Mississippi
Hidden History: Mississippi’s Nazi Prisoners of War
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PEARL RIVER COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) – View the second, digital-exclusive half of our two-part special below.
A discovered Nazi war medal, a Pearl River County prisoner of war camp, and a hidden history not many Mississippians know.
“When I found this thing, I didn’t have any idea what it was. I dug that thing out and I just- it was all corroded and covered in mud, so I just stuck it in my pocket. I got home and I put it under the sink and kind of scrubbed it a little bit and I was like… The first thing I saw was a swastika. And you don’t expect to see that, you know.”
Retired history teacher Jeremy Weir spends his free time searching for treasure, taking his metal detector out to forests and abandoned grounds across South Mississippi.
But one January day in the woods of Pearl River County, he found something he’d never expect- a Nazi war medal from World War II.
Weir researched the medal, as he loves to do with all his artifacts, and found it was issued during the early months of Germany and Italy’s invasion of North Africa.
“I’ve done a lot of research on it, of course,” Weir said. “And these were given to General Rommel’s forces in North Africa. Rommel was ‘the man’; he was the general for Hitler. But it was actually made by the Italians and given to the Germans.”
Featured on the medal is a swastika- the unmistakable symbol of Adolph Hitler’s Nazi Germany. On the other side, two gladiators fighting a crocodile, symbolizing Germany and Italy’s fight against England.
“They say that the significance of it was the gladiators were Germany and Italy and the crocodile was England, being the symbolic nature of it was… England being an island.. that’s where the crocodile came in,” Weir said.
But how did the medal, issued in North Africa so long ago, end up in South Mississippi?
Adding to the fascination of this find is where it was unearthed: just miles away from the World War II prisoner of war camp in Carriere, Mississippi: Hillcrest Farm.
This site was originally a dairy farm, until Nazi prisoners of war came to Mississippi in 1943. Silohs and remnants of buildings still stand, all these years later, a mark of what the property once was.
“I’ve taught Mississippi history many times, and just, we leave out the local history usually,” Weir said. “But having grown up locally, I knew about the history of the old POW camp here.”
But the little piece of Mississippi history isn’t common knowledge to most.
We spoke with a couple gentleman from Pearl River County, asking if it was surprising to learn, years ago, there were Germans in their own backyard.
“Yeah, very surprising,” said Peter Tims from Poplarville. “I had no idea they were anywhere around.”
Tims recalls his first and only run-in with the prisoners, who were wearing striped clothes and shopping in a local store, when he was just 15 years old.
“I encountered them in a store and I saw six or eight of them,” Tims said. “They were buying merchandise with whatever money they had. They were very congenial, talked, and there’s really about all I know about them.”
Jerry Mitchel, from Carriere, lived about a mile from Hillcrest Farm and would watch the prisoners ride on a school bus back and forth from Picayune to the camp.
“My father was friends with the bus driver. I begged him to let me ride the school bus. So, I got to ride it out to the prison camp where they were keeping them,” Mitchel said. “Of course, there were no problems. One guard on there is all. They were happy as they could be. Most of them wouldn’t want to go back to Germany or Italy. They liked it over here.”
But the Carriere camp wasn’t the only one in Mississippi. In fact, it was one of many across the state where German and Italian officers and soldiers remained under guard and worked for just pennies a day.
It all began 80 years ago, 7,000 miles away, in the desert sands of North Africa. In May 1943, 267,000 German and Italian soldiers were captured by Allied forces in the North African Campaign.
Three months later, 150,000 Axis prisoners of war were shipped to the United States. Camps began popping up all over the U.S., including in Mississippi, where four primary camps were established.
Among those camps is Camp Shelby, just south of Hattiesburg. Our curiosity peaked by the medal’s discovery, we decided to dig deeper into the history of Nazi prisoners in our state, taking a trip up to the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum at Camp Shelby to speak with a man who knows their history better than most.
“You would have several thousand POWs here at any given time,” said Tommy Lofton, Mississippi Armed Forces Museum Director, pointing toward the museum’s elaborate prisoners of war exhibit. “They would actually take Germans out in work parties and build sub-camps. In [Pearl River County], they had a bunch working in the timer industry.”
