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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 24, 1918)
THE SEMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA. "OUTWITTING THE HUN" vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvwvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv O'BRIEN FINDS HIMSELF A PRISONER OF WAR AFTER A MIRACULOUS ESCAPE FROM DEATH. Synopsis. Pat O'Brien, a resident of Momcncc, III., nftcr Beelng service In tho American- flying corps on tho Mexican border In 1010, Joins the British Royal Flying corps In Canada, and nftcr n brief train ing period Is sent to France. IIo 1b assigned to a squndron in active Bervico on tho front. Ho engages ln several hot fights with German flyers, from which ho emerges victorious. CHAPTER III. Captured by tho Huns. slinll not easily forget tho 17th of August, 1017. I killed two Huns In the double-seated mnchlno in tho morning, another in tho evening, and then I was captured myself. I may have spent moro eventful days in my life, but I can't recall any just now. That morning, in crossing tho line on early morning patrol, I noticed two German balloons. I decided that bi noon as my patrol was over I would go oft? on my own hook and seo what a German balloon looked llko at close quarters. These observation balloons aro used by both sides In conjunction with tho artillery. A man Bits up In tho bal loon with a wireless apparatus and di rects tho firing of tho guns. From his point of vantago ho can follow the work of his own artillery with a re markable degrco of accuracy and at tho samo time ho cab observe tho ene my's movements and report them. Tho Germans nro very good at this work, and they uso n great number of Machine O'Brien Was Driving When He Was Overcome and Captured by the Huns. theso balloons. It was considered a very Important part of our work to keep them out of tho sky. Thero aro two ways of going after a balloon In n machine. One of them Is to cross tho lines nt a low altitude, fly ing so near tho ground thnt tho man with the antiaircraft gun can't bother you. You fly along until you get to tho level of tho balloon and if, ln tho meantime thoy hnvo not drawn tho balloon down, you open flro on it nnd tho bullets you uso will set It on flro If they land. Tho other way Is to fly ever whero you know tho balloons to be, put your mnchlno ln a spin bo that they can't bit you, get above them, spin over the balloon nnd then open fire. In going back over the lino you cross at a few hundred feet. y This is ono of tho hardest jobs In the ocrvlco. Thero is less- danger In attacking nn enemy's aircraft., Nevertheless, I had mndo up my mind to either get thoso balloons or make them descend, and I only honed that they would stay on tho Job until I had a chnnco at them. When cur two hourB' duty was up. tkorofore, I dropped out of tho forma tion as wo crossed tho lines and turned back again. I wob nt a height of 15.000 foot, con siderably higher tlinn tho balloons. Shutting my motor off, I dropped down through tho clouds, thinking to And tho balloons nt about flvo or six miles behind tho German lines, t as I enme out of tho cloud Mnks I saw below mo, about a thou sand feet, a two-seater hostile ma' chlno doing artillery observation and directing tbe Gorman guns. This was At a point about four miles behind tho Germnn lac&. . Bribe&tly tho German artillery saw toe and put out ground signals to nt .Tact the Hun machine's attention, for T mvr tho observer quit Ids worlc nnd grab his gun, whllo their pilot Btuck tho noso of his machlno etrnlght down. But thoy wore too lato. to escapo mo I was diving toward them nt n Bpeed of probably two hundred miles an hour, shooting all tho tlmo as fast ns possible. Their only clinnco lay In tho possibility that tho forco of my drlro might break ray wings. X knew my danger In that direction, but ns noon as I enroo out of my dlvo tho Iluns would hnvo their chance to get me, nnd I knew I hnd to get them first end tako n chanco on my wings hold lug out. Fortunately Bomo of my first bullets fouud their mark, and I wns ablo to conio out of my dlvo at about four thousand feet, They never enmo out IX thclrql Bt ricJit tlut ramo the hottest ell By Lieutenant Pat O'Brien ...... l .!. l T l.,t nvnnrt. UIlllUll III LIIU Ull J u , .,.i i.f t ti. .ii. f . Z.: r"' , , of tho mnchlno guns from tho ground, and they also put n barrage around me of shrnpnel from antiaircraft guns and I had an opportunity to "ride tho bnrrago," as they coll it In tho R. F. O. To make tho situation moro Interest- h.ov hocrnn ).nnM.m "fl.imini? nn- Ions" at me. "Flaming onions" nro rockets shot from a rocket gun. They nro used to hit a machine when it Is flying low, and they are effective up