Be sure and stop at the touching memorial near the Continental Divide. No, there isn't much left of Camp Hale, but let your imagination go as you stand on the spot where it all happened, in this little-known but important part of World War II. Some of the reader boards need replacement due to weathering, but the information there is enough to pique ones interest on site, and to do some follow-up research afterwards, when having seen the sites makes it that much more meaningful. What a story, though-to think of 14,000 men training for winter and mountain fighting in that valley, in a camp that was built in a relative blink of an eye-then their being sent to Italy in the last throes of the fighting to take on the Nazis in the Alps. The first indication that something interesting happened there is the sight of the remaining concrete abutments for the field house that stand in the middle of the otherwise deserted valley. The reactions on the base ranged from that the women had committed "spring time indiscretion" to that they were guilty of fraternization with the enemy." (from ( visit link) ).I had never heard of Camp Hale until we drove up to Leadville for the day, and began seeing the sign boards alongside the highway. Franklin were court-martialed, and two other WACs awaited military action. In 1944, at approximately the time Private Dale Maple facilitated the escape of the two POWs, five WACs were charged with writing secret notes to the Nazi prisoners. Maple's death sentence was changed to life in prison.įrom the perspective of the Women's Army Corps, a scandal involving a group of WACs brought shame to the detachment. He was subsequently arrested by Mexican immigration officials and court-martialed for treason. Maple, at times identified as a Naziphile, after making friends with the Germans, helped them escape to the Mexican border. The most famous scandal at the based occurred when Private Dale Maple of the 620th General Engineering Corps enabled two German POWs to escape. More shocking to the American people were two episodes that involved collusion, friendship, and treasonous acts by military personnel at Camp Hale. On March 7, 1944, the Denver Post reported that military official had seized three or four stills and 40-50 gallons of liquor.
#Camp hale series
The German Prisoners of War confined at Camp Hale were at the center of a series of scandals that rocked the base.
Camp Hale is historic because the 10th Mountain Division, an unit of 15,000 men, trained here in mountaineering and skiing techniques during WWII. In addition, officers received $20-$40 per month depending upon rank, and enlisted men were awarded ten cents per day. Camp Hale Memorial Campground sits at an elevation of 9,200 feet, offering guests a wonderful setting for recreation and relaxation. The United States government paid the prisoners with coupons that could be used to purchase goods such as toothpaste, razor blades, and tobacco. The major camps in the state were located at Trinidad, Colorado Springs, and Greeley and the accommodations took a variety of forms from school gymnasiums to warehouses. Generally, the POWs interned in Colorado worked in agricultural areas that were experiencing labor shortages.
From 1943 through 1946, Colorado had 48 Prisoner of War Camps. "During World War II, a series of Prisoner of War (POW) camps were established throughout the United States.