Lofton says many prisoners were offloaded at New York Harbor and brought directly to Camp Shelby.
“As we started moving into places like Normandy and France, you start seeing in the fall of ‘44, a number of prisoners here that are showing up that are new from the French campaigns in the west. We had prisoners here from all over the place.”
In September 1943, Nazi prisoners arrived by train to Camp Shelby where they were photographed, fingerprinted and assigned barracks.
But life as a prisoner of war in the U.S. was much different than the horrors that captured Allied soldiers experienced in Nazi and Japanese camps.
“They had it pretty good,” Lofton said. “The housing they had here, they could grow gardens in front of their barracks buildings. They had soccer teams, they had their own bands. You could have instruments provided by the camp. [They] built an amphitheater. They had their own canteen or PX where they could buy candy or sodas or beer, cigarrettes… other things.”
Lofton said prisoners would do physical labor in industries like timber and cotton, but they also built the lake at Paul B. Johnson State Park and completed other infrastructure projects around Camp Shelby.
“They were guarded all the time, but again were very instrumental to the success of the state’s economy during the 1940s,” Lofton said. “You know, it was an interesting experience to be able to have your enemy here literally in your own backyard, but also rely on them to help further your state and your economy.”
With many of the state’s rural workers enlisted in the war, farms struggled to find replacements. Nazi prisoners found themselves shipped out to the smaller sub-camps to keep Mississippi agriculture churning.
“It became a vital thing to keep timber, pulp wood and cotton industry- our state’s economy and agriculture economy- to have it thrive as much as possible,” Lofton said. “So we used German prisoners to do that.”
Lofton says not all prisoners in the state were “tried and true, hardcore party members or SS members.”
“In fact, a lot of the heavy political, SS soldiers were usually kind of ostracized by a lot of their fellow prisoners,” Lofton said. “A lot of the Germans and the ones we had here were just simple people. Grew up in farms, grew up in towns. Not everybody was born and raised to be hardcore soldiers. It’s kind of a unique mesh of personalities that you see come through here as prisoners.”
When Nazi Germany surrendered in May 1945, some 3,000 POWs were at Camp Shelby. By 1946, all were shipped back to Germany. But some of them came back to call Mississippi home.
“A lot of the Germans when they returned home, they found it either wasn’t the Germany they either believed in when they were fighting or the Germany they left behind, between getting bombed out or Russians and other folks coming in and tearing up territory,” Lofton said. “A lot of them realized it wasn’t so bad in places like Hattiesburg, Mississippi at Camp Shelby. So they came back to America to establish citizenship and become an American citizen.”
So what about the Nazi war medal found in Pearl River County? How did it get here? Is it possible the commendation was brought to Mississippi by a prisoner of war?
“Yes, more than likely,” Lofton said.
Lofton described how soldiers would keep regalia or pieces of home with them in a uniform or in a pocket. He says it wasn’t uncommon to find rings or other mementos at the camps, left by soldiers.
“It does make sense because it was people from the Afrika Korps that was here. And it was Germans and Italians,” Weir reflected on the thought of a POW bringing the medal to the camp.
Lofton says it’s very possible the medal was left behind by a prisoner of war who, like so many other captured soldiers, rebuked their Nazi affiliation to start a new life.
For curious explorers and local history experts like Weir and Lofton, how this World War II Nazi medal ended up in Mississippi only adds to the fascination.
“I’m a history buff so this is right up my alley. I love it,” Weir said. “We do a poor job at teaching history, especially local history… And our local history is rich, rich…”
If you yourself are a local history enthusiast and itching to learn more about the history of WWII prisoners of war in our state, stop by the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum at Camp Shelby or the Poplarville Historical Preservation Society, located in downtown Poplarville in Pearl River County.
