Not on.

I said we are invaded by.

Yeah.

Yeah, and a lot of soul bombs.

Yeah.

I mean, during World War Two, this site was one of many pow w camps on United States soil.

Camp Rushden.

Between 1943 and 1946, Camp Rustin held over 4000 German prisoners of war.

Included were the elite North Africa Corps, Luftwaffe and the captured crew from two you both submarines.

This is their story told in detail for the first time in over 60 years.

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Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay.

I know I did.

Up.

At the outbreak of the war in Europe on August 31st, 1939, with a massive and quick attack known as the blitzkrieg against Poland.

Germany's fury began to sweep across Europe in June 1940.

Hitler turned his sights against England.

In a response known as the Lend Lease Act of 1940, the United States government began supplying Great Britain weapons of war, not troops, to help defend England against Germany's Third Reich.

The German government consequently discounted diplomatic relations with the U.S.

and declared war against the United States that same year.

By mid 1942, the United States was fully involved in the war, 1943.

Virtually all of Europe is under the control of Germany's Nazi regime, seeking world domination.

Hitler moves forces into North Africa, where Field Marshal Erwin Rommel scores early victories ascending to a British plan to retake North Africa as a prelude to the invasion of the European mainland.

The allies under the command of General Montgomery attacked Rommel's elite North Africa core at El Alamein in the country of Tunisia.

Despite the Germans combat experience and Rommel's military genius, dwindling supplies and troops ultimately led to victory for allied forces and the capture of hundreds of thousands of German and Italian soldiers.

The war was brought close to home for many Americans by the establishment of prisoner of war camps across the United States.

The capture of several hundred thousand German troops complicated an already critical shortage of prison space in England.

Britain urged the United States to take on the burden, and the war department reluctantly agreed.

An extensive building campaign resulted in POW camps in 46 of the 48 states.

They would eventually hold nearly 400000 people Ws or Pwo, as they were called in.

After capture, all prisoners entered the United States through points of embarkation in New York and Virginia.

From these points, P-o Ws were processed and distributed to one of the main camps or smaller branch camps.

Most camps were located in the south or southwest, far from critical war industries.

The BMW cams were generally segregated by branch of service rank or political affiliation.

PEO Ws, identified as hardcore Nazis, were held separately from other populations.

Camp Clinton, Mississippi held nearly 40 generals and three admirals during the war.

Officers and enlisted men were divided into separate compounds.

Some camps contained predominantly Africa core loot wafa army or naval personnel.

Most of the camps were designated as extensions of existing military bases.

But in Louisiana, after scouting locations in several parishes, a site outside of a small north Louisiana town was chosen for a new internment facility.

Camp Rustin.

Rustin had contributed a chair of young men to the Armed Services.

Some leaving family and farm for the first time.

Blue Star banners adorned windows and victory gardens filled backyards.

The local college, Louisiana Tech, was the site of a Navy V12 program for training young naval and Marine officers.

Patriotic fervor was high.

Perhaps the most visible change to the community was the erection of the P'o camp in a frenzy of construction.

Extended over 750 acres.

The camp was built in accordance with layout plans, which had been standardized by the Department of War.

Since the camp was literally carved out of the piney woods, a complete water and sewer system had to be laid.

Three wells were dug to provide water and a large water tower was constructed.

The first inhabitants of Camp Ruston were not enemy prisoners, but American women due to the initial slow influx of captured soldiers.

The facility first served as a basic training base for the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, or WASC.

The camp was provided under the condition that corps members would move out on 30 days notice if needed for BWC.

In April 1943, the first 500 recruits arrived at Camp Rollston to form the forty second Women's Army Auxiliary Corps Regiment.

In many aspects, the training was similar to that received by combat soldiers.

The basic training course included infantry drill, physical training, military customs and courtesies.

Defense against chemical attack and regulations.

Days were filled with a detailed schedule of drills, calisthenics and class.

