Omaha daily bee., 1917-08-13
German 7 Pa.sasssss ~ = mmander the Slayer
of His 1ssssyeey sey Sweetheart in Romantic
Tragedy of Awful Undersea Warfare
Forgiving Father Relates How
Friend Of Family Was Agent
Of Death for Daughter
and Son.

An Atlantic. Port, Aug, l2.-Lars
Larsen, an elderly man, but still Wig
orous and erect, who arrived here
aboard small cargo steamship told
story Of U-boat romance which, for
dramatic interest, is perhaps unparal-
leled by anything ever narrated con-
cerning, the submarine warfare of at
rocity.
Larsen was an officer aboard the
Swedish steamship Ada, which was
sunk June Il while she was on her
way from Gothenburg, Sweden, to
Hull, England. This is his story:
Before the war began a handsome
young German became acquainted
with my son Sven, and, before long,
was frequent caller at our home in
Stockholm. He fell in love with my
daughter, Minna, who was 10 years
old and considered beautiful.
The German, Hans Won Tuebingcr,
was an art student, and had come to
Sweden to study some phase of his
calling which he said he could not
find in any other country. | never
understood exactly what that phase
was; but at any rate. it was the means
OF bringing unhappiness to me and
mine.
"Minna soon grew to return the
love Of the good looking youngstef,
and when the war broke out and he
received notice TO present himself at
once to the naval unit to which he
belonged in Germany, the poor girl
was ready to die of grief. Evidently
it cost Hans a terrible struggle, too;
but he said he did not believe the
war could last a week and that he
would return at the latest in two
weeks. And it was arranged that
when he did return he and Minna
were to be married. ..a
1.-TWO months elapsed before we got
a letter from Hans. 1t told us of
having been detailed to submarine
work and of the unhappy time he
was having counting the hours when
the war was to end and he could come
to claim his bride. After that we
never heard from him again, "
"For while Minna bore up brave
1y but she began to fade perceptibly.
My wife died three months after Hans
had gone and, as my son Sven was
already sturdy help, to me aboard
my schooner, the Baldar, decided
to take Minna along on Our voyages
too.
Toward the end of April. as we
were nearing the coast Of England,
OF return voyage from the west
coast of Africa, "a shell struck the
Baldar arnidships. A splinter of the
smashed woodwork struck Minna and
killed her. The rest of US had barely
time to get into small boat and get
away before the schooner sank, car
rying down the body of my daughter.
at was only then that we noticed
the U-boat from which the shell had
been fired. 1t came close to us and,
Judge of my horror and that of Sven
when we discovered that the captain
O: the murderous craft was the man
who was to have become the husband
of Minna.
"He appeared to be greatly affected
when he saw my boy and me; and
his first question was, How is my
Minna; and does she still think of
me?
81 pointed to the place where the
Baldar had sunk, What almost
shrieked Hans Won Tuebinger, 'Minna
is dead?'
"His grief was terrible. We told
him what had happened. He soon
braced up, however, and, after saying,
War is hell he ordered his men to
stock our boat with provisions and
bade US goodby. A moment later
his boat was speeding toward an
other sailing vessel which had just
hove into sight. After many vicissi-
tudes we reached England
Last June my son and | were Of
ficers aboard the Swedish steamship
Ada, under Captain Tension. Again
we were nearing the British coast
when a submarine fired shell. There
was no delay in getting into life
boats this time either; but somehow
the gun fire did not seem to do the
destructive work quickly enough to
suit the submarine captain, and so a
frnnt;cu.a nm puva TUo CoIurnu Two1