From 1943 to 1946, Fort Custer housed several German Prosoner of War Camps.  Many of the 4,000 prisoners worked on farms and in vinyards in the area.

In Section B of Fort Custer National Cemetery, once part of Post Cemetery of Fort Custer, there are 26 German graves.

Sixteen of the men were killed or died as a result of an accident on October 31, 1945 when a truck, returning German prisonerss od War from a work detail to their POW Camp at Fort Custer, collided with a train at an unguarded railroad crossing at Blissfield, Michigan.

In 1953, upon request by Congressman Paul Schaeffer, American Legion Post #54 included the 26 German POW graves in their annual memorial service to honor those who died in defense of their country.

At the time, German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer's office became involved through the German Consulate in detroit, to provide German flags and representatives from the German government to attend the memorial services.

Eventually, the United War Veterans Council, and other organizations in the area, became sponsors of the annual memorial service, which is now held on the third Sunday in November, on Germany's "Volkstrauertag" or "Day of National Mourning."

The German Government has awarded decorations to officers of the various veterans' organizations for remembering their former adversaries in form of the annual memorial service; as has the State of Michigan by issuing proclomations to honor the Unites War Veterans Council for furthering German/American relations.