For Nathaniel Marshell, what started as a research project and paper has turned into an article that has been accepted for publication by The Chronicles of Oklahoma.
“Gefangen: The Lived Experience at Camp Tonkawa, Oklahoma,’’ is the title of the article written by Marshell, a senior history major at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. The Chronicles is a publication of the Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS).
The article is about a World War II Prisoners of War Camp which was located in Tonkawa, Oklahoma. Tonkawa is near Ponca City in northern Oklahoma.
“The story focuses on what the prisoners said about their experiences there,’’ Marshell said. “The Tonkawa Historical Society provided a great deal of assistance to me. I did research at the (McCarter) museum there and was able to read letters and postcards written by the prisoners. I was then able to correspond with some of their family members in Germany to gain additional insight.’’
The camp was built in late 1942 and closed in 1945.
“Publishing in the Chronicles of Oklahoma is an accomplishment for any historian, but for Nathaniel to do so as an undergraduate is even more impressive,’’ said Southeastern history professor Dr. Brooks Flippen. “Nathaniel has written an interesting article that adds to our knowledge about Oklahoma’s past and deserves the wide audience it will surely receive.”
First issued in 1921 as the official journal of the OHS, The Chronicles of Oklahoma is mailed to members and subscribers quarterly. Each issue contains scholarly articles, book reviews, meeting minutes, and notes and documents.
