His Time Here As POW Helped Him Decide To Live In U.S.

By Durwin Long
Algona Upper Des Moines
1978
Werner Meinel, once a German prisoner of war here in he mi!"19#$%s, reurne!
o Algona Mon!ay, &uly '1, on wha was for him, a (ery nosalgic (isi)
*urprisingly, Meinel says ha he has no +a! memories of his say in Algona) ,f
Algonans, he says, -.he people are sill as frien!ly as hey were in 19##)% /n fac, Meinel
cre!is Algona an! his goo! e0periences here as one of he reasons ha ma!e him !eci!e
o reurn o America an! ma1e his home here)
2ollowing Worl! War // Meinel reurne! o Germany) Because his family was in
3as Germany, Meinel !eci!e! o ma1e his home here) Afer +eing !eaine! an!
harasse! +y he 3as German auhoriies, howe(er, he !eci!e! o lea(e ha counry an!
flee o he Wes) 4e reurne! o America in 195' an! currenly li(es in 6lymouh, Mass)
(Mr. Meinel passed away on August 29, 1992.)
Meinel is a professional phoographer an! a free"lance commercial aris) 4e ha!
+een on an assignmen in Alas1a an! was on his way +ac1 o Massachuses when he
!eci!e! o (isi Algona)
4e sai! he !eci!e! o a1e /nersae 9$ on his rip home +ecause he 1new ha
Algona was no (ery far off of ha highway) .he (isi was his firs here since +eing a
prisoner)
,nce +ac1 in Algona he en7oye! (isiing he sie of he ol! 6,W camp, now
occupie! +y he Algona Municipal Airpor) Meinel sai! he en7oye! loo1ing aroun! e(en
hough nohing is really lef of he camp) 4e noe! ha he e(en foun! he place where he
snea1e! ou of he camp !uring his !eenion)
Meinel recalle! how he once spen 1# !ays in he 7ail in he Algona camp) While
he was +eing 1ep a he 6,W camp in ,waonna, Minn), i seems ha he ha! escape!)
-8o really escape!,% he e0plains, -+u raher 7us lef o go o a fair ha was +eing hel! in
,waonna)%
4owe(er, ha nigh, conrary o he normal proce!ure, here was a hea! coun of
he prisoners, an! i was !isco(ere! ha Meinel was missing) 4e was apprehen!e! early
he ne0 morning while on his way +ac1 o camp) Afer 9uesioning +y he 2B/, he was
sen o he Algona camp%s 7ail as punishmen) (For more on Meinels escape, read P
!scapes "rom t#e Algona $ystem %y &eorge '. (o%dell, located in t#e Arti"acts and
Articles lin).)
Meinel (isie! he 8ai(iy *cene locae! a he fairgroun!s in Algona) Anoher
6,W, 3!uar! :ai+, while saione! a he Algona 6,W camp, was in charge of he
consrucion of he figures ha comprise he 8ai(iy *cene)
Meinel was no in(ol(e! in ha pro7ec since he was in Algona +efore ha wor1
was +egun, +u en7oye! seeing he han!iwor1 of his fellow counrymen)
Also house! in he 8ai(iy *cene +uil!ing are picures of an! newspaper
clippings a+ou he 6),)W) camp) Meinel noe! ha seeing he picures +rough +ac1
many memories for him)