E-reader recalls WWII camp

Hi, Jim,

Enjoyed your column today, as always.

I also had particular interest in the story about the Japanese prison camp in Clarlinda.

My father farmed in Worth County at the time.

It was possible to hire these prisoners to work on our farm.

We had 40 come to the farm, accompanied by two armed soldiers and one guard dog, transported in an open stock truck.

The cost was one dollar a day, each.

They would take 40 rows of corn and pull all the weeds, each man had a row.

I would have been 12 – 13 years old at the time and remember that when they were on break, they would ask me questions — only a few knew any English.

They seemed for the most part, cheerful. One sang “You are my sunshine” while working.

One little sidelight that I only heard happened:

The farm roads were unimproved. Mud roads they were known as.

Once, after a little rain, the back wheels of the truck hauling the workers, slid into a small roadside ditch.

The guards unloaded the 40 prisoners and had them push.

The story goes the were only half-heartily pushing and laughing when the guards fired a shot and gave the dog a command.

They pushed the truck into the other ditch.

With all the war news and the movies about the war, it was an unusual experience to witness this with our enemy.

These young men didn’t seem to fit that picture.

I’m in California and enjoy keeping up with events in Maryville.

Gweldon Long