The United States offered an ideal situation for prisoner of war camps during World War II. The remoteness of the states of Utah and Idaho offered also an ideal situation to intern prisoners. The United States established 141 base camps and 313 branch camps. Out of this number, Utah and Idaho represented a total number of nine base and twenty-one branch camps. Utah and Idaho had under their supervision approximately 11,660 or 3.6% of the prisoners in the base camps. The Utah and Idaho camps were under supervision of the United states War Department. Their basic source for the administration came from the written provisions within the International Red Cross Geneva Convention of 1929.

Among the many German immigrants to the United States over the years, one group is unusual: former prisoners of war who had spent between one and three years on American soil and who returned voluntarily as immigrants after the war. Drawing on archival sources and in-depth interviews with 35 former prisoners who made the return, the book outlines the conditions that defined their unusual experiences and traces their journeys from captive enemies to American citizens. Although the respondents came from different backgrounds, and arrived in America at different times between 1943 and 1945, their experiences as prisoners of war not only left an indelible impression, they also provided them with opportunities and resources that helped them leave Germany behind and return to the place "where we had the good life."

During World War II, the US government interned more than 1,200 captured Italian soldiers at the Letterkenny Army Ordnance Depot located near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. These troops collaborated with the United States in a collective effort to defeat the Axis powers. They formed the 321st Italian Quartermaster Battalion, and their work consisted mainly of stocking and shipping materials--ammunition, military vehicles, weapons, and machinery parts--to the war fronts in the European and Pacific theaters of operation. For entertainment, the soldiers formed an orchestra and band and for sport, several different company soccer teams. As a sign of their faith, they built a chapel and bell tower, which are still used today. Many POWs forged deep friendships with Americans, and after the war, a few married their sweethearts and returned to live in the United States. Today, warm relations still continue between children and grandchildren of the POWs and the wider Chambersburg community.

American Prisoner of War Camps in Montana and Wyoming describes the impact of the large number of prisoners of war on the populations of Montana and Wyoming, as well as the impact of the people of Montana and Wyoming on those imprisoned there. Providing detail on the care and employment of prisoners of war according to the Geneva Convention of 1929, the lives of POWs in these states are illustrated, along with the details of camp locations in Montana and Wyoming and the deaths and burials that occurred among them. Some prisoner names are included, as well as references to source materials at various repositories. Historical photographs serve to provide depth to the story.

List of charter members of the society: v. 1, p. 98-99.