wo " , ' l 0IT, ... to about five thousand feet Some- kllle( without deliberately "wishing times thoy nro shot up one after an- them on ' myself. Later I was to learn other ln strings of about eight, and ,ff h,s Tf?,nt , they nro ono of the hardest things to Tn,at "fllght"-each squad go through. If they hit tho machine, ro" ,s d'v,dcd ,nto thfce flghts con It is bound to catch flro nnd then tho 8,stln! of s,lr mcn each-got ready to Jb la U' I All tho time, too, I was being at- tacked by "Archlo"-tho antiaircraft gun. I csenped tho mnchlnc guns nnd tho "flnmlng onions," but "Archie," tho antlnlrcrnft fire, got me four or flvo times. Every tlmo a bullet plugged me, or rather my macliine, It made n loud bang, on account of tho tension on tho material covering tho wings. Nono of their Bhots hurt mo until I was about a mllo from our lines, nnd then they hit my motor. Fortunately, I still had altitude enough to drift on to our own sldo of tho lines, for my motor wus completely out of commis- siori. They Just raised tho dickcns with mo all tho tlmo I was descend- ing, nnd I began to think I would strike tho ground before crossing tho line, but there was a slight wind In my favor, nnd It carried mo two miles behind our lines. Thero tho balloons I had gone out to get had tho satlsfac- tlon of "pln-pblnting" me. Thr6ugh tho directions which thoy were ablo to give to their artillery thoy commenced shelling my machluo whoro it lay. This partlcular'work Is to direct tho flro of their artillery, and they aro used Just as tho artll cry observation airplanes are. Usually two men aro stationed In each balloon. They ascend to a height of several thousand feet about flvo miles behind their own lines signaling nppnratus. They watch tho L, flrst th,"jh,t wn0 nlrly, f?ca h,,rf n vin. T,'cro wero eight of us to nlno of them. burst of their own artillery, check up tho position, get the range, and direct tho next shot When conditions nro fnvorablo thoy rntoiv hot V , 1 i , rately that It is quick work destroying tho object of their nttack. It was such balloon ns this that got my position, marked mo out called for an artillery shot, and thoy commenced Bhclllng my mnchlno whero it lay. If I had got tho two balloons instead of tho air- plane, I probably would not have lost ray mnchlno, for ho would in nil proba bility havo gono on homo and not both ered about getting my range nnd caus ing tho destruction of my mnchlnc. I landed In a part of tho country Hint w..n lin n,...i ,.,ui. .i.v.it hplcs. Fortunately my mnchlno wns .v ivivu t t in mien not badly damaged by tho forced land ing. I leisurely got out, walked around It to boo what tho damago was. and concluded that It could bo easily re paired, in fact, I thought If I could find n space long enough between shell holes to get a start boforo leaving tho ground that I would bo ablo to fly on rrom tnero. I was still examining my piano nnd considering tho matter of a few Blight repairs, without nny particular thought ror my own snfety In that unprotected epct, whon a shell camo whizzing through tho air, knocked mo to tho ground nnd landed a fow feet awnv. It had no soonop struck thnn I mado a run for cover und crawled into a shell holo. I would havo liked to get farther nwny, but I didn't know whero tho next shell would hurst, and I thought I wns fairly eafe thero. bo I squatted down and let them blnzo away.- Tho only damago I Buffered was from tho mud which splattered up ln my fnco and over my clothes. Thnt was my introduction to n shell hole, and I resolved right thero that tho In fnntry could havo nil tho shell-hole fighting Hiey wanted, but It did not nppcnl to me, though they live In thcra through many a long night nnd I hnd only sought shcltor thero tor a few minutes. After tho Gormnns had completely demolished my machine nnd ceased firing, I wnlted thero n Bho.rt time, fearing perhaps thoy might send over a lucky shot, hoping to get mo after nil. But evidently thcy concluded enough shells had been wasted on ond man. I crawled out cautiously, shook tho mud off, nnd I looked over In tho direction whero ray machlno hnd once been. Thero woru'I enough left for a decent souvenir, but ucvartheless I got (Copyrlaht. 1018. by Pit Alv O'Brien) a few, "such as they were," and read ily observing that nothing could bo done with what was left, I mado my way back to lhfantry headquarters, where I was ablo to telephono in a reporL A llttlo later ono of our automo biles enmo out nftcr mo and tookjno back to ouralrdromc. Most of "my squadron thought I was lost beyond doubt, nnd never expected to see me again; but my friend, Paul Rnney, had held out that I was all right, and as I wns afterwnrds told, snid, "Don't IJl - lIU ll UllUlllUl , mill, lliniliuuu i r . 