The Clarksville Edelweiss Club conducts a solemn duty each year in keeping with German tradition of honoring all deceased soldiers, on November 1st, “All Saints Day” they pay a visit to the POW Cemetery at Fort Campbell for a remembrance ceremony. Fort Campbell is represented by a Post Chaplin, and an official representative is sent the German government.
During WWII Fort Campbell served as a prisoner of war camp, and housed a number of German Prisoners. According to Fort Campbell:
Victory in North Africa in 1942 netted an unplanned capture of a quarter-million German soldiers, mostly from the famed Africa-Corps. Prisoners held at Fort Campbell were segregated between three stockades by rank and by Nazi vs. Anti-Nazi sympathies. Many German officers and NCOs were utilized in post support details, while many of the enlisted German soldiers were available for hire on a daily basis to local farmers and dairies.
During the war five of the German soldiers died while being held at Fort Campbell.
- Eugen Ulrich (Dec. 3, 1944)
- Kurt Franke (Jan. 2, 1945)
- Herbert Lindner (Jan. 11, 1945)
- Josef Reidinger (Jan 22, 1945)
- Gunter Cassens (Sept 15, 1945)
After the war several of the former Fort Campbell POW’s immigrated to the U.S., And returned to Clarksville. Some would later became Edelweiss Club members. They are all now deceased, but their widows still live in the area.
As an ongoing project, Boy Scout Troop 525 assists the Edelweiss Club with maintaining the cemetary. They keep the grass mowed, pick up leaves and other debris, and twice a year mulch the cemetery. This year they also had to reset and level the grave markers, and give them a much needed cleaning.
Editor’s Note: Clarksville Online held this story for publication on Veterans Day.
