American Homer Bell, German POW
A twisted fate befell American born Homer Bell. This is the story of an American boy who bore arms against the United States during World War II. This is also the strange story of how he became imprisoned in a community where he grew up.
Homer Bell was born in 1927 as the second child of Lee Bell. Lee Bell was stationed in Andernach, Germany in 1920 as part of the American Army of Occupation. He was in the Supply Company, 5th Infantry Regiment. He served as a cook in this post-World War I era.
Andernach is located outside of Koblenz in the Rhine Valley. It is nestled in a bend of the Rhine River. Koblenz has served as a military garrison town ever since Roman occupation thousands of years ago.
In the Koblenz area, Lee Bell met and married a German girl with "snapping eyes." When the American occupation ended in 1923, Lee brought his bride to the United States.
Lee migrated into the country's heartland following his discharge from service. The Roaring Twenties were prosperous years for most American. Yet Lee seems unsettled. His past includes residences in several states in a few short years.
About 1930 Lee brought his family to Muskogee County. In 1935 he lived in Brewer Township near Braggs. Though he registers his children for school in Braggs from 1935 to 1937, he never registered to vote himself. This was despite his world travels and the growing debate about the resurgent rise of German military power. Perhaps Lee was a pacifist as many Americans were during this period.
One topic in the news that he probably followed keenly was the push by veterans of World War I to receive payment for certificates of service. The US government sent the certificates to veterans in 1924. These certificates were really bonds that matured in 1945. In 1932, more than 30,000 veterans marched on Washington to demand an immediate payment.
In response to the Bonus March, Congress passed the Adjusted Compensation Payment Act of 1936. This law authorized the payment of $1.5 billion to four million veterans. Soldiers received an average of $375 apiece.
Lee Bell used his bonus money to purchase a tavern and meat shop. But Lee was not a good manager. Before long, the money was gone and additional debts forced him to sell the tavern and shop.
Lee approached Shorty Matthews about a job for his German wife. Shorty operated a restaurant at 303 South Main Street. Lee convinced Shorty to hire Mrs. Bell as a waitress.
Mrs. Bell was a hard working waitress. She was so trusted that Shorty often left her in charge when he ran errands. She worked in the restaurant about a year and a half.
During this period, Shorty helped the Bell children enroll at Sacred Heart Catholic School. This may indicate that their mother was raised Catholic herself.
About the time Mrs. Bell started working at the restaurant, Lee Bell drove his pickup to the business, got out and gave the keys to his wife. This was Lee's late night "Goodbye" to her. He took a job working on the railroad and was never seen again.
Shorty and his wife Rosie helped Mrs. Bell by buying clothing for the Bell children. Eleanor, about ten years old, received a new dress. Shorty later described Eleanor as a natural homemaker.
Homer Bell, not quite two years younger, received a pair of cowboy boots. He was proud of his new boots and frequently called attention to them.
Mrs. Bell received news about 1938 that her parents were dead. The news also told her that she was placed in charge of settling her parents' estate. Fearing that she might lose her inheritance if she did not accept the responsibility, she returned to Germany.
No further record for mother and daughter has been found. Their fate is unknown. Homer's fate, however, took an unusual twist.
The Germany the Bell family returned to was a different country from the country the mother left behind almost fifteen years earlier. It was now a totalitarian state with Adolph Hitler as Fuhrer.
Hitler controlled of every aspect of German life. In education, children were taught to be loyal to the Fuhrer and to believe in the superiority of the Aryan race.
At age fourteen Homer joined the Hitler Youth. Starting in March, 1939, all German children were conscripted into it as Homer was. In the Hitler Youth organization, he received training in camping, sports and how to be a soldier. At eighteen, he would have entered the Labor Service or the military.
By 1944, however, the German Army was short of soldiers on the eastern front and in the west following the Allied invasion of Normandy. At age sixteen, Homer was conscripted into the German Wehrmacht (Army).
With just weeks of additional training he went to the Western Front to fight the Allied invasion. By the time he was sixteen and a half years old, Homer was captured and was interred in a prisoner of war camp.
He went to his first POW camp behind the front lines in France. There he was interrogated for any military intelligence he might possess. He went to a more permanent POW camp in England. Many POWs in England were shipped to countries because of overcrowding. Allied battlefield successes resulted in many prisoners being shipped to countries outside of the war zone.
Homer's final destination was the POW camp at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma. In other words, the US Army was sending him home. One can't help but wonder if this destination was based upon a desire on Homer's part.
Camp Gruber was located outside of the Town of Braggs. This was the same town where Homer spent two years in school less than seven years earlier.
Many of the German prisoners at Camp Gruber were assigned to work on different farms in Muskogee and Cherokee Counties. Long-time residents in Braggs recognized Homer. Their recognition was confirmed during brief conversations they were able to snatch from the teenager.
Karalee Cason told the story about her parents meeting Homer one afternoon. "Chief" and Lorene Smith, her parents pictured above about three years later, were standing at an intersection in downtown Muskogee. While waiting for the light to change, they were hailed by someone in a bus. Homer was calling out to them. The bus was returning to Camp Gruber with POW laborers.
By the end of August, 1944, everyone in Muskogee County was talking about Homer's return. What happened to him after the end of World War II is unknown. Efforts to locate references to him and his family failed to turn up any leads.
In all probability, Homer Bell returned to Germany along with the other prisoners of war.
Karalee Casey deserves credit for bringing this story to my attention. The staff at the Muskogee County Clerk's office assisted in the research.
