WWII P-O-W Camp at Monticello to be Topic of Historical Society Sunday at 2:30
November 6th, 2009 by Submitted
Michael Pomeroy, a former Monticellonian, will be the guest speaker at the Drew County Historical Society on November 8th, Sunday, at the Drew County Chamber of Commerce at 2:30.
Since his teenage years, Pomeroy has been interested in the World War II Prisoner of War Camp in Monticello at the area surrounding the fairgrounds. He perused documents and interviewed people who had worked at the camp. He even drew a detailed map of the camp’s streets and facilities,which were published in an article of the Drew County Historical Society’s annual journal when he was a teenager.
At the present time, Pomeroy works in forestry and lives in Clarksville, Tennessee. His youthful hobby has continued to intrigue him, and the recent AETN program about these types of camps in Arkansas featured Pomeroy in some of the interviews.
Over the past several years, Pomeroy has been in contact with and has even flown to Italy to meet the grandson of an Italian general, General Dino Parri, who was a prisoner of war here in Monticello. While imprisoned, General Parri kept a journal, and his grandson was always fascinated by its details. General Parri is now deceased, but his grandson plans to publish and co-author this journal. Pomeroy will be instrumental in translating this book into English from Italian.
At the Historical Society meeting, Pomeroy will be sharing photos and personal recollections of many of the guards and prisoners who were here at Camp Monticello. These first-hand accounts should be very interesting, and all are invited to attend. Pomeroy is the son of Ed Pomeroy, a Monticello native.
