 116th General Hospital information and photo needed. Send Information by clicking: |
| The other Camp Ellis Newspaper: I finally found information on the POW Newspaper published at Camp Emmanuel. It was called "Die Lagerstimme". An issue is currently listed for sale here: and NO, I won't be purchasing it. |
| I was in the original cadre sent to Camp Ellis to open the station hospital. That was in April 1943. We were the first Army personnel at the base and opened the station hospital. The camp was still being built. I was later sent to Surgical School at Ft. Benjamin Harrison, Ind. While there I was assigned to the 121st General Hosp and returned to Camp Ellis just a couple of weeks before we were shipped to Camp Kilmer and on to England on the Queen Mary. I was with the 121st until we finally were in Bremen, Ger. I was sent home and was released from the Army in April 1946. While in England I worked in surgery and central supply. Later, in Bremen, I was the Personal Sgt. I was later re-called to active duty (Jun 1948) and spent 3 years at the University of Illinois Medical School training in tropical medicine. I made the Army my career, served with the Army Attache Office in India, the MAAG unit in Cambodia, three years liaison duty with the Navy Hosp in Boston then with the US Army Hqs in Heidelberg, Ger. Last assignment was as the senior enlisted advisor to the Army reserve units in New Mexico and West Texas. Retired 1 Jun 1966. J.E. Inhoff e-mail address einhoff@viclink.com |
Subject: looking for anyone that served in 371 or 1301
my husband Glen Bunting was stationed at camp ellis in 1943 and was with the 371 engr. company A. he was sent overseas and was in Germandy and France. he got shell shock and has had trouble with his ears since. we are trying to find someone that was with him at that time so that he can get compensation.. please contact us if you hear of someone. betty3@tds.net or ph. 608-966-1226. thank you very much. Mrs. Glen Bunting |
| Does anyone have any information about the Camp Ellis telephone switchboard? |
| Hi , I served at Camp Ellis from May 1943 to April 1944 . I would like to hear from anyone who served at that time espically anyone from the 371st Engr. Const Bn H/S Company . It;s been a long time ago buit I have fond memories of that place and made a lot of good friends. Sure would like to hear from any one from that time Joe Joeeckrothsr@aol.com |
I was transferred to the 121st General Hospital in May, 1944. The 121st had been organized earlier in the year. After the unit was completely staffed, we were sent to Camp Kilmer, N.J. and were there about 1 week before boarding the S.S. Queen Mary and sailed from New York Harbor on July 23, 1944, arriving in Gurock, Scotland. From there we traveled by train to near Yeovil, Somerset, England, and were there until about June, 1945 and then moved to Germany. I have searched several times and have not found the 121st as having served or trained at Camp Ellis.
Earl Kerker . Elkerk@mchsi.com
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I am doing an Oral History Project for Carbondale IL Preservation Commission . Last week I interviewed a childhood friend of mine who spoke of something that ties in with German WWII POW's in IL.
Bill lived 3 blocks west of the ICRR in a lovely old residental area. He remembers as a tiny boy (nee 1938) seeing POW's being marching up Monroe Street from the train station, down two blocks to a parallel street, Walnut, and back to the train. They wore fatiques with POW emblazoned on them. He was scared to death and remembers that he literally hid behind his mother's skirts. He later learned that they WERE Germans, being "exercised on a "long train trip" and maybe from their Air Force???
I think some folks who heard his story were skeptical, but my husband assured me there WERE camps in Illinois. Yesterday I found the website that led me to YOURS! I am jubiliant. His little-boy memory is likely
very accurate. NOW! Should we assume them were coming UP from New Orleans or heading south? We would love to know where they were coming from and going to.
I will take time to study all of these sites in more detail, but just could not resist sharing this little bit of oral history with you.
day1@shawneelink.net |
I served in Camp Ellis from April 1943 till September of 45 then shipped to Milwaukee for 6 months. Was the shop maintenance mechanic for most of the sewing operations - had German prisoners to supervise and later in Milwaukee had general prisoners to supervise - serving 3 years and more for various offences. That was the worst part of my 3 years in the service - riots, beating , stabbings, escape attempts etc.
The Germans were happy to be out of the war - they played soccer on Sundays like it was the world championships.
Was a buck sergeant.
Thanks for the photos - sure bring out memories.
