C'EST VRAI: Acadiana housed scores of POWs
Don Boudreaux of Lafayette has connected some dots between our recent discussions about the so-called coffin tree alongside the highway near Jeanerette and about prisoner-of-war camps in South Louisiana.
"There was one of those German war prisoner camps directly across the highway from that coffin tree," he wrote. "It had large pilings surrounding it and guard towers on the corners. When you passed by ... on the highway, you could see the guards in the towers and get a glimpse of the prisoners walking around behind the fence. Remains of the pilings from the camp were visible until just a few years ago."
Several folks also have called to remind me that there was a big camp near St. Martinville in what is now the Evangeline park and a Web listing I found of World War II facilities in Louisiana lists POW camps at Bell City, Eunice, Gueydan, Franklin, Houma, Jeanerette, Jennings, Kaplan, Melville, New Iberia, Rayne, St. Martinville and Youngsville, among others.
There was also a blimp base at Houma, built as part of a plan to patrol the Gulf for enemy submarines. The squadron, ZP 22, that flew out of Houma called itself the "Bayou Bombers" and named airships after Jean Lafitte and his compadres, Nez Coupe and Dominque You.
C.J. Christ, who's the expert on submarines in the Gulf, says the first POWs arrived in July 1943 and that eventually more than 20,000 prisoners of war were distributed throughout Louisiana. Except for 3,000 Italian POWs at Camp Plauche near New Orleans, all of the prisoners were Germans, mostly from Rommel's famous Afrika Corps.
The list also notes that Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower headquartered at least part of the time in Eunice during the Louisiana maneuvers of August and September 1941 that were a warm-up for the war.
C'est Vrai means "it's true." Read senior writer Jim Bradshaw's observations on Acadiana's history and people each weekday at theadvertiser.com. Reach him at 289-6315 or jbradshaw@theadvertiser.com.
Jim Bradshaw
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