Some recruits receive specialized training in motor transport to become drivers of jeeps and trucks and make minor repairs to military vehicles.

Although the training operation was large, it was short lived in three and a half months.

Over 2000 WASC recruits received basic training.

By July, the wax were gone with prisoners on the way.

On August 14th, 1943, 300 enlisted men from Rommel's elite Africa, Gore arrived to become Camp Rustin's first internees.

German.

Coming to rest.

That's absurd.

There are enemy.

I do have grandchildren, you know.

I think all right, Mr.

Roosevelt, and give him a piece of my mind.

The flow of prisoners continued and by October reached a peak population of four thousand three hundred fifteen men, including 181 officers, all of whom were Africa war veterans.

Over the next two years, troops from other Army units and the Lupoi would be added.

The camp's three original compounds grew fall, resulting in the addition of a fourth compound for officers only in the far northwest section of the camp.

The camp brought together the most remarkable mixture of nationalities ever assembled in one place in the history of the state of Louisiana.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Mayor.

Major, do you speak English?

Yeah.

All we want is the name and rank of each man.

We don't need any other information.

Do you understand?

Yeah.

While Germans made up most of the prisoner complement, many nationalities were represented.

Italians, Poles, Russians, Yugoslavians, Spaniards, Hungarians, Czechs, Vichy, French, Austrians, Dutch, Danish and Mongolians.

Even American nationals were found among the prisoner population.

Too many peo ws the camp was a life of near luxury.

One Luftwaffe, a fighter pilot, said it was a tough camp, but by the German standards, it was still like a vacation.

We had good food.

Just the standard issue, American food as prescribed by the Geneva Convention.

The professional cooks that we had among the prisoners made an excellent dinner out of it in quote.

It was definitely a nicer bullet than the scorching heat of the North Africa desert.

Or the chilling winters of Europe.

Sports and physical activity were serious pastimes among the prisoners.

A large athletic field permitted soccer.

The camp's most popular sport.

Sports allowed interaction between the camps Captive's and its guards.

These activities indicated an amicable, if not congenial relationship between the prisoners and their captors.

Academic pursuits were also popular among the prisoners, American staff and qualified prisoners taught classes that included chemistry, geography, literature, mathematics and political theory .

Some of the prisoners passed the time creating intricate crafts in front of many barracks where miniature models created of rocks, cement and mud in front of one building in the Africa core compound was a mock up of a sports complex, about 10 feet squared.

Not all the prisoners at Camp Rolleston were career soldiers.

Many were professionals who found themselves in the military in a time of war.

Their ranks included professional painters and other artisans, musicians, physicians and university professors.

Music was an important aspect of camp life.

The prisoners had their own orchestra.

Radio station KW, H and Shreveport even broadcast a musical production of the Russian piano Ws, consisting of a medley of waltzes, foxtrots and jazz songs.

By practicing their trades at Camp Rustum, these citizen soldiers help their fellow inmates through the tedious days behind the barbed wire.

Half a world from home, but prison camp life was not a complete life of leisure.

Chores around the compound were mandatory.

The camp was kept immaculately clean with some attempts at landscaping.

Enlisted prisoners worked in maintenance shops.

The guards, metall, the hospital and laundry.

Many prisoners were loaned out to local farmers, cutting timber and tending crops.

The boat was found picking cotton to be brutal work.

Work details were frequently sent out to other government facilities, such as Barksdale Army Airfield.

Stories abound about the sense of camaraderie that apparently existed between some guards and prisoners.

Each compound of the camp was serviced by a canteen where prisoners could buy toiletries and other items by a meal.

For instance, a carton of cigarets was two dollars in those days, and they would make.

But if I had like twenty seven dollars a month for a pretty rich guy or an officer Luten and started off at twenty five dollars over the Red Cross, you know, I mean, I would only get paid.

But if I walk every day for eight hours of work picking cotton or something, you get 80 cents.

