I never really knew my mother’s side of the family. She told me stories about them as a child, and I heard more from my step-grandmother. Evidently they were a wild bunch, lived down by the Kentucky River and had a very different lifestyle than what I grew up with. Another relative of Mom’s told me some wild stories about my grandfather Clarence, which I will not re-tell here. They don’t put him in the best light. But Clarence had many brothers and sisters. Some of my mother’s cousins who came from this large family had some amazing accomplishments and at least 3 of her older male cousins served in WW2. All 3 have amazing, yet poignant stories. I’m still in the process of gathering research on a couple of them, but here’s what I have on her cousin John Shanks. Grab a Kleenex.
John R. Shanks, “Rabbit” to his family and friends was born May 5th, 1924 in the southeastern part of Fayette County in an area known as Jack’s Creek down near the Kentucky River and near the border with Madison County. He was part of a farming family and was a first cousin to my mother, older by 15 years. His father was Mom’s uncle Emery Shanks, his mother the former Bertha Griffith. In my research on Ancestry and Fold3 I found that he enlisted for duty at age 18 in Cincinnati, Ohio June 29th, 1942. He reported for duty with the Army at what was then Camp Campbell down on the KY-TN border and assigned to an Infantry unit there. I have not yet gotten the documentation with details on which unit, as there are many housed at the base. Camp Campbell was organized in 1942 as one of the “temporary” training facilities that were popping up all over the country during WW2. The Army found the site for Camp Campbell bordering Kentucky and Tennessee suitable due to the mild weather of the region and the similarity of the terrain to that of the European theater. One of the first Women’s Air Corp (WAC) units was housed there in 1943, and the camp was also home to German prisoners of war beginning in 1943 till the war’s end. In 1950, Camp Campbell was renamed Fort Campbell Military Installation and given permanent status. Fort Campbell is currently known as the base for the 101st Airborne.
John reported for duty on July 21st, 1943 and from there ended up in overseas in Europe. From documentation I found on Ancestry it’s clear he was wounded in battle, suffering damage to his knee and thorax sometime in the fall of 1944. Unfortunately he was captured by the Germans around February of 1945. I notified a contact at the National WW2 Museum in New Orleans to help me with better deciphering a document I found that appeared to be a roster from a POW camp. Kimberly Guise, the specialist in German history sent me a link to his POW records indicating that he was indeed in a German hospital and scheduled to be moved to Stalag 12A, 9B at Limburg in the area of Heppenheim. Another link led to an article about the camp and the horrific conditions endured by the men imprisoned there. I will expound further when I put this information into my book, but for now here’s a link to this article about Heppenheim, Stalag 12A and 9B at Limburg: Heppenheim Horror
Germany capitulated on May 7, 1945. Rabbit was released from duty at the end of the war and shipped back to Fort Campbell, Kentucky before going home. Unfortunately he would never make it. John was killed in a traffic accident just outside of Fort Campbell on August 15th, 1945. He sustained severe head injuries, brain trauma and a fractured skull, and was DOA upon arrival at the hospital. His body arrived home to Lexington via the C & O Railroad and taken to Kerr Brothers Funeral Home on Main Street. He’s buried in a small family cemetery on Jack’s Creek Pike in rural southeastern Fayette County.
To survive wartime injuries and time in a POW camp, and then die before you had a chance to get home and see your family is just not fair. I cannot imagine the pain and frustration his parents would have felt at losing their son at 21 years of age. John went from a private to the rank of Corporal during his stint in the Army. For his service he earned four medals: the WW2 Victory Medal, American Campaign Medal, Army Presidential Unit Citation and Army Good Conduct Medal.
-Tammi
John R. Shanks, “Rabbit” to his family and friends was born May 5th, 1924 in the southeastern part of Fayette County in an area known as Jack’s Creek down near the Kentucky River and near the border with Madison County. He was part of a farming family and was a first cousin to my mother, older by 15 years. His father was Mom’s uncle Emery Shanks, his mother the former Bertha Griffith. In my research on Ancestry and Fold3 I found that he enlisted for duty at age 18 in Cincinnati, Ohio June 29th, 1942. He reported for duty with the Army at what was then Camp Campbell down on the KY-TN border and assigned to an Infantry unit there. I have not yet gotten the documentation with details on which unit, as there are many housed at the base. Camp Campbell was organized in 1942 as one of the “temporary” training facilities that were popping up all over the country during WW2. The Army found the site for Camp Campbell bordering Kentucky and Tennessee suitable due to the mild weather of the region and the similarity of the terrain to that of the European theater. One of the first Women’s Air Corp (WAC) units was housed there in 1943, and the camp was also home to German prisoners of war beginning in 1943 till the war’s end. In 1950, Camp Campbell was renamed Fort Campbell Military Installation and given permanent status. Fort Campbell is currently known as the base for the 101st Airborne.
John reported for duty on July 21st, 1943 and from there ended up in overseas in Europe. From documentation I found on Ancestry it’s clear he was wounded in battle, suffering damage to his knee and thorax sometime in the fall of 1944. Unfortunately he was captured by the Germans around February of 1945. I notified a contact at the National WW2 Museum in New Orleans to help me with better deciphering a document I found that appeared to be a roster from a POW camp. Kimberly Guise, the specialist in German history sent me a link to his POW records indicating that he was indeed in a German hospital and scheduled to be moved to Stalag 12A, 9B at Limburg in the area of Heppenheim. Another link led to an article about the camp and the horrific conditions endured by the men imprisoned there. I will expound further when I put this information into my book, but for now here’s a link to this article about Heppenheim, Stalag 12A and 9B at Limburg: Heppenheim Horror
Germany capitulated on May 7, 1945. Rabbit was released from duty at the end of the war and shipped back to Fort Campbell, Kentucky before going home. Unfortunately he would never make it. John was killed in a traffic accident just outside of Fort Campbell on August 15th, 1945. He sustained severe head injuries, brain trauma and a fractured skull, and was DOA upon arrival at the hospital. His body arrived home to Lexington via the C & O Railroad and taken to Kerr Brothers Funeral Home on Main Street. He’s buried in a small family cemetery on Jack’s Creek Pike in rural southeastern Fayette County.
To survive wartime injuries and time in a POW camp, and then die before you had a chance to get home and see your family is just not fair. I cannot imagine the pain and frustration his parents would have felt at losing their son at 21 years of age. John went from a private to the rank of Corporal during his stint in the Army. For his service he earned four medals: the WW2 Victory Medal, American Campaign Medal, Army Presidential Unit Citation and Army Good Conduct Medal.
-Tammi
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