KSUB Archives: Salina Utah Massacre – Interview With Mike Rose

The Salina Utah Massacre, also called the Utah Prisoner of War Massacre occurred at midnight on July 8, 1945, at a POW camp housing German prisoners, in Salina, Utah. Nine German prisoners were killed, and 19 were wounded by American soldier Clarence V. Bertucci, who opened fire with a machine gun on sleeping prisoners. Bertucci said he committed the act because he "hated Germans." Six prisoners died instantly, two succumbed to injuries in a local hospital, and one died days later, in an army hospital.

Camp Salina housed about 250 German POWs, primarily from the Afrika Korps, and was used for agricultural labor.

Bertucci, a 23-year-old with a troubled military record, had expressed a desire to kill Germans but showed no immediate warning signs of his intentions. On the night of the massacre, after drinking heavily, he reported for duty, loaded the machine gun in a guard tower, and fired on the POW tents, running through a belt of 250 cartridges.  He was in the process of reloading a new ammo belt when he was subdued.

Following the attack, Bertucci was arrested and later declared "mentally unbalanced," avoiding a court-martial. He was sent to a psychiatric hospital in New York, where he remained for years. He was later released.  He was never tried for his crimes.

The deceased POWs were buried with military honors at Fort Douglas Cemetery, in Salt Lake City, while the wounded were repatriated to Germany after recovery.  The massacre is the deadliest mass shooting in Utah history and the largest killing of enemy POWs in the United States during World War II.

On July 8, 2014, the 69th anniversary of the tragedy, I spoke with Mike Rose, author of the book, Salina Utah Massacre, who in addition to writing the definitive record on the incident, also headed the effort to create the memorial.  (Listen to the interview below.)

A museum commemorating the event opened at the Camp Salina site in 2016, ensuring the tragedy and its victims are not forgotten.

(Photos: Chris Holmes)