A staff of prisoners supervised by the camp's post exchange officer operated the canteen's among the most commonly sold items were pens, pencils, notebooks, magazines , newspapers, paperback books, tobacco products and playing cards.

Until mid 1945, a number of food and refreshment items were available for purchase by the prisoners.

In the mess halls, prisoners eight, as well as their keepers, possibly even better, since the prisoners at Ruston had some excellent cooks among their numbers.

Some foodstuffs in short supply among the kitchen populace could be found in the camp's kitchens across the nation, however, public pressure was brought to alter prisoner meals so that they did not appear to be serving their time and luxury accommodations.

In May 1945, the provost marshal, general supervisor of all PNW camps restricted foods available to prisoners and prohibited further sale of candy, cookies, beer and soft drinks.

Movies were shown regularly to the prisoners, but no motion picture had the impact of film of the German concentration camps, gas chambers and mass graves.

One night when the POW was gathered for a monthly movie, dozens of armed MVP's crowded into the room.

Then the Holocaust films were shown.

The peo ws were visibly shaken by the images, staring in disbelief that their government would commit such atrocities.

It was one thing to kill and battle, another to be a murderer.

The story of Camp Ruston is intertwined with mystery and military secrets.

One of the most closely guarded secrets of World War two was the capture of you five five.

The new five or five was captured off the west coast of Africa on June 4th, 1944, by the U.S.

Navy.

Led by the USS Guadalcanal, American warships launched an intensive depth charge attack that forced the U. Five or five to surface.

As the new boat surfaced, American destroyers and aircraft raked it with machine gun fire.

One new 5.5 sailor was killed and several wounded.

The captain gave the order to abandon new five or five and to scuttle her to prevent a Huberts counter.

Only the very front of the boat and the top of the conning tower while still above the water.

A boarding party closed in before the new five or five could fly below the surface.

In a feat of experts seamanship by a crew of mostly teenagers, the U. Five five was rescued from a watery grave.

The submarine became the first man of war captured on the high seas by the U.S.

Navy.

Since 1815, 58 prisoners had been taken from the water during the action.

One man had been killed and three wounded, including the five Phibes commanding officer.

The new boat was secretly hidden in Bermuda, and the crew was interrogated in Norfolk, Virginia, where they received black BMW uniforms.

Later, they were taken under heavy security to a railroad train.

The windows were nailed shut during the two day trip to Ruston.

The guards on the trip were unique.

A U.S.

Navy baseball team was pressed into service to guard the prisoners.

Learning the story of my father's involvement with Camp Rustin really changed my life forever.

He was a baseball prodigy.

In 1940, he was recruited and signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers at 15 years old, sent off to one of their feeder system farm teams and to be developed.

He was moving up, developing nicely.

But 1941, with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, it changed his life along with the lives of the entire nation.

He was placed on a touring baseball team similar to what the Yucel would be today.

It was sent North Africa playing on the United States Navy North Africa tour and baseball team.

He spent most of the war there playing with his teammates, wasn't really like being in the Navy as such.

He was there to play baseball.

But as the war started moving on to the European continent in a way from North Africa, they sent the baseball team home.

They didn't know what to do with him.

They had thought about seeing him back through basic training.

They really never had basic training.

And one night in the middle of the night, while in Norfolk, Virginia, you're awake with mislead by the shore patrol taken to a Quonset hut where they're forced to sign some documents swearing to secrecy.

Once the documents were signed, they were told that the United States Navy had captured the German U boat.

If the prisoners were being held there at Norfolk, Virginia, for processing and that they were going to be transferred to a remote camp in northern Louisiana and the United States Navy baseball team would be in charge of guarding after a while, they became bored and just watching the prisoners watch them.

And my father got the idea that maybe they should be let out of the pen and play baseball.

Yeah, he taught to play baseball.

The five or five crew slipped into Camp Ruston sometime in July 1944.

