Iowa author to present history of POWs this fall
Aug. 30—An Iowa historian is excited to share her research on prisoners of war and their time in Iowa during World War II with the southern Iowa community this fall.
Linda McCann has been digging deep into the forgotten stories of Iowa's past for 12 years now. The Midwest is an often overlooked region of the United States when it comes to historical identity, but McCann has found an abundance of fascinating histories to keep her occupied and writing so that Iowa's stories will be preserved and accessible for generations to come.
Her research has covered topics ranging from the Civilian Conservation Corps, to Prohibition, to lost county histories — all centered around what these historical issues looked like in Iowa. Now, McCann is preparing to share her latest project — a book about prisoners of war in Iowa during World War II — with Mahaska and surrounding counties at a special presentation in September.
"A lot of people have no idea that during World War II, we had German, Italian and Japanese prisoners of war in Iowa. I did the research and wrote the book, and I'll be sharing with the group. I knew about the POW camps because I grew up around Waverly, north of Waterloo. Waverly had a POW camp."
McCann, born just a few years after the end of World War II, grew up hearing local talk about the former camp. Then, at a family gathering a few years ago, she casually made mention of it and was astonished to find that no one else in her family had any idea what she was talking about.
McCann says that Iowa was home to approximately 25,000 prisoners of war throughout the war. It seems like it would be something hard to forget, but by and large the Iowa community has done just that — forgotten about it. McCann wants to bring the story back to light.
"That's why I write these books," McCann said. "First, for my grandkids, then for ... whoever. Because they need to learn this stuff, and they're not learning it in school."
It's a project that McCann is very passionate about. She is the president of Shell Rock, Iowa's Historical Society, and in the last 12 years has published 14 books examining Iowa's history.
She has no intention of stopping anytime soon. Interest in her work is high.
"I think we still learn from history," McCann said, and that's what she hopes will happen once again: that Iowans will see the hard times that people were faced with in the past and learn from their example of how to overcome it.
McCann will present about prisoners of war in Iowa at the Eddyville Historical Museum on Thursday, Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. All are welcome, and admission is free of charge.
Channing Rucks can be reached at crucks@oskyherald.com.