Sam Poulos
grpasp@aol.com |
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I am the son of an employee of Camp Ellis. My Father, Clarence Potter
ran the C& E Shoe repair facility at Camp Ellis from 42 -45. He worked
50 German Prisoners, one who was the interpreter, Erwin Pichelmayer, of
Austria. I am still in contact with him by now E mail. I spent many days
with my father there at Ellis, both at the shop and ate at the NCO club.
I used to play in the C & E warehouse by the rail line. It was fun
climbing on the piles of clothes and other items there in the warehouse.
I also loved to watch the women in the C & E clothing repair run the
sewing machines. In WW2 when you got a hole in your boots or shoes you
didn't just go and pick up a new pair but you would take them to the quartermaster
and turn in the damaged or worn one's and they would give you a replacement
of repaired one's. The prisoners worked real well for my father after
first they found there were some Nazi's who were trying to control the
others and disrupt the program, but that was short lived when the others
turned them in and got them out of the program. In the 1st or 2nd spring
that we were there some of them got permission to put in a small flower
garden. They lined a bed just outside of the building with rocks and worked
up the ground and planted the flowers. When the grew up and bloomed they
turned out to be a swastika design so was necessary to redo the arrangement
of the flowers. John Potter
Gun Barrel City, Texas Cclegmaker@aol.com
Thanks to you I have found a link to Camp
Ellis and, hopefully, obtain some information about the 77th Field Hospital. I did locate them on Google under W.W.II hospitals but that is all.
The 77th Field hospital was formed at Camp
Ellis during the summer of 1944. I have a picture of the outfit on "Bivouac"
dated October 1944 at Camp Ellis. It was taken a week or two before the
unit left for Fort Bragg and was under Maj. H. Mentz's command.
The 77th was eventually sent to England and then
on to France. While in France we were told that we were at Camp
Lucky Strike. However, from the information that I have recently obtained,
this cannot be so. FRED1895@aol.com
While in France we processed and gave immediate
medical attention to many released prisoners of war before sending them
back to larger and better equipped hospitals. Perhaps, this may
be a connection to Camp Lucky Strike.
Received this request - if anyone fits and has interest we have included
contact information. Whether you are interested in Liz's proposal or not,
please help us update our then and now pages by sending us
the information.
Hello - I'm the Associate Producer for a new Home & Garden TV show
about homes converted from other structures. I would be very interested
in making contact with any homeowners who converted homes out of buildings
from Camp Ellis. My contact information is below. The show is called Building
Character and here is the website -
Sincerely,
Liz Lovern, Associate Producer
Producers of HGTV's
Building Character
Direct # (202) 266-8139 Fax # (202) 266-8054
NAHB Production Group
1201 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20005 |
| The story of a young girl
in Table Grove |
| I would like to obtain information about the two German POWs who escapedfrom Camp Ellis. |
| We have had questions about the Dickson Mounds exhibit on Camp Ellis -
Does anyone know what happened to the material? |
| If you would like to help any of these individuals,r are interested in
expanding this site by sending information or would like a page for your
unit, email the webmaster. |
| The Mayo Clinic website has been recently updated.
Click here. |
| Good morning: One of my cousins, Ronald , purchased a building
from Camp Ellis, which he made into a home. He told me it was an officers
club building. We bought the house from him in 1965. This past week we started
redoing the electrical wiring. When the old fuse box was taken off the basement
wall and the board that it was mounted to was turned around, there was a
sign painted on the board. It was Marauders Den. Do you know if this came
from Camp Ellis? I feel like it probably did but would like to know for
sure. Would appreciate any help you can give me. Thank you. Nola |
I am trying to find anyone who served at Camp Ellis - particularly
the motor pool from 1943 to 1944. Any suggestions?
Thanks.
Charles |
| Hello, My father was stationed at Camp Ellis in 1943-44 and
I spent a summer there when I was in second grade. My mother and I lived
with a farm family named Chenowith near Table Grove. We were from a small
town in north Alabama. I am interested in returning to the area and revisiting
the site in the near future. I would also like to see if that family is
still in the area. Can you help? |
My Uncle Robert Isaac was in World War 1. He was born Table
Grove, Illinois and died in Ipava, Illinois. After the war he worked as
a Carpenter at Camp Ellis. How would I find out if he also trained in the
Army at Camp Ellis? I am trying to find genealogy info on my Mother's family.
