A wreath-laying ceremony for former German and Italian prisoners of war takes place at the Fort Riley cemetery Nov. 19 at 11 a.m.

The annual ceremony is held in remembrance of the POWs who lived and worked at Fort Riley between 1943 and 1946, specifically the 62 Germans and 11 Italians now buried here.

German Army Col. Carsten Treder and Italian Army Maj. Antonio Laudando will be guest speakers at the event.  Both officers are currently stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

In 1943, War Department officials established Fort Riley as one of 600 locations across the United States selected to house German, Italian and Japanese POWs.  The camps became home for 350,000 prisoners—enough to man 35 German army divisions; approximately 4,500 were held at Fort Riley.

The POWs filled a labor void on area farms, working on roads, laundry and building maintenance projects.  Prisoners earned about 80 cents a day.  After the war, some of the POWs chose to stay in the local area to live and work.

The German and Italian Memorial Ceremony is open to the public.  Those attending who don’t have a Department of Defense ID card should visithttps://www.riley.army.mil to learn about Fort Riley access procedures.

Release from Fort Riley Public Affairs