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.