She was always curious about her family. After marrying my father she lost
contact with her family. She is 86 last October. She is the one who told
me that her Dad's brother worked at Camp Ellis for several years.
Thank you for your time and any help that you may give. Jim |
| I am doing a large paper on Camp Ellis. I was wondering if
you could help direct me to any sources that could help me (Books, letters,
anything). If you could email me back I would appreciate it. Thank you,
Bridget |
| Greetings. My name is SFC Gerald . I am the First Sergeant for the 85TH
Medical Detachment CSC. We are a Combat Stress Control Unit. I am trying
to dig up some of the early history of my unit. My unit was constituted
at Camp Ellis on 10 Dec 1943 as the 85TH Composite Unit. I am trying to
get any and all information I can. I will attach what I have for you to
see. We are really looking for the unit crest if it can be found and the
original unit motto if possible. Thanks for your time and enjoy your holidays.
<<85th History.ppt>>
Gerald F. Jr SFC, USA Detachment First Sergeant 85TH Medical Detachment
CSC' |
| I have very much enjoyed your pages and especially the camp ellis portion.
You have done a splendid job. And I have made a link on my page to yours.
I have a Mayo Clinic (Galesburg, IL) website tribute. Please look at it
here. (I HAVE A LOT MORE WORK TO DO) http://www.geocities.com/readyreliable/
I recently drove around the old Ellis site and thanks to your information
never got lost :) As you see below my Dog Oskar enjoyed a trip to Ellis
(Water Tower in Background) Sincerely, Loren Peterson Galesburg, IL |
| The average small unit had neither the personnel, the physical equipment,
nor, if training and duties were to be accomplished, the time to engage
in so extensive a program. Yet, where any significant part of such a program
wasput into operation, beneficial results were obtained. One quartermaster
service company, described as the "worst" unit in its service
command, "which set fire to the previous Company Commander's Quarters,
trying to burn him while he was asleep," and in which an enlisted man,
a candidate for discharge under Section VIII procedures, had struck a company
officer in the face with his fist, was hardly a promising candidate for
such a program. High absence without leave and venereal disease rates, accompanied
by high courts-martial rates, were the rule of this company. The situation
was made worse, if not originally precipitated, by the undefined functions
of the unit. Activated in January, it had been used more or less as a casual
company up to the end of June 1944. Its seventeen-week training program
did not begin until then. It had had a large turnover of personnel, including
the disciplinary cast-oils of "all the other Quartermaster Companies"
at its training center. After the appointment of a new company commander
and the transfer of new noncommissioned officers to the company, matters
improved. The downward trend in morale and discipline, constant since activation,
was stemmed without resource to great emphasis on physical facilities for
recreation and entertainment. Simply through attention to the purposes of
training, the company improved remarkably. By the time of its technical
training period, consisting of on the job operations at the Lincoln Ordnance
Depot in Springfield, Illinois, the commander of the Quartermaster Training
Section at Camp Ellis, its training station, reported that the unit could
and would function successfully. Upon departure from its three weeks of
training at Lincoln Depot, it received a letter of commendation from the
depot commander which spoke highly of "the splendid performance of
work and the excellent discipline" of this formerly troubled unit Link |
| Again, housing for Negroes had to be located so as to carry out the principle
of segregation by units. This required an extension of segregation into
the allotment of housing. The main portion of a camp, often constructed
in a huge arc with parade grounds and headquarters near the center and hospital
wards and warehouses at either end, was allotted to divisional and attached
units or to other large units assigned to the camp. Off at a tangent from
the main sweep of camp buildings, a regimental or smaller area was constructed
for Negro troops. All Negro units assigned to the post had to be fitted
into this or similar blocks of housing. Initially these areas, as at Fort
Dix, New Jersey, and Fort Devens, Massachusetts, were at a considerable
distance from the main camp area. Later construction filled in the intervening
spaces, usually with warehouses, stockades, and motor parks rather than
with barracks. Usually the Negro areas remained distinct and separate, though
in some of the newer camps, such as Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky, and Camp
Ellis, Illinois, they were merely separated from identical white quarters
by a parade ground or a fire break. The Negro area came to be known as such;
often it was so shown on camp layouts. It was, essentially, a separate camp
adjoining the major portion of the post. It was usually provided with its
own branch exchange, its own recreation hall, and, later, its own motion
picture house, its own chapel, and, if the area were large enough, its own
service club and guest house. . Link |
