Kneeling Lady Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Access Camp Hearne from on Highway 485 West, north of Hearne. Camp Hearne was a World War II Prisoner-of-War Camp located north of Hearne, Texas. The Ammo box cache not far from the Kneeling Lady Fountain. Be sure to read the description note for an easy trail to the "fountain".
Camp Hearne was a WWII German POW camp holding thousands of captured German Prisoners of War, one of several in Texas and across mainly the South. Little remains of Camp Hearne except overgrown foundations of barracks and mess halls plus remains of a few concrete structures built by the prisoners while waiting for the war to end, including the Kneeling Lady Fountain. There is more about Camp Hearne in an on-site museum that you should visit, check on the visiting hours. Also, there is much other information on the Internet about the Camp Hearne POW camp, including photos of the Kneeling Lady fountain, easily found with a Google search. Although the fountain, now dry, is there with its central pedestal, the the naked Kneeling Lady sculpture is gone. You can see her foot and knee dents on the top of the pedestal. All the nearby barrack foundations are overgrown with woods and brush, but there is a nice hiking trail leading from one of camp roadways. The trail-head is not obvious, so look also for the "Path to the Kneeling Lady" GCTXCT8 geocache from which you can see across the field a guide sign pointing to the path that leads to the Kneeling Lady. The cache GZ is nearby the fountain, but some bushwhacking about eight feet into the edge of the woods is needed. I saw some poison ivy nearby, but small and avoidable with care. Also be careful of the sticker vines. Even though the cache is less than 8 foot in, I gave a 2.5 terrain rating because the woods are dense in the area, especially in the summer, however following the trail to get to the site would be only about a 1.5 terrain. Please, at least, cover the cache with bark and debris to prevent muggles spotting it.
-----------MicrohikerRmingGnome posted her log in June of 2011 with a photo showing herself atop the pedestal. Think about also adding your geocacher photos beside or atop the pedestal with your log, it would add interest to this site. ---------- From Camp Hearne web page (visit link)
For even more about German POWs in WWII do a Google search for "Mine Enemy: The Story of German POWs in America" where you can find and play an NPR audio series on the subject.
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After the 1942-43 US troop build up and successes in North Africa and Italy, the ships carrying our soldiers to the European theater returned to the US with a different cargo… an estimated 425,000 prisoners-of-war.
Hearne was chosen to house 4800 of these prisoners in its POW base camp due to its flat terrain, distance from the coastline, railroad access, sparse population and local need for farm laborers.
Honoring the Geneva Conventions that said POWs are to be treated as well as the US Army soldiers of equal rank, the U.S. provided ample food, shelter and clothing, better than they received in their own army before capture. Since work for a fair wage was only required of the enlisted men, various recreation and education programs were offered to the Camp Hearne NCO majority as a means to pass the time with minimal disorder.
Today’s historic camp site has many building foundations that outline the camp’s original “footprint” as well as remnants of various prisoner built amenities such as garden fountains and a stadium-seating theater with orchestra pit. An exhibit depicting the daily life of the Camp’s mostly German prisoners may be viewed in a reconstructed US Army barrack on the historic site.
Camp Hearne is a truly unique window into our more recent past.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Arkg gbe gur byq CBJ oneenpxf sbhaqngvba, gur Nzzb obk vf punvarq gb n gerr.
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