Interlude in Umbarger: Italian POWs and a Texas Church

Interned in a camp in the Texas panhandle, more than 3,000 Italian POWsspent the last years of World War II an ocean away from their family andfriends. A handful of men in camp were artists, and it was this small group ofprisoners who struck a deal with the priest of a nearby Catholic church. Inexchange for a home-cooked meal each noon, the artists agreed to decoratethe plain church with murals and carvings. This compassionate story of courageand kindliness is as enduring as the artwork that still graces the walls of amodest Catholic church in a tiny Texas town.