Maine Memory Network

German prisoner of war painting, Camp Houlton, ca. 1945

Contributed by: Aroostook County Historical and Art Museum Date: circa 1945 Location: Houlton Media: Oil painting

Painting by prisoner of war, Camp Houlton, 1945

Contributed by: Aroostook County Historical and Art Museum Date: 1945 Location: Houlton Media: Oil painting

Various jobs for T.W. Cunningham contractors, Bangor, 1942-1948

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1942–1948 Location: Bangor Client: T.W. Cunningham Contractors Architect: Eaton W. Tarbell

Princeton CCC Camp alterations for P.O.W. camp, Princeton, 1944

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1944 Location: Princeton Client: Princeton CCC Camp Architect: Eaton W. Tarbell

Prisoners of War

Mainers have been held prisoners in conflicts fought on Maine and American soil and in those fought overseas. In addition, enemy prisoners from several wars have been brought to Maine soil for the duration of the war.

Passing the Time: Artwork by World War II German POWs

In 1944, the US Government established Camp Houlton, a prisoner of war (POW) internment camp for captured German soldiers during World War II. Many of the prisoners worked on local farms planting and harvesting potatoes. Some created artwork and handicrafts they sold or gave to camp guards. Camp Houlton processed and held about 3500 prisoners and operated until May 1946.

Highlighting Historical Hampden - War of 1812

"… Many townspeople were held captive on a British prison ship and others were held in John Crosby’s warehouse at the corner of Elm Street West and…"

Freedom & Captivity Portal

The Freedom & Captivity digital collection in the Maine Memory Network, and the complete digital archive housed at Colby Special Collections, is a repository of personal testimonies, ephemera, memorabilia, artifacts, and visual materials that capture multiple dimensions of the experiences of incarceration for individuals, families, and communities, as well as for survivors of harm.

A Maine Family's story of being Prisoners of War in Manila
by Nicki Griffin

As a child, born after the war, I would hear these stories - glad they were finally written down

Memories of a mission in Vietnam, January 11, 1970
by SGT. Ronald Santerre, 1st Calvary Division

Extracting villagers from the Viet Cong in Vietnam