German POW Box

Description

This hand-crafted box was given to Margaret McKnitt as a thank you gift by German POWs interned at Dover Army Airfield. The inscription inside reads, “Every day in the morning or tonight, you gave us a smile that was as a light. Today we are leaving and never come back, this box is our reward for Margaret. German POWs at Dover-Army-Airfield.” The box is made of stained and varnished aircraft plywood and has a hinged lid, dovetail joints, ball feet, and an interior lift-out tray.

Biography

Margaret McKnitt was born in Frederica, Delaware, and lived in Magnolia, Delaware, for 70 years. She graduated from high school in 1936. The only child of Henry and Alice McKnitt, she never married. Margaret was a civilian secretary at Dover Army Airfield (renamed Dover AFB in 1948) and retired after 20 years of service.