1 1 w-4- T-I..1.. ... . - . . . i ,, 1 will be back, if ho lias to walk." And Jo knew that tho only thing that kept mo from walking was tho fact that our u"nf me, n1om1e- , , , w UUK "-"" "' ?ua "Ul lu "nu wu" """ ln my o ability. One of the men In tbo squadron told me that I had bet- ter not toko thoso chances; that it was going to bo a long war and I n ,ni, T --,4,.l i,t t ....... i. 1 "" rkc? "P ? d"ty IT1, n8Ke" 1110 commanding oiucer, a mnJr - whnt tno reason for thnt was, nnd 110 rePlled thnt ho thought I had S" uuu uuy. tiuwuver, , ,tnw that 1 ,1 n,ot, 8- someone ? rom nno.ther would linvc l K0 my Piaco, ana i insisieu upon f,olnK D wlt 1 Ptttro1 ns soalt and the major reluctantly consented. Had 1,0 know" wlmt af storo for v1 ara uro 1,0 wouldn't lravo changed his """u .V lvauu: , , . M ?,1,t ,vu T "uu "v muwiiui for this patrol, anyway, because as we crossed tho lines one of them had to uui u urouni loowr ireum ?ur Prol was up at 8 p. m., and up ,to ,w,UnIn ten, ra,nutcs oC Jh,at hour U "id been entirely uneventful. M vmTu :W" : rcnfly'ne height of 13,000 feet, ""B"a" t"Y f ncs which were about 8,000 feet bc,ow, us lck fl8ht wlth 111110 nua lt.t , , mi mm, m for It, because I could eeo over toward th? ocean a who o flock of Hun ma- SintS nfinnI JLa"?"" of 0Qr BCrappy COuntry So wo dove down on thoso nlno Huns. But Boon the oUier machines which I hnd seen ln t' j distance, and which :",L7,"K f,'- - ,Q turn, dove down on us, there was 1nnf t' t nf ,nm tn n '.hf , Just twenty of them to our eight 1 Four of them singled me out I waa diving, nnd thoy dived right down nfter mo' Bh"nf as thcy fmf Th(f tracer bullets wore coming closer to m? every mIome,n'- TlQ trac,,r b"1' ar ,bal !,?Lfl?JVl shooter to follow tho courso his bul lets nro taking and to correct his aim accordingly. They do no moro harm to a pilot If ho Is hit than an ordinary "J". " ?u" " .nf bullet, but If thcy hit tho petrol tank, Kou ulB"i wnen a macnino caicnes flro ln flight thero Is no way of put- Ututehnnt O'Brien In the First Machine He Used In Active Service. With Him tt Lieutenant At. n ting It out It takes less than a min ute for tho fabric to burn off tho wings nnd then the mnchlno drops like nn nrrow, leaving a trail of smoko like a comet. As their tracer bullets camo closer nnd closer to mo I realized that my chances of escape wero nil. Their very next flhot, I felt, must hit me. Once, somo days before, when I wns flying over the line, I hnd watched a light abovo me. A German machine was set on flro, nnd dived down through our formation In flames on Its way to tho ground. Tho Hun wns div ing nt such a sharp angle that both his wings camo off, and ns he passed within a few hundred feet of me I saw tho look of horror on his face. Now, when I expected any moment to Buffer a similar fntc, I could not help thinking of that poor Hun's last look of ngony. I realized thnt my only chanco lay ln making nn Immelman turn. This maneuver was Invented by a German one of tho greatest who over flew and who was killed ln nctlon sometime be fore. This turn, which I made success fully, brought ono of their machines right ln front of me, nnd as ho sailed along barely ten yards away, I "had the drop" on him, and he knew It. His white face and startled eyes I can still see. He knew beyond ques tion that his last moment had come, because his position prevented his tak ing aim at me, while my gun pointed strnlght at him. My flrst tracer bullet passed within a yard of his head, tho second looked ns If It hit his shoulder, tho third struck him ln tho neck, and then I let him hnvo tho whole works, nnd ho went down in a spinning noso dive. All this time tho three other Hun machines wero shooting away at me. I could hear the bullets striking my machlno ono nfter another. I hadn't the slightest idea that I could ever beat off those three Huns, but thero was nothing for mo to do but fight, nnd my hands were full. In fighting, your machlno is drop ping, dropping all the time. I glanced at my Instruments, and my altitude was between 8,000 and 0,000 feet While I was still looking nt tho In struments, tho whole blamed works disappeared. A burst of bullets went into the instrument board" nnd blew It to smithereens, another bullet went through my upper Hp, camo out of the roof of my mouth nnd lodged ln my throat, and tho next thing I knew was when I camo to in a German hospital tho following morning at flvo-o'clock, German time. I was a prisoner of war. CHAPTER IV. . Clipped Wings. The hospital ln which I found my self on tho morning nfter my capture was a private houso made of brick, very low und dirty, and not nt nil adapted for use as a hospltul. It had evidently been used but n few dny3 on account of the