Photo's: Historic United States Disciplinary Barracks (Ft. Leavenworth KS)Before and After

Fellow Freeper StarCMC allowing me to use her site to host these photo's | May 8, 2005 | self / Chele / Former Military Chick

[Former Military Chick]

Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. There are several prison's in the greater Leavenworth area besides the military and federal penitentiary. - FMC

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This actually a distance photo, from a viewing deck, as you can see far away, again, this is the "Big House" the Federal Penitentiary. - FMC

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For the life of me I cannot remember the type of animal (type of live stock) that is in the photo. Buffalo?? But, they are actually as well known as the Prison (federal pen). - FMC

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Another view of the new military prison. - FMC

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Plaque by the entrance of the old cemetery. - FMC

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While I would not go out seeking this spot, those who were condemned many years ago, actually have a nice resting place. The weeping willow is magnificent. - FMC

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First stone I came upon. - FMC

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I am actually enclosing this one, because I like the angle and final result. - FMC

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Another angle of the USDB cemetery. - FMC - FMC

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The German headstones are all the way at the back of the cemetery. -FMC

When I originally posted this on FR and the Kodak Gallery site, I had been asked many times about the German grave marker's and the flowers and if I could find out what it is all about, as of this posting the following is what I have uncovered.<>

On August 25, 1945, seven U-boat POWs were executed at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas for the beating and hanging of another U-boat man--Werner Drechsler--at Papago Park POW camp in Arizona in March 1944. The U-boat men felt justified for their actions, as it was determined Drechsler had been working with American authorities to gain military information from other POWs.

On the back row, of the fourteen POW graves, the seven graves to the far right are the U-boat men's, from left to right...

Plastic bouquets and small faded flags were already in place at each headstone, indicating the local woman was still visiting this site quite regulalry.

A local German-American woman visits regularly by all accounts, and plastic flowers were still evident on many of the gavesites.

The other seven of the fourteen gravesites were German POWs executed for two separate deaths of another German POW, from left to right, with date of execution.

Walter Beyer, July 10, 1945
Berthold Seidel, July 10, 1945
Hans Demme, July 10, 1945
Hans Schomer, July 10, 1945
Willi Scholz, July 10, 1945
Erich Gauss, July 14, 1945
Rudolf Straub, July 14, 1945

***The first five (older sergeants in the Afrika Korps) were found guilty in the beating death of Johann Kunze at Camp Tonkawa in Oklahoma in November 1943. Kunze had been determined to have given the Americans information about secret installations in Hamburg, which would have been useful in Allied bombing raids.

***The last two (sergeants) were found guilty in the strangling death of Horst Guenther near Camp Gordon, Georgia in April 1944. Guenther had stood accused of warning American authorities of an ntended prisoner work stoppage and also that he liked jazz music, both indicating anti-German sentiments.

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German POW grave marker. - FMC

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German POW grave marker. - FMC

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I believe this is the last one to be buried at this site. -FMC

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The old "United States Disciplinary Barracks", it is currently being demolished but they were kind enough to give me access to photograph what is still standing. -FMC

Entrance. - FMC

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I cannot describe this in a way that convey's the depth they put this prison into the earth. It is deep, indeed. Any cell's down there, well, you would never break free. - FMC

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Watch towers. - FMC

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Other watch towers. - FMC

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I took this one because I thought it odd, to have just the top stoop with all the barb wire and not the rest of the stairwell. - FMC

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Directorate of Programs and Services. -FMC

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Medical and dental services - FMC

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Evidently they still do use this as a current job in the prison (embroidery). - FMC

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Where JAG was housed. - FMC

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Have to tell you I am not sure what the purpose of the sunroom at the back of the building was for. - FMC

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This is the first of 2 images, showing how vast the Prison was in it's day. - FMC

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This is the same image as above only I zoomed and you can see the watch towers. - FMC

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Installation and furniture repair and Parole and Classification - FMC

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Another entrance to the old prison - FMC

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The rocks you see to the left, along side the prison, is the actual rock that was used when the prison was first constructed, inmates putting it one on top of the other, real hard time for sure. - FMC

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This the other side of the above sun room photo, who knows what it was used for. - FMC

[endthematrix]

Leavenworth Area Development

UNICOR, Federal Prison Industries

[Jeff Gordon]

Sorry, but this simply must be done . . . .

Why?

[dsc]

"And a large percentage of them are illegal aliens."

Got a number on that?

[G.Mason]

Thanks for the tour. That was really great.

