P.O. Box 1142 (MIS-Y) - Alexandria, Virginia - WWII Prisoner of War Camps on Waymarking.com

This site was originally developed to compliment Fort Washington on the opposite side of the Potomac River, first used in the Spanish American War (though it did not see any action), then a field hospital for veterans during the depression, Civilian Conservation Corp camp, WWII Intelligence Camp and then a park that is part of the National Park system.

During the POW camps existence, Lieutenant Commander Werner Henke (U-boat commander) was shot and killed while attempting to escape.

Marker Text:
This flagpole is dedicated to the veterans of P.O. Box 1142 who served this country as members of two military intelligence service (MIS) programs during World War II. Their top secret work here at Fort Hunt not only contributed to the allied victory, but also led to strategic advances in military intelligence and scientific technology that directly influenced the Cold War and space race. The MIS-X program communicated with American military personnel held captive by the enemy axis forces and attempted to coordinate their escape. The larger MIS-Y program carried out the interrogation of nearly 4,000 enemy prisoners of war and scientists who were processed at this camp.

Nearby Marker "WW II: A Battle Fought at Home and Abroad" text:
The United States engaged in World War II (WWII) at home and on foreign soil. With formal entry of the United States into WWII, the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) began two top-secret programs, known as MIS-Y and MIS-X, at Fort Hunt.

Under the MIS-Y program, the military utilized Fort Hunt as the nation's primary Joint Interrogation Center (JIC). At this location, known at the time only as P.O. Box 1142, Army and Navy personnel interrogated Axis prisoners-of-war (POWs) who possessed special strategic or technical information. Roughly 4,000 prisoners were questioned at Fort Hunt between 1942-1946. The War Department called the camps Temporary Detention Centers or Detained Interrogation Centers, not POW Camps, because the Geneva Convention of 1929 required certain rights and privileges for POWs which would interfere with interrogation strategies.

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