big push that was tak ing place at that tlmo of the year, and In all probability would bo abandoned as soon as they bad found a better place. In all, tho houso contained four rooms nnd a stnble, which wns by far tho largest of nil. Although I never looked Into this "wing" of tho hospltnl, I wns told that It too, was filled with patients lying on beds of straw around on tho ground. I do not know whether ciiEllfib iff they, too, wero officers or privates. The room ln which I found myself contained eight beds, three of which wero occupied by wounded German of ficers. Tho other rooms, I imnglned. had about tho same number of beds ns mine. Thero were no Red Cross nurses in attendance, Just orderllcs( for this Was only nn emergency hospital and too near tho firing line for nurses. Tho orderlies wero not old men nor very young boys, ns I had expected to find, but young men In tho prime of life, who evidently had been medical stu dents. Ono or two of them, I discov ered, wero nble to talk English, but for somo reason thcy would not talk. Perhaps thcy wero forbidden by the officer In chargo to do so. In addition to the bullet wound ln my mouth I hud n swelling from my forehead to the back of my head al most us big as my shoe and that is saying considerable. I couldn't move an inch without suffering intense pain, and when tho doctor told me that I had no hones broken I wondered how a fellow would feel who hnd. German officers visited mo that morning and told mo thnt my muchine went down ln a spinning noso dive from a height of between 8,000 nnd 0,000 feet, nnd they had the surprise of their lives when they discovered that I had not been dashed to pieces. Tlioy had to cut me out of my machine, which was riddled with shots and shat tered to bits. A German doctor removed the bullet from my throat, and the flrst thing he said to mo when I came to wns, "You aro an American I" There was no denying it because tho metal Identification disk on my wrist bore the inscription : "P. O'B. U. S. A. R. F. O." Although I wns suffering intense ngoriy, tho doctor, who spoko perfect English, Insisted upon conversing with me. "You may bo all right ns n sports man," he declared, "but you are a d d murderer just the same for be ing here. You Americans who got into this thing before America camo into tho war aro no better than common murderers and you ought to bo treated tho same way I" The wound in my mouth made it lm possible for mo to answer him, nnd I was Buffering too much pain to bo hurt very much by anything ho could say. Ho asked me if I would like an applet I could just as easily have eaten a brick. When he got no answers out of me, he walked away disgustedly. "You don't havo to worry any more," ho declared, ns a parting shot "For you the war is over." I was given a little broth later in tho day, and as I began to collect my thoughts I wondered what had hap pened to my comrades ln tho battle which had resulted so disastrously to me. As I begnn to realize my plight I worried less about my physical con dition than tho fact that, as the doc tod had pointed out, for mo thd war was practically over. I had been in it but n short time, nnd now I would bo a prisoner for tho duration of the war I Tho next day Bomo German flying officers visited me, nnd I must say they treated mo with great consideration. They told mo of the mnn I had brought down. They eald he was a Bavarian and a fairly good pilot They gave me his hat as a souvenir nnd compliment ed mo on the fight I had put up. My helmet, which was of soft leather, was split from front to back by a bullet from a machine gun, and they examined it with great Interest. When they brought mo my uniform I found that the Btnr of my rank which had been on my right shoulder strap had been shot off clean. Tho ono on my left shoulder strnp they asked me for as a souvenir, ns also my R. P. O. badges, which I gave them. They al lowed me to keep my "wings," which I wore on my left breast, because they wero aware that that Is the proudest possession of a British flying officer. I think I nm right ln saying that tho only chivalry ln this war on tho Ger man side of tho trenches has been dis played by the officers of the German. flying corps, which comprises tho pick of Germany. They pointed out to mo that I and my comrades wero fighting purely for tho lovo of it, whereas thcy were fighting in defense of their coun try, but still, they said, they admired us for our sportsmanship. I had a no tion to nsk them if dropping bombs on London and killing bo many Innocent people wns In defense of their country. but I was In no position or condition to pick a quarrel nt that time. That same duy a German officer was brought Into the hospital and put ln tho bunk next to