Fort Hunt

[Marc Garlasco]

All,

Here is a fantastic old article I came upon again about a German u-boot captain and how German POWs were treated in the US. It is a fabulous read, well worth the time.

http://www.aiipowmia.com/inter21/in042601.html

[Jean-Loup]

Interesting read!
JL

[MJC]

Ft. Hunt

Thanks for the story. I grew up about one mile away from Ft. Hunt and I spent a large part of my youth running around the battlements and scouring the area with a metal detector. I still live just a few miles away.

I am quite familiar with the history of the area, including the darker aspects of the POW camp, and one thing has always surprised me. So many of my friends and neighbors, in my youth and today, show so little interest in what has transpired over the years on the very land that their tract homes now occupy.

I am the first to admit that my interest in history is much greater than the average person, but I am still astounded of the ignorance, and perhaps avoidance, of local history. One of my neighbors professed in all sincerity not to know that there was a camp at Ft. Hunt, despite the visable enclosures, men in P/W marked fatigues, literally across the one lane dirt road from his home in the '40's.

Sadly, the fort is now part of the National Park System to Geo. Washington's Mt. Vernon and it has fallen into considerable disrepair. It's most common visitors bombard the neighborhood with rap music, or visit the park to meet other men in the bathrooms. I have a hard time comprehending how a US vet views their sacrifice in light of the current beneficiaries of that sacrifice.

Mike