In 1944, German POW's escaped from Camp Papago Park POW camp in Phoenix, Arizona. The plan was to build a boat, float down the Gila River to the Colorado,out to the Gulf of California and then to Mexico. What they didn't know was that maps which showed the Gila as a river the size of the Rhine weren't quite correct. They found mud puddles and washes instead of a river. All were recaptured. In 1990, I was in AZ when the former POW's held a reunion. One of the guys said they sat down and cried when they found a wash where they thought a river ran.
My father-in-law entered the service in June, 1944. During his training as a Naval aircrewman, he was stationed at several naval bases, one being located in Corpus Christi, Texas. There his training squadron was familiarized with the big Martin PBM "Mariner" patrol bombers that they would soon be flying over the Pacific Ocean.
There were German prisoners of war held under Marine guard at that base, presumably captured in North Africa or Italy. Rather than build separate a separate mess hall for the POWs, they were simply fed in the same building as the enlisted Navy men and Marines. The prisoners were fed first - always.