mine. Of courso casually looked nt him, but did not pay particular attention to him at that time, ne lay there for threo or four hours before I did tako a real good look at him. I was positlvo thnt ho could not speak English, and naturally I did not suy anything to him. Once when I looked over In his direction his eyps were on me, nnd to my surprlsn j ho said, very sarcastically, "What the lit I aro ycj looking at" and then smllen. At tnls time I was Ju..t be ginning to sny n few words, as my wtjund hnd prevented me from talking, but I said enough to let him know what I wob doing thero nud how I happened to bo there. Ho evidently hnd heard my story from some o; tho others, though, because he said it was too bad I had not broken, ray neck; Hint ho did not have much sympathy with tho flying corps nnyway. Ho . asked mo what part of America I camo from, and I told him "California." After a few moro questions ho leurncd that I hailed from San Fran cisco, and then added to my distress by saying, "How vould you like to havo n good, Juicy steak right out of tho Ilofbrnu?" Naturally I told him It would "hit tho spot," but I hardly thought my mouth was ln shape just then to cat it I Immediately asked. of course, " what ho knew nbout the Ilofbrnu, nnd he replied, "I wns con nected with the place a good many years, and I ought to know all about it" After that this German officer and I became rather chummy; that is, as far as I could be chummy with nn enemy, nnd wo whlled away a good mnny long hours talking about tho days we had spent In San Francisco, nnd frequently in the conversation ono of us would mention somo prominent Callfornlan, or some little Incident pc currlng thero, with which, wo wero both familiar. He told me when war was declared he was, of course, Intensely patriotic and thought the only thing for him to do was to go back and aid In the de fense of his country. Ho found that he could not go directly from San Francisco, because the water was too well guarded by the English, bo he boarded a boat for South America. There he, obtained n forged passport and In the guise of n Montcvldcan took passage for New York and from there to England. Ho passed through England without nny difficulty on his forged passport but concluded not to risk going to Hol land for fear of exciting too much sus picion, bo went down through tho Strait of Gibraltar to Italy, which was neutral at that time, up to Austria, Pat O'Brien and Paul Raney. and thence to Germany. He said when they put in at Gibraltar, after leaving England, there were two suspect! taken off tho ship, men that he wai sure were neutral subjects, but much to his relief his own passport and cret dentlals were examined and passed O. K. The Hun spoke of his voyage from America to England as being excep tionally plcasnnt, and said he had a fine time, because he associated wltb the English passengers on board, his fluent English readily admitting him to several spirited arguments on the subject of the war, which ho keenly enjoyed. One little Incident ho related revealed tho remarkablo tact which our enemy displayed ln his associa tions nt sen, which no doubt resulted advantageously for him. As ho ox pressed it he "made a hit" one evening when the crowd has assembled for a little music by suggesting, that they sing "God Save the King." Theroaftcx his popularity was assured and the de sired effect accomplished, for ver soon a French officer camo up to him and said, "It's too bad that England and ourselves naven't men In our army like you." It was too bad, he agreed. in telling me about it, because he wan confident he could have done a whole lot more for Germany If he had been in tho English army. In spite of his appnrent loynlty, however, the man didn't seem very enthusiastic over the war and frankly ndmltted one day that tho old political battles waged in Cali fornia were much more to his liking thnn tho battles he had gono through over here. On second thought he laughed as though it were a good Joke, but he evidently intended mo to infer thnt he hud taken a keen Interest In politics in San Francisco. From his prison, O'BHen wit nesses a thrilling a,lr battle, which results In the death of his chum, who Is shot down by a German flyer. Don't mlso the next Installment (TO BE CONTINUED.) Wives Evidently His Hobby. N Probably tho modern world's marry ing record for men wns created by Georgo Wltzoff, thu bignmlst, whose marriages havo variously been estimat ed at from 200 to 800. It was report ed that ln Uio spaco of n singlo week he went through marrlngo ceremonies with ten women. Worse'n Bolls, Too. Old Job had his troubles, but nobody raised the price of ice on him Trhen hn was laying In his winter's cu. At lunta Constitution.
