Prisoners of War

Susan Doak

Southwest Nebraska Genealogy Society

On Feb. 27, 1942, a list of the approximately 1,000 men captured at Wake Island by the Japanese army was released by the Navy. Two men were listed as prisoners of war from Southwest Nebraska. One of them was Donald R. Malleck of Indianola, Nebraska, a sergeant with two years services with the Marine Corps. His parents were Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Malleck. Taken prisoner at the same time was Charles B. Varney of Culbertson, Nebraska. Varney was a civilian worker.

Mrs. Ted Barnes first announced that her letters to her brother, Major Charles Zurick, had been returned to her marked "Return to Sender, Service Discontinued." Joining in her concern for his safety were her other siblings: Mrs. Herman Budig and Harry Zurick, both of McCook. One month later she received notification that the Major was officially listed as "missing in action." Zurick was serving in the Philippines when it surrendered to the Japanese. In August of 1942, a letter from Major Zurick, dated March 6, 1942, was delivered to the family. In his letter he did not reveal his location but assured the readers that he was well and getting along OK. The family assumed this meant that he had not been taken prisoner.

When the War Department announced the names of 192 more prisoners of war in April 1943, three men from Nebraska were listed. Indianola had a second man being held by the Japanese with the name of Pfc. Richard H. Urling on the list.

At the same time, it was announced that Indianola would be the sight of a Prison Camp. First slated to be between Cambridge and Bartley near the site of the proposed Medicine Creek dam, the final choice of location was north of Indianola due to the fact that it became impossible to procure copper wire to extend electricity to the Cambridge location.

In the beginning it was to be a detainee camp to hold 5,000 Japanese, but with the Allies capturing thousands of European prisoners, it was determined that the camp would hold 2-3,000 men, most of which would be Italian.

The men would be permitted to work on farms or projects such as Medicine Creek reservoir within a 50 mile radius of the camp. The reservoir and other similar jobs were approved due to the need to accelerate food production during the war. According to the Geneva Convention, prisoners who were enlisted men received ten cents a day and the prisoners willing to work received an additional eighty cents.

The Caine store building, largest of the store fronts in Indianola and empty for several years, was immediately procured for the headquarters for the engineers working on the development of the camp. It was expected that construction would take 90 days and employ over 700 laborers during that time to completion.

Eventually some 500 troops would be stationed at the camp as guards, but during the time the camp was being built, prisoners of war were being transported by train through Southwest Nebraska. One such trainload stopped at McCook and the Canteen ladies were allowed only to serve the guards, not the 300 Italian prisoners aboard. One prisoner was asked why he was fighting on the German side. He responded: "So would you with a German bayonet in your back!" Such was the story of most European prisoners housed in the United States.

As a country we followed the rules of the Geneva Convention and most prisoners were happy to receive pay, a meal, the chance to work and be treated like human beings. Unfortunately that was not the story for our citizens being held prisoner overseas!

Southwest Nebraska Genealogy Society president, Lesta Jaggers, is having free classes this summer for kids in sixth through eighth grade interested in family history (genealogy) and those who wish to expand on what they had learned this spring with her at the McCook Public Library. Call (308)350-0246 to get further information and to leave a message.