Center
697:Ground training and storage
608:Davis-Monthan Army Airfield
364:Arizona during World War II
173:Arizona during World War II
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152:court-martial," she said.
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26:(POW) facility located in
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30:in the eastern part of
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319:33.47070°N 111.94918°W
293:Website for the book,
259:Eppinga, Jane (2017).
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79:Entrance to the tunnel
48:Arizona National Guard
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498:Sidney Preston Osborn
263:. The History Press.
230:by Robert L. Pela in
221:“Flight From Phoenix”
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324:33.47070; -111.94918
857:Great Papago Escape
765:Catalina Honor Camp
749:Yuma Proving Ground
683:Yucca Army Airfield
418:Robert Taylor Jones
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85:Great Papago Escape
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428:Nobe Kawano
383:Thomas Claw
322: /
310:111°56′57″W
28:Papago Park
907:Categories
714:Camp Hyder
704:Camp Bouse
523:Miiko Taka
513:Reiko Sato
458:Pat Morita
307:33°28′15″N
189:References
104:Gila River
100:Salt River
816:Camp Pima
709:Camp Horn
586:Airfields
398:Ira Hayes
110:instead.
830:See also
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224:Archived
167:See also
122:—
40:officers
36:enlisted
891:Arizona
483:Ken Ota
102:to the
53:Called
32:Phoenix
371:People
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248:page 5
244:page 4
240:page 3
236:page 2
108:arroyo
71:Escape
61:U-boat
22:was a
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265:ISBN
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