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Mississippi
Mississippi State’s Loss Doesn’t Stop SEC from Owning Week Two in AP Top 25
![Mississippi State’s Loss Doesn’t Stop SEC from Owning Week Two in AP Top 25 Mississippi State’s Loss Doesn’t Stop SEC from Owning Week Two in AP Top 25](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2748,h_1545,x_411,y_0/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/cowbell_corner/01j79mrpwsvvqcvrr5dh.jpg)
Outside of Mississippi State, Arkansas and Auburn, the SEC had a very successful Week Two of the college football season. The latest AP Top 25 poll reflects the strength of the SEC with 6 of the top 7 spots belonging to SEC teams.
Here’s a recap of how the ranked SEC teams fared in the second full week of the college football season:
Click here for a recap of the unranked SEC teams.
With the exception of giving up three points, this was probably exactly how Georgia expected this game to go. Carson Beck threw five touchdowns and the defense held Tennessee Tech to less than 150 yards of total offense. Anything less would be a surprise.
More than 100,000 people saw Texas come into Ann Arbor, Mich. and leave with a huge win. The Longhorns looked like the better team from the first drive of the game where they easily marched down the field. That Oct. 19 game in Austin against Georgia is looking better and better.
It was a lot closer than Alabama would’ve liked, but it’s a win that will fend off the “Nick Saban is gone, we’re doomed” crowd. At the same time, though, there were some things that crowd could point to at a later time.
Two games against inferior competition and Ole Miss has outscored its opponents 129-3. They’ll take a slight step up in competition next week against Wake Forest, but the Rebels are still about a month away from playing a team that will truly test them.
Missouri’s schedule just took an unexpected bump in its level of difficulty with No. 24 Boston College joining the top 25. Bill O’Brien is brilliant at game planning and calling plays (not so much with making trades, but that hasn’t reached the college ranks yet). Missouri needs to be on upset alert (and ready to stop the run).
This happens every year. Tennessee looks really good to start the season and by the end Volunteer fans are saying next year is their year. But maybe this year is their year with the way Nico Iamaleava has been playing.
Of the two SEC newcomers, Texas is getting most of the attention which makes sense based on the current teams. But folks, don’t sleep on the Sooners. They ruined many of my own childhood memories growing up in Texas. This week’s way-too close game doesn’t help that argument, but think long term.
LSU was one of three SEC teams to play FCS schools after playing top 25 teams last week. The Tigers and Texas A&M both lost, while Georgia won. So, it’s not surprising to see each of them play FCS teams and neither were any of the results.
SEC Week 2 Power Rankings: Which Teams Are Contenders or Pretenders?
WATCH: Mississippi State’s Bowl Hopes Take a Hit with Arizona State Defeat
Mississippi State Crumbles in the Trenches: What Went Wrong Against Arizona State?
Mississippi
Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo ‘disrespected’ by Mississippi State football’s defensive game plan
![Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo ‘disrespected’ by Mississippi State football’s defensive game plan Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo ‘disrespected’ by Mississippi State football’s defensive game plan](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/09/08/PKNS/75130225007-usatsi-24184754.jpg?auto=webp&crop=4080,2296,x0,y294&format=pjpg&width=1200)
Cam Skattebo slammed Mississippi State on the football field on Saturday night and also took another jab afterward in his postgame press conference.
The Arizona State running back, following a 30-23 Sun Devils win at Mountain America Stadium, took exception to MSU only utilizing three defenders on the line of scrimmage. The results were damning.
Arizona State (2-0) rushed for 346 yards. It was the most allowed by Mississippi State (1-1) in a game since Arkansas in 2016. Skattebo’s 262 rushing yards on 33 carries were the second-most in ASU history.
“They couldn’t stop us in that three-down front,” Skattebo said when asked what made ASU’s run game successful. “Honestly, we all felt disrespected with them in a three-down front. You can’t come in here and put five guys in the box and expect to stop six. I don’t know. We took that a little disrespectful, and we rushed for what over 300 yards? Something around there. It is what it is.”
Skattebo, a 5-foot-11, 215-pound junior, also led Arizona State with 35 receiving yards on three catches.
