Thus far, leading up to a Le Havre departure, my father has moved from Schleiz, Germany, to Luxembourg City, to camp Oklahoma City outside Reims, France, to Camp Home Run outside Le Havre, from the end of May through the end of June, 1945. After being malnourished during his six month POW stint, the journey must have been mentally and physically exhausting. I’m so glad he recorded the journey with these photographs, and especially with his writings on the back.
American soldiers & not French are boarding this GI vehicle with some of the ruins.
Bernard McKenzie, June 26, 1945
Camp Home Run, once a German held fort, was our waiting place for the boat.
Bernard McKenzie, Le Havre, France, June 20-26, 1945
This picture was taken as our advance party convoy entered the city of Aachen, Germany.
Bernard McKenzie, June 20, 1945
American Cemetery of World War II soldiers. Located in Belgium, just across the German border.
Bernard McKenzie, June 20, 1945
“In Flanders Fields the Poppies Grow…” This snap is but a tiny sector of Flanders in Belgium. Nothing but poppies were visible in the field. A very beautiful sight.
Bernard McKenzie, Flanders, Belgium, June 20, 1945, quoting a 1918 poem by John McCrae
The very busy business cross intersection in the heart of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.
Bernard McKenzie, June 20, 1945
French girls were on hand at Camp Home Run to make for a less “G.I.” atmosphere.
Bernard McKenzie, June 23, 1945
A German-constructed pill box surrounding their old fort at Le Havre, France.
Bernard McKenzie, June 23, 1945
A distant view of Le Havre, France. Taken from the top of an old German fort. Church and other buildings in the foreground were relatively untouched–buildings in the background were demolished.
Bernard McKenzie, June 23, 1945
Entrance gate to Camp Home Run.
Bernard McKenzie, Le Havre, France, June 23, 1945
Underground tunnel barracks that we were housed in during our 5 days at Home Run.
Bernard McKenzie, Le Havre, France, June 23, 1945
A sector of Le Havre that had missed some bombs.
Bernard McKenzie, June 23, 1945
Service deluxe was to be had at Camp Home Run. Here are a few French girls who dished out food in the kitchen.
Bernard McKenzie, June 23, 1945
Once a German fort, Camp Home Run was a restful place for American G.I.’s awaiting shipment home.
Bernard McKenzie, Le Havre, France, June 23, 1945
Veteran’s Day need not be a politicized holiday. Looking back at these amazing photos that are the greatest gift my father left us, I see Americans fighting oppression and tyranny. I see the great nation and people of France so devastated yet only weeks after the end of the war the smiles have returned to many of their faces. Veteran’s Day is a day to remember what binds us all together, the valor of generations of young people to protect fellow humans. I am proud to say that my dad was a veteran of World War 2 along with his brother, who landed in Normandy 24 hours after D-Day, and their dad before them was a veteran of World War 1.
Le Havre & her harbor from the distant hill at Camp Home Run.Bernard McKenzie,
June 24, 1945
German PW’s are completing work on a volley ball court. Soon after they finished we played a game.
Bernard McKenzie, June 24, 1945, Camp Home Run
A flag raising ceremony at Camp Home Run.
Bernard McKenzie, June 24, 1945
Here we could write letters, play cards, checkers, ping pong, read, etc. (Camp Home Run Day Room)
Bernard McKenzie, Le Havre, France, June 24, 1945
At Camp Home Run–near Le Havre, France–we had all the service one would want. French girls served us in a cafeteria manner.
Bernard McKenzie, June 24, 1945
Think about communication and getting your hand on news in the World War 2 era. Cables. Wires. Telegrams. News reels. First word of events that changed the course of world history were first discovered by everybody in 72 point type in newspaper headlines. Seeing the devastation in these photographs of Le Havre 73 years later, the utter horror of World War 2 is shocking. To the people who lived here, they must have thought humanity was ending.
A view from Camp Home Run looking out to the ocean.
Bernard McKenzie, Le Havre, France, June 25, 1945
Le Havre & the Harbor.
Bernard McKenzie, June 25, 1945
A limited view of Le Havre from the distant point at Camp Home Run.
Bernard McKenzie, June 25, 1945
More ruins of Le Havre.
Bernard McKenzie, June 25, 1945
Le Havre offered a setting for the large-scale U.S. exodus from the War. Tens of thousands of GI’s gathered in the Cigarette Camps, including Camp Home Run where my dad Bernard McKenzie spent his final days in-continent.