Homer Bell was born in 1927 as the second child of Lee Bell. Lee Bell was stationed in Andernach, Germany in 1920 as part of the American Army of Occupation. He was in the Supply Company, 5th Infantry Regiment. He served as a cook in this post-World War I era.
Andernach is located outside of Koblenz in the Rhine Valley. It is nestled in a bend of the Rhine River. Koblenz has served as a military garrison town ever since Roman occupation thousands of years ago.
In the Koblenz area, Lee Bell met and married a German girl with "snapping eyes." When the American occupation ended in 1923, Lee brought his bride to the United States.
Lee migrated into the country's heartland following his discharge from service. The Roaring Twenties were prosperous years for most American. Yet Lee seems unsettled. His past includes residences in several states in a few short years.
About 1930 Lee brought his family to Muskogee County. In 1935 he lived in Brewer Township near Braggs. Though he registers his children for school in Braggs from 1935 to 1937, he never registered to vote himself. This was despite his world travels and the growing debate about the resurgent rise of German military power. Perhaps Lee was a pacifist as many Americans were during this period.
One topic in the news that he probably followed keenly was the push by veterans of World War I to receive payment for certificates of service. The US government sent the certificates to veterans in 1924. These certificates were really bonds that matured in 1945. In 1932, more than 30,000 veterans marched on Washington to demand an immediate payment.
In response to the Bonus March, Congress passed the Adjusted Compensation Payment Act of 1936. This law authorized the payment of $1.5 billion to four million veterans. Soldiers received an average of $375 apiece.
Lee Bell used his bonus money to purchase a tavern and meat shop. But Lee was not a good manager. Before long, the money was gone and additional debts forced him to sell the tavern and shop.
Lee approached Shorty Matthews about a job for his German wife. Shorty operated a restaurant at 303 South Main Street. Lee convinced Shorty to hire Mrs. Bell as a waitress.
Mrs. Bell was a hard working waitress. She was so trusted that Shorty often left her in charge when he ran errands. She worked in the restaurant about a year and a half.
During this period, Shorty helped the Bell children enroll at Sacred Heart Catholic School. This may indicate that their mother was raised Catholic herself.
About the time Mrs. Bell started working at the restaurant, Lee Bell drove his pickup to the business, got out and gave the keys to his wife. This was Lee's late night "Goodbye" to her. He took a job working on the railroad and was never seen again.
Shorty and his wife Rosie helped Mrs. Bell by buying clothing for the Bell children. Eleanor, about ten years old, received a new dress. Shorty later described Eleanor as a natural homemaker.
Homer Bell, not quite two years younger, received a pair of cowboy boots. He was proud of his new boots and frequently called attention to them.
Mrs. Bell received news about 1938 that her parents were dead. The news also told her that she was placed in charge of settling her parents' estate. Fearing that she might lose her inheritance if she did not accept the responsibility, she returned to Germany.
No further record for mother and daughter has been found. Their fate is unknown. Homer's fate, however, took an unusual twist.
The Germany the Bell family returned to was a different country from the country the mother left behind almost fifteen years earlier. It was now a totalitarian state with Adolph Hitler as Fuhrer.
Hitler controlled of every aspect of German life. In education, children were taught to be loyal to the Fuhrer and to believe in the superiority of the Aryan race.
At age fourteen Homer joined the Hitler Youth. Starting in March, 1939, all German children were conscripted into it as Homer was. In the Hitler Youth organization, he received training in camping, sports and how to be a soldier. At eighteen, he would have entered the Labor Service or the military.
By 1944, however, the German Army was short of soldiers on the eastern front and in the west following the Allied invasion of Normandy. At age sixteen, Homer was conscripted into the German Wehrmacht (Army).
With just weeks of additional training he went to the Western Front to fight the Allied invasion. By the time he was sixteen and a half years old, Homer was captured and was interred in a prisoner of war camp.
He went to his first POW camp behind the front lines in France. There he was interrogated for any military intelligence he might possess. He went to a more permanent POW camp in England. Many POWs in England were shipped to countries because of overcrowding. Allied battlefield successes resulted in many prisoners being shipped to countries outside of the war zone.
Homer's final destination was the POW camp at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma. In other words, the US Army was sending him home. One can't help but wonder if this destination was based upon a desire on Homer's part.
Camp Gruber was located outside of the Town of Braggs. This was the same town where Homer spent two years in school less than seven years earlier.
Many of the German prisoners at Camp Gruber were assigned to work on different farms in Muskogee and Cherokee Counties. Long-time residents in Braggs recognized Homer. Their recognition was confirmed during brief conversations they were able to snatch from the teenager.
Karalee Cason told the story about her parents meeting Homer one afternoon. "Chief" and Lorene Smith, her parents pictured above about three years later, were standing at an intersection in downtown Muskogee. While waiting for the light to change, they were hailed by someone in a bus. Homer was calling out to them. The bus was returning to Camp Gruber with POW laborers.
By the end of August, 1944, everyone in Muskogee County was talking about Homer's return. What happened to him after the end of World War II is unknown. Efforts to locate references to him and his family failed to turn up any leads.
In all probability, Homer Bell returned to Germany along with the other prisoners of war.
Karalee Casey deserves credit for bringing this story to my attention. The staff at the Muskogee County Clerk's office assisted in the research.
Labels: Camp Gruber, Edward Chief Smith, German POWs, Homer Bell, Karalee Cason, Lee Bell, Lorene Smith, Rosie Matthews, William Shorty Matthews
posted by Wally Waits at
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