A Slice of Stateside War Time Life

apis mellifera · 10-14-2014, 09:44 PM

Last Christmas I made a post about a very used fighting knife that my Grandfather carried through Japan and back and a German bayonet... and a German pistol. The thread is here: http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthread.php?t=31864

In that thread I talked a little about German POWs that our dear friend and neighbor, Mr. Dahmer, hired through the War Dept. Many years before he died, Mr. D. sold his farm to my Dad with right of survivorship. We have been slowly cleaning and remodeling the mid/late 1800s farmhouse and my wife and I, with our children, had a garden there over the summer. A few weeks ago when we finished digging the potatoes, I was helping Dad move some furniture and happened upon an old suitcase. Inside was just about every Christmas and Birthday card Mr. D. ever received and several very interesting items:

Here is a page from his diary. On Sept 15, 1945 Mr. D. went on a picnic and stopped in White Sulphur Springs (WSS), WV and "signed up for Germans to cut corn".

I'm not sure if POWs were available to any farmer, any place in the US that had a POW camp nearby or if they were available only to farmers that were food suppliers to the War Dept. Mr. D. was 28 at the time and was not drafted because he was a food supplier. His brother Stanley went to the Navy and brother Eugene went to Italy via the Army.

The letter from the War Dept.

The Contract

and what he did with the Germans:

I've never seen or even heard of anything like these documents and thought some of you might enjoy them.

*I know some of you don't like Photobucket, but I couldn't get the photos to attach.

10-14-2014, 09:44 PM	#1
apis mellifera User Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: WV Posts: 149 Thanks: 3 Thanked 24 Times in 8 Posts	A Slice of Stateside War Time Life Last Christmas I made a post about a very used fighting knife that my Grandfather carried through Japan and back and a German bayonet... and a German pistol. The thread is here: http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthread.php?t=31864 In that thread I talked a little about German POWs that our dear friend and neighbor, Mr. Dahmer, hired through the War Dept. Many years before he died, Mr. D. sold his farm to my Dad with right of survivorship. We have been slowly cleaning and remodeling the mid/late 1800s farmhouse and my wife and I, with our children, had a garden there over the summer. A few weeks ago when we finished digging the potatoes, I was helping Dad move some furniture and happened upon an old suitcase. Inside was just about every Christmas and Birthday card Mr. D. ever received and several very interesting items: Here is a page from his diary. On Sept 15, 1945 Mr. D. went on a picnic and stopped in White Sulphur Springs (WSS), WV and "signed up for Germans to cut corn". I'm not sure if POWs were available to any farmer, any place in the US that had a POW camp nearby or if they were available only to farmers that were food suppliers to the War Dept. Mr. D. was 28 at the time and was not drafted because he was a food supplier. His brother Stanley went to the Navy and brother Eugene went to Italy via the Army. The letter from the War Dept. The Contract and what he did with the Germans: I've never seen or even heard of anything like these documents and thought some of you might enjoy them. *I know some of you don't like Photobucket, but I couldn't get the photos to attach.