I Found Another One!

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You can find just about anything along Route 66. That includes something that’s been a passion for me lately: former POW camps from World War II. Yes, I found another one! And it was right off of Route 66 in El Reno, Oklahoma. Not surprisingly, it was called Fort Reno. The fort was named for Major General Jesse Lee Reno, a hero of the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. Reno was killed in 1862, shortly after defeating General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate forces in Maryland. The fort was used for cavalry training. In fact, Black Jack, the “riderless horse” used in a number of military funerals — most famously, JFK’s — was “trained” at the fort. I use the term “trained” loosely, because the museum historian said he was untrainable. However, she said, his antics endeared him to the families of the fallen soldiers and gave them a moment of levity in their darkest time, so he became very popular. (He also participated in the funerals of presidents Eisenhower, Hoover, and LBJ.) Of course, I knew none of this. I was there because Fort Reno had been used as a POW camp in World War II. As with Camp Atterbury in Indiana, the chapel that the POWs built for worship is one of the only remaining structures from the World War II era. The historian said that, due to storm damage, the chapel is in bad condition and needs to be repaired; however, they are forced to raise money for that separate from the operating funds of the camp’s historic area. What a shame. According to their website, only one prisoner of war died while incarcerated at Fort Reno. However, the cemetery on the grounds has a number of POWs from other camps throughout Oklahoma interred there. The discovery of yet another site where a World War II POW camp once stood was a bonus during the drive along Route 66. PHOTOS: (Left) Museum photo of some of the POWs first arriving (Center) The chapel that the POWs built (Right) German uniform insignia