A view of Camp Home Run. Notice the German fort surrounding the camp.
Bernard McKenzie, Camp Home Run, Sanvic, France, June 26, 1945
M. P.’s out on a little stroll in Le Havre, France. Many white and negro troops were stationed in Le Havre.
Bernard McKenzie, June 26, 1945
I’ve seen this stack of photos stuffed inside a shoebox since I was a young boy. My dad would take the box out to show the photos to close friends in hushed tones. They’ve taken on a mythical quality to me, and I’m so thankful I’ve found this outlet to truly examine them closely for the first time myself, and to share them with anyone who’s interested.
Ruins of Le Havre. Enroute to our boat & then the U.S.A.
Bernard McKenzie, June 26, 1945
We had stayed at “Home Run” for 5 days. We were sweating out boarding our ship. Here we are leaving “Home Run”–boarding trucks & enroute to our boat.
Bernard McKenzie, June 26, 1945
Enroute to our ship. One small sector of Le Havre that had missed our bombs in the early days of the war.
Bernard McKenzie, June 26, 1945
Most of us are loaded on trucks. Approximately two hours later we got on the “Marine Dragon.”
Bernard McKenzie, June 26, 1945
During the early stages of the American European offensive, “cigarette camps” sprung up as staging areas for American troops about to engage in battle. After the German surrender, the camps took on a new life as as disembarkation staging areas for GIs waiting to sail across the Atlantic to head back home. The camps were named after cigarette brands to help conceal their location from the Germans, and actual cigarettes were plentiful, which was welcomed by many GIs.
One such camp was Camp Home Run, located just outside Le Havre, France in the town of Sanvic. After his release as a POW, my father Bernard McKenzie called Home Run home for about a week at the end of June, 1945. Learn more about the cigarette camps and Camp Home Run here.
A view of Camp Home Run. Notice the German forts surrounding the camp.
Bernard McKenzie, Le Havre, France, June 26, 1945
Once a German fort, Camp Home Run was a restful place for American GI’s awaiting shipment home.
Bernard McKenzie, Le Havre, France, June 23, 1945
In his last stop in Europe after being freed from a German POW camp, my dad and many others spent about a week at Camp Home Run in Le Havre, France.
Underground tunnel barracks that we were housed in during our 5 days at Home Run.
Bernard McKenzie, Le Havre, France, June 23, 1945
A flag raising ceremony at Camp Home Run.
Bernard McKenzie, Le Havre, France, June 24, 1945
Here we could write letters, play cards, checkers, ping pong, read, etc.
Bernard McKenzie, Le Havre, France, June 24, 1945
At Camp Home Run–near Le Havre, France–we had all the service one would want. French girls served us in a cafeteria manner.
Bernard McKenzie, Le Havre, France, June 24, 1945
Service deluxe was to be had at Camp Home Run. These are a few French girls who dished out food in the kitchen.
Bernard McKenzie, Le Havre, France, June 23, 1945
We had stayed at “Home Run” for 5 days. We were sweating out boarding our ship. Here we are leaving “Home Run”–boarding trucks and en route to our boat.
Bernard McKenzie, Le Havre, France, June 26, 1945
By just looking at the calendar, my dad’s time in Europe was only a little more than six months. But the events of the short time he was there cover more than one full chapter in a history textbook. He landed in France and moved with his infantry division north through France into Belgium, to help protect the Allies eastern front in the Ardennes. Little did he know that just after Christmas, he and thousands of other Americans would be captured in one of Germany’s largest, final offenses, in what would become known as the Battle of the Bulge. After nearly six months of captivity, my dad and others like him must have so welcomed settling down to sleep in a place named Home Run before getting on a ship for the long journey home.
German PW’s are completing work on a volley ball court. Soon after they finished we played a game.
Bernard McKenzie, June 24, 1945
With a camera and a pen, my dad recorded for all of us many of his experiences and thoughts while in Europe during World War 2. With nearly 200 photos, many of which have incredible descriptions inked on the back, my dad left me a bit of a puzzle. While I have a pretty good idea of my dad’s story–including the six-month interruption in these photos caused by his internment by the Germans–spending the time to focus on these photos and inscriptions while I publish them here will surely help me fill in some of the blanks. I plan to tell the story of this enlisted member of the Army’s 87th Infantry Division, the Golden Acorns. And in doing so, I want to share his story told by these amazing mementos with the world.
Past Present Future 