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Jean Pullen
 jeanpullenpe@comcast.net 

Seeking information
for social studies project
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Camp Forrest during World War II
 

Wed 4/30/2008 5:10 PM
FYI, here are some of the questions he asked my mom.  They would be similar for someone else… If you could answer any of these questions below, it would be very helpful.  Thanks in advance if anyone can help. 
  1. Could you first tell me a little bit about yourself, such as when you were born and where you grew up?
  2. Where were you when you heard about the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941?
  3. What kind of work did you do after the US became involved in World War II?
  4. I read that Camp Forrest officially became a POW camp on May 12, 1942. How you did you come to work for the POW camp?
  5. What did your parents think about you and your sister working at a POW camp?
  6. What about your brothers?  What were they doing during this time?
  7. From my research, I learned that Camp Forrest originally housed German and Italian internees (aliens who were rounded up and imprisoned when the war first broke out), but that in 1942 the internees were relocated and the camp was used exclusively for German and Italian POWs.  What kinds of people were housed at this camp when you were there?
  8. How were you able to get the job there?
  9. What did you do in your job at the POW camp?
  10. Do you remember any of the details of the interrogation records?
  11. What was your salary for your job?
  12. I read that everything was rationed at that time (fuel, food, clothing, rubber, typewriters, refrigerators, etc.) Where did you live, and how did you make ends meet with all of the shortages?
  13. I also read that ration stamps (coupons) were given to families based on size of family, ages, and income. Did you receive additional ration stamps because of your work at the POW camp?
  14. Did you wear your civilian clothes to work, or did you have a uniform?
  15. How did you get to work?  Did you have a car, or did you ride with someone?
  16. In general, how was your family affected by the war?
  17. Were parts of your job classified?
  18. Were you allowed to communicate with the prisoners?
  19. In my research on Camp Forrest, I learned that the prisoners slept in five-man huts.  Did the camps have any electricity, heat, running water, etc?
  20. Were the prisoners respectful to the people who worked at the camp?
  21. I read that by the end of the war, there were approximately 24,000 POWs under guard at Camp Forrest.    How many of them had jobs?
  22. I read that the POWs were used in outside work details, such as on farms.  Did you ever see them do any work outside of the camp?
  23. How were the POWs treated inside the camp?
  24. From research sources, I learned that the US Government created what was called an Intellectual Diversion Program, which was propaganda to train the POWs about various American cultural issues and change their views about the US.  Do you remember anything about whether the POWs had access to recreation?
  25. Speaking of fencing, from pictures of Camp Forrest on the internet, I could see a guard tower.  Were there other ways that POWs were confined to the camp?  In other words, how were they prevented from escaping?
  26. Were the POWs restrained with chains or handcuffs?
  27. Did any of the POWs stay in the United States after they were released?
  28. In doing research for this project, I read that the earliest recorded escape from a German POW camp was on November 5, 1942, when two prisoners escaped from the train that was transporting them from Cincinnati, Ohio to Camp Forrest.  Were there any attempted escapes at Camp Forrest while you worked there?
  29. I read that at another POW camp in Crossville, Tennessee, the POWs had better food than the Americans because the POWs were mostly officers who were allowed to bring their own chefs to the camp to cook for them.  What kinds of food did the POWs at Camp Forrest eat?
  30. Where did you eat?
  31. How did POWs communicate with the Americans since they probably spoke mostly German and Italian?
  32. How were you able to dictate the interrogations if you didn’t speak or understand German or Italian?
  33. So you really couldn’t be sure if the interrogator was accurately documenting the discussion.  Is this correct?
  34. How did the local people react to the camp being near their town?
  35. I remember reading that the population of Tullahoma before the war was about 4,500, and during the war it grew to 75,000.   What happened after the war?
  36. Did you ever listen to President Roosevelt’s “fireside chats” during the war, and what did you think about what he had to say?
  37. Did you ever buy any war (liberty) bonds during the war?
  38. I read that after the war was over in 1946, Camp Forrest was declared surplus property, and buildings were torn down.  What is on the site where Camp Forrest was located?