In the picture in post #21 ... one can see the parking lot (lower left) ... a flag pole ... then a small tower. That tower, in the early 70's at least, was where law enforcement checked their weapons prior to entering the prison. They had a drawer that slid out, you inserted the firearms, and you continued to the prison entrance.

Thanks again. That was swell swell? ... er ... uh ... I mean kewel. ;)

[MoralSense]

Great, Hank. I worked at a big mutual fund company that hired a new director of marketing and communications, probably a $300K job. She spelled the plural of prospectus (prospectuses) as prospectus' -- and for the sake of clarity, I will avoid ending the sentence properly punctuated right there ("prospectus.'") because of the folks who simply wouldn't understand it.

[Happy2BMe]

Sorry - it's more like 30%.

When an alien criminal gets caught for rape, murder or drug distribution, you pay $1.6 billion annually in prison costs to house, feed and clothe those filling 30 percent of our federal and state prisons—not to mention TV, movies, weight rooms and other entertainment—they enjoy while being incarcerated.

[dsc]

"Sorry - it's more like 30%."

You mean we could cut our prison population (and, I guess, our serious crime rate) by 30% just by getting a grip on the illegal alien problem?

AAAAAAAaaaaaaarrrrrrrggggghhhhhhhhhh...

[StarCMC]

WOW!! This turned out GREAT!! Thanks for re-doing it for us! *HUGS!*

[Ben Hecks]

Thanks for the Ft. Leavenworth photos. In addition to the USDB, Leavenworth has a number of interesting old buildings whose architecture is shared with several other Army posts including Ft. Riley and Ft. D. A. Russell (now F. E. Warren AFB).

In the 70s, trustees from the USDB operated a greenhouse, an auto body repair/painting shop and loaded groceries at the commissary. At the commissary, you got a claim check when you checked out then drove around back where the trustees put your groceries in the trunk. The auto body/paint shop operated on a lottery basis and, as I recall, the customer paid only for materials.

[Titan Magroyne]

Thank you for sharing your photo essay. Acknowledging the prohibitive cost to tax payers :-( to renovate those old buildings, it sure is a shame to lose that dignified old architecture, isn't it?

I think zoologists use the term American bison for the buffalo. What is the story behind their being enclosed on prison grounds?

Very interesting about the German POWs. Thanks for researching that.

[SLB]

The first pair of low quarters I was issued in basic training were labeled as being made at the US Disciplinary Barracks, Leavenworth.

[MACVSOG68]

Thanks again, FMC. I did see them before, but enjoyed them again. I remembered the story of the Germans, but was not aware of the headstones. Good job.

[SmithL]

Thanks for reposting. I enjoyed them the first time, but it was a lot more work to see them, then.

[Toadman]

Great post. Thanks!

[Eaker]

What is the story behind their being enclosed on prison grounds?

They were troublemakers.

[Yasotay]

Thanks for visiting a place I never "visited" (or wanted to). I bet that place was haunted with a few lost souls.

[ErnBatavia]

A few years ago, wifey and I went to a Michael Reagan book signing at the Reagan Presidential Museum....I made a crack to MR about how this place looked so much nicer than Ft. Leavenworth, which was where I expected the Clinton Presidential Museum to eventually be built.

He indeed got a kick out of that comment.

[bdfromlv]

They have had the buffalo at the prison camp for at least 40 years.I think 1 male and 2 females that calve and they send the calves to the herd around fort riley when they are old enough.

[devolve]

Blacks and Hispanic make up a large %age of convicts in US prisons.

Misleading is the fact that 33% of convicts in US prison ae illegal aliens - guesstimated betwen 10-22 million of America's 290 million population.

Blacks at 12% and Hispanics at 13% in the US population do not subtract the number of Black and Hispanic illegal aliens.

Therefore it is only logical that %ages of American citizen Blacks and Hispanics in US prisons and in the total US population are much less than we are being told.

Many of the violent felons in America who are labeled "Black" or "Hispanic" are illegal aliens and don't even belong in America.

American Blacks and Hispanics have a higher crime rate than American Caucasians, but the media and pro-OBLoser Lobby delight in inflating the numbers of American minorities in prison to further their "victimization" scenarios.

[miele man]

Thank you for adding me to your ping list. This is most interesting to see. Are there any pix taken from a plane or chopper that show the entire installation?

Perhaps the sun room is also another smoking room/break room. Being inside those stone buildings must be oppressive for the staff too.