Camp Michaux Camp Experiences
Ken Cohick and Gary Fisher discuss their experiences as campers and councilers at Camp Michaux for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library a project of the Cumberland County Historical Society.
POW Interrogation Camp
Camp Michaux Historical Site
The Camp Michaux historical site is located in Cooke Township on the slopes of South Mountain about two miles from Pine Grove Furnace State Park. The site is located along Michaux Road, about 1 ¼ miles north of Pine Grove Road (State Route 233) in Michaux State Forest.
A First Sergeant's Memories of Camp Michaux: The Lost Collection of The Pine Grove Furnace Prisoner of War Camp
I have never forgotten my first solitary walk through Camp Michaux. The sun was setting and visitors had gone. I explored in silence, hearing only a gentle breeze create an eerie creaking in the trees that made me strain my ear as if listening for voices of the past.
“My War” by Yoshikuni Masuyama as retold by his daughter, Miyuki Hegg
Toward the end of WWII, the Pine Grove Furnace POW Interrogation Camp was used to house Japanese prisoners. One of those prisoners, Yoshikuni Masuyama, wrote a memoir of of his war time experiences after the war. This was later transcribed by his wife, Fumie Masuyama. Subsequently, the memoir was retold in English by his daughter Miyuki Hegg.
U-Boat Prisoners at the Furnace
On Sunday, 6 December 1942, just one year removed from the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, 20-year-old German submariner Matrosengefreiter (Seaman, 2nd Class) Gerd Horn and 19-year-old Maschinengefreiter (Fireman, 3rd Class) Werner Rast were about to be questioned by U.S. Navy intelligence experts.