5 Cents Fort Niagara PoW Camp

Fort Niagara, a 19th-century fortification at the mouth of the Niagara River, was repurposed during World War II as a prisoner of war camp holding German and Italian captives. Under the Geneva Convention, the U.S. Army was required to provide canteen privileges to POWs, and scrip was the practical solution — it prevented prisoners from accumulating U.S. currency that might fund escape attempts.

The Youngstown printing origin is simply geographic: the camp sat within that postal district. Campbell reference 8146 places this within a well-documented series of American POW canteen issues, most of which were destroyed after camp closure.