The story behind an 85-year-old man’s portrait from a prisoner of war at Fort Benning

There is really nothing exceptional about the portrait except the story behind it.

The nicely drawn, colorful image is of Jim Hawkins, who is 85 now but was 13 when it was painted.

The 12-by-17 artwork hangs on a wall in a workroom off of the den in his Fortson, Ga., home.

Other paintings, including some by Hawkins, are displayed nearby.

What makes this piece distinctive is the artist, Andrea Tremul.

At the time of the painting, Tremul was an Italian prisoner of war at Fort Benning.

Hawkins did not pose for the portrait. A photo of Hawkins and his sister were given to the artist.

“I was surprised when I got it,” Hawkins said. “I appreciated it.”

Hawkins recalls both Germans and Italians captured during World War II being on the post.

Some of the Italian prisoners volunteered to be a non-combat maintenance outfit to serve in the Pacific Theater.

“The prisoners stayed in barracks at Sand Hill,” Hawkins said. “There were no fences. They had their own mess hall and cooks. Prisoners of war were treated better here than captured American soldiers.”

He said each Italian prisoner wore a standard G.I. uniform bearing a green shoulder patch with Italy in white. There were no insignias of rank.

His father, James W. Hawkins, was in civil service working as a mechanic at Shop 2 and was chosen to teach the Italians about the U.S. military vehicles.

The Hawkins family built a relationship with several prisoners who would visit with them and another family at a home in Phenix City on Sunday.

“The Italians were a very talented group. There were musicians, painters and model makers,” Hawkins recalled.

There was no talk of war on the visits, only family.

One prisoner gave the family a portrait of his Italy home, which Hawkins also has in his home.

Following dinner, the musicians would play American tunes and teach Italian ones.

Sometimes, a softball or soccer game would be played in the yard.

And there was Italian food.

“They taught our southern palates to appreciate black olives, brown mustard and salami,” Hawkins said.

Hawkins said some prisoners tried to teach family members how to speak Italian.

“You can’t speak Italian with a southern accent,” Hawkins said, laughing.

Hawks is a retired design engineer for Lummus Cotton Gin Company, now Lummus Corporation.

His wife, Jolene, whom he married in 1956, died in 2012. He has two sons.

A member of Pierce Chapel United Methodist Church, Hawkins said he traveled around the world for his work but spent practically no time in Italy.

He still has a vivid picture in his mind of one Sunday trip returning prisoners to the post.

“When we walked into the mess hall there was rolled out pasta for noodles drying across tables and benches on both sides of the aisle down the center of the mess hall. A number of the men were gathered around the stove in the kitchen,” he said.

The father and son went over to check out the action and his father was offered a drink.

“There was a fully functioning still in operation on the stove,” Hawkins recalled. “It was designed to fit into a galvanized garbage can which sat behind all the other cans. They were distilling grappa from fermented raisins.”

This story was originally published November 4, 2017 at 3:31 PM with the headline "The story behind an 85-year-old man’s portrait from a prisoner of war at Fort Benning."