“I knew these dudes were big and heavy,” he said. “We knew going into the game they weren’t as physical as most other teams but they’re heavy. So when they hit you, it hurts, no matter how hard they’re coming — 300 pounds at 10 miles per hour or 16 miles per hour hurts the same. I just kept my feet moving.”
Mississippi State trailed 30-3 in the third quarter but scored 20 unanswered points to cut the score to 30-23 with 5:27 to play. The Bulldogs never touched the ball again, with the Sun Devils running out the clock on 12 plays.
Skattebo had a game-sealing 39-yard rush that allowed ASU to kneel down.
“Until the end, we had our ups and downs there, but that was fun,” he said. “You can ask these guys up front, bullying dudes, grown men that are 300 pounds, that’s fun to us. That’s fun to the front-five, the front-seven and the running back. The quarterback probably hates it. He probably likes watching, but he didn’t complain one time the whole game.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Mississippi
Why Mississippi State football loss to Arizona State revealed a strong Jeff Lebby culture
![Why Mississippi State football loss to Arizona State revealed a strong Jeff Lebby culture Why Mississippi State football loss to Arizona State revealed a strong Jeff Lebby culture](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/09/08/PKNS/75130223007-usatsi-24184733.jpg?auto=webp&crop=3382,1904,x0,y239&format=pjpg&width=1200)
It was 11:10 p.m. Saturday in Starkville when Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt barreled into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game.
At that point, it would’ve been fair for Mississippi State football fans to call it a night. The Bulldogs (1-1) trailed 27-3 at ASU in the final minute of the second quarter. They were dominated in just about every statistical category. New coach Jeff Lebby looked like he was headed toward his first loss, and an embarrassing one.
And even if you gave the second half a chance, eyes just a crack open, that wasn’t encouraging either. Arizona State (2-0) took the opening drive of the third quarter for a field goal while eating 8 minutes, 27 seconds of game time. That just about decided the game before Mississippi State touched the ball in the second half.
Wrong.
Instead, MSU scored touchdowns on three of its next four drives and cut the score to 30-23 with 5:27 to play. The defense, which was torched for 346 rushing yards, needed one more stop to let the offense try to tie it. It would’ve been the largest comeback in program history.
Mississippi State’s path to a bowl game seems murkier than it was a week ago. But in the long-term, there’s still encouragement after the 30-23 loss.
“Our guys battled in an incredible way in the second half, and we’re going to hold on to that,” Lebby said in his postgame radio interview. “We’re going to find ways to get back in the building, get back to work and be able to walk into Davis Wade (Stadium) with a ton of confidence and ready to go win a football game.”
The encouragement from Mississippi State’s comeback effort
Lebby said after beating Eastern Kentucky 56-7 in Week 1 that there is an abundance of teachable moments in wins, just like losses.
There is plenty to point to after losing to Arizona State.
Mississippi State came out incredibly flat. The Sun Devils scored on their first five possessions. The MSU offense had one field goal, two punts, a fumble returned for a touchdown and a turnover-on-downs in the first half. MSU had -13 rushing yards in the first half.
There were concerns entering the game about the travel distance, late kickoff and high temperature. But let’s be real, Mississippi State was playing so poorly at the start that it was hard to judge if those were factors.
“I got to do a better job getting these guys ready to go play out of the gate,” Lebby said. “I thought our energy, our effort and our emotion was really good, but then we did not play clean there in the first quarter, so that part was frustrating.”
The Bulldogs outscored the Sun Devils 20-0 in the final quarter and a half. It was a surprise. Arizona State was rolling. Mississippi State was not.
MORE: Introducing Sam Sklar, the Clarion Ledger’s new Mississippi State beat reporter
For Lebby, a first-time head coach at any level, let it be a learning moment for him. It was his first time getting pinned in a corner. The Bulldogs adjusted correctly in the second half like good coaches do.
The rushing offense and defense both need to improve. Badly. Quarterback Blake Shapen has been impressive in his first two Mississippi State games and the wide receiver room is deep and talented as ever, but they can’t be the only answer.
That’s just for this season.
Mississippi State has its first tally in the loss column. But it isn’t a strike against Lebby leading the future of the program.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
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