Did you know that one of only two POW general hospitals for POWs during WW2 was in Okmulgee? When at GZ, take a look at the below photos and compare them to what you see today. There are a lot of similarities still including the roads, many buildings, and perhaps most interestingly the current physical plant tower near the back that may have once been a guard tower.
On 21 July 1944, Glennan General Hospital (Okmulgee, Oklahoma, opened for patients 17 Dec 43, bed capacity 1,690, disposed of last patient 2 Dec 45) was designated German Prisoner of War General Hospital No. 1. Early October 1944, the Station Hospital at Camp Forrest (Tullahoma, Tennessee, opened for patients 21 Oct 44, bed capacity 2,500, disposed of last patient 15 Dec 45) became Prisoner of War General Hospital No. 2. The operation of only TWO General Hospitals for the care of PW patients simplified both the administrative and security problems, and ultimately saved a number of US medical personnel. Enemy PW patients arriving at Ports of Debarkation, were transferred either to Glennan General Hospital or Camp Forrest General Hospital. Upon arrival they were sorted into 3 groups; convalescing patients were transferred to convalescent annexes; those requiring care for minor ills or injuries went to the nearby PW Station Hospitals; and those requiring more specialized treatment were kept at one of the 2 Prisoner of War General Hospitals. In addition, any PWs eligible for repatriation or for certification as “protected personnel” were held in special facilities at these Hospitals. Administration of the PW Hospitals consisted of duplicate staffs of US and German personnel. At the end of October 1944, the Army Chief of Staff directed ETOUSA Headquarters not to transfer any PW patients to the Zone of Interior, except rabid Nazis and those desired for questioning by Intelligence.
