This list of Prisoner of War Camps, Italian Service Unit Camps, and Prisoner of War Hospitals is based on weekly reports located on NARA microfilm #66-538 (population lists June 1942-June 1946). Additional locations based on newspapers, interviews, and other NARA records (at College Park and Regional Archives). Many thanks to the US Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District for help in additions and corrections to this list!
The POW Camps in Illinois during World War II included:
Arlington Heights, Cook County, IL (branch camp under Sheridan)
Des Plaines, Cook County, IL (branch camp under Sheridan) (see Camp Pine)
Ellis (Camp Michael B.), Table Grove, Fulton County, IL (base camp)
Eureka, Woodford County, IL (branch camp under Ellis)
Gardiner General Hospital, Chicago, Cook and DuPage Counties, IL (base camp), formerly Chicago Beach Hotel, now Regents Park Apartments
Gibson City, Ford County, IL (branch camp under Ellis)
Grant (Camp Ulysses S.), Rockford, Winnebago County, IL (base camp), now Rockford International Airport
Grant (Camp) Rifle Range (not contiguous, branch to the Camp), now Atwood Park, Rockford, Winnebago County, IL
Hampshire POW Camp, Hampshire, Kane County, IL (branch camp under Grant)
Hoopeston, Vermilion County, IL (branch camp under Ellis)
Joliet, Will and Kendall Counties, IL (branch camp under Sheridan)
Lanark, Carroll County, IL (branch camp under Grant)
Mayo Brothers General Hospital, Galesburg, Knox County, IL (branch camp under Ellis), now the Hawthorne Center
Milford, Iroquois County, IL (branch camp under Ellis)
Pine (Camp), Des Plaines, Cook County, IL (branch camp under Sheridan) (former CCC camp) (see Des Plaines)
Pomona, Jackson County, IL (branch camp under Ellis)
Rock Island Arsenal, Rock Island, Rock Island County, IL (base camp)
Savanna OD Proving Grounds, Savanna, Carroll County, IL (base camp)
Sheridan (Fort), LaSalle County, IL (base camp)
Skokie Valley, Skokie, Cook County, IL (branch camp under Sheridan)
Streator, LaSalle and Livingston Counties, IL (branch camp under Ellis)
Sycamore, DeKalb County, IL (branch camp under Grant)
Thornton, Cook County, IL (branch camp under Sheridan)
Vaughn General Hospital, Hines, Cook County, IL (base camp)
Washington, Tazewell County, IL (branch camp under Ellis)
Cemeteries:
Camp Grant, IL (two burials transferred to Camp Butler National Cemetery, IL in June 1946)
Camp Butler National Cemetery, Springfield, Sangamon County, IL. The cemetery contains POWs who died in IL, IN, NE and WI.)
Camp Ellis, IL (4 German WWII POW burials transferred to Ft. Sheridan, IL prior to February 1947)
Fort Sheridan Post Cemetery, Ft. Sheridan, IL, the VA National Cemetery Administration maintains the cemetery that contains 8 German WWII POW burials plus those transferred from Ellis.
There were 6 base camps, 16 branch camps, 3 hospitals, and 4 cemeteries in IL. More information in my book titled Prisoner of War Camps Across America available in Kindle format on Amazon and in Nook format on Barnes and Noble. The updated version of the book is available at https://www.gentracer.org/milpublications.html
For more information about these camps, please see:
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