The sailors had no clue where they were and no idea they were so far from the sea.

Employees and guards at the camp were sworn to secrecy and couldn't tell anyone about their presence.

All the nurses and all the military people, they are sworn to secrecy.

That the punishment of a court martial and execution, if anybody ever would, one, let one word or that the voice of corps here and I mean that trustee of the camp, I could I would say the and never knew that there was a sophomore in college.

There was good reason for the secrecy, although the seizure of an enemy vessel was a major accomplishment.

The true value in the capture of the U.

5.5 lei and the discovery of an enigma code machine and code used by the German Navy to communicate.

If Germany knew the other five had been captured, the codes would be changed.

When the International Red Cross visited Camp Rolleston, it was refused admittance into the EU five or five compound on at least three occasions, the Red Cross inspectors were turned away from the sailors compound.

Eventually, there would be less time for soccer and baseball for the.

Five or five as the end of the war drew near and the need for secrecy faded.

The sailors were assigned to work crews around Rushden soaring timber and picking cotton like the other P-o Ws.

Life is a you boat submariner during World War two was an indescribable adventure, the fear, the dangers and the very nature of life underwater required strength of character and nerve beyond comprehension.

Horst Bloomburg was the only member of the U.S 664 crew to be sent to Camp Ruston.

In August 1943, Bloomburg Sub was caught on the surface, an attack by U.S.

Navy planes.

The crew jumped into the Atlantic before their doomed U. Boat slid under the water for the last time.

The American aircraft did their best to rescue survivors by dropping rafts and life vests and calling ships to the scene eight hours later.

Forty four survivors were taken to Casablanca and eventually found their way to Fort Meade, Maryland.

And later, Fort Hunt, Virginia, for interrogations.

You have to remember, if you are in a situation where you were a crew member of a submarine, you do not know if you're alive the next morning.

It was a relatively.

The injuries on we're not taking.

Because let's say if you were sunk, a tank on a long ship lands on the American coast or in the Atlantic on the convoy, you would have.

A pretty bad feeling about the people that should be Florida burning or both you have.

You're training your brain not to think about it, because tomorrow morning the same thing can happen to you.

Although the internees of Camp Rastan were well treated and did not want for necessities or even conveniences.

Prisoners in a time of war are expected to attempt to escape their captors.

The only you boat sailor known to have escaped Camp Ruston was Horst Bloomberg of use six more during his imprisonment in various allied camps during the war.

Bloomberg escaped several times for short periods.

W Monberg the thrill of the escape.

Even for a short respite outside the wire was worth any punishment the authorities could impose.

On May 2nd, 1945, General Yodle, chief of operations in the German High Command, and his staff entered allied headquarters there, the terms of unconditional surrender were signed.

On May 8th, 1945, the world celebrated Vehi Day.

The day when the world was free of the dangers of the Nazis.

On February 3rd, 1946, the last prisoner of war left.

And the camp was officially closed in June 1946.

Over time, the buildings came down.

Four soldiers, prisoners and local citizens association with Camp Rustin was an unforgettable experience that molded their future attitudes towards their fellow man.

Like most World War two POW camps in the United States, little remains today to mark the ground once inhabited by thousands of soldiers and sailors only to dilapidated buildings, remain near rusting, but the rough outline of the compounds can still be seen.

OK.

OK.

You need to turn the bat around, turn it turn around.

Hits the battlecry, not like you probably know what I'm talking about.

Like that, and then you're going to throw it down here to him.

Hold them, call them simple, I'm signing up.

Wanted, you know, all of these the same.

My dad lost the eye.

I live in LA.

Eight and a half so long.

I'm not old enough to be able to pop my own.

I still feel bad about being really mom.

Oh, so you believe the top five?

It's kind of like how often the all the other day you I remember the media mom made me for a copy of this program call one 800 nine seven three seven two four six.

Or go online to W WW dot LP B dawg.