Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-05-04
O'ERIEN THRILLS
WITH HISTORY
Of TEUT ESCAPE
,,.h,iuc Irish Aviator Who 1iade
Ills Getaway From Hun
Captors hires Crowd.
vouEsT STYLE Is PLEASING
v..ital AT Spencer Square Theatre
damned Full oI Intense
AmericaniSm.


.nt Aehting the German people,
-, the kaiser only, do not oeileYe
m II is all bosL The German
ssses 10 a man are behind the en-
- in all OF the vital issues OF
- Great war" SO spoke Lieuten-
Lot O-Brien. Yankee member o.
=. Rrjfish ROYAL Flying corps an:
time German prisoner OF war,
s-s,rs a crowd that packed the
s-o,csr Square theatre to its ca
e;tv last evening. He appeared.
r-Ser the auspices Of Amoo grotto-
Iorg before the lieutenant made
rs appearance the house was well
allied and when he finally mounted
~ platform, there was not a va
esnr seat in the building Many
vere turned away al the door.
AFTER il is all over, you folks
nav forget your bitterness, went
~ pat but If I live 10 be a hun
s-ed wears old ] shall never get over
mine. l have seen 100 much OF the
Ann and experienced too much at
sis hands TO ever forget And yet
/, snother place Lieutenant o 'BrieR
aid We will never ,tarve the Hun
mo submission. II is impossible.
We will win this war by whipping
the Germans and We'll 90 it with
american men and American dol
Isrsr The audience greeted this
statement witt thunderous APP
plause.
Following his introduction by
Otto HildebrandJ, Lieutenant
OBrien told his story modestly and
entertainingly. working into it a
good deal Of natural wit that gave
lis tale life and Zest. I claim
nothing fOF myself: thousands of
other American boys would have
done the same as / cid under the
circumstances" smilingly said the
fighting Irishman.
Beginning with d description %
his early efforts at flying with a
Curtiss machine in California in
1912 and of a machine he built with
a companion parts of which are
now distributed all over that state. -
Lieutenant O'Brien told of entering
Uncle Sans service at the outbreak
Of the Mexican trouble. He became
dissatisfied with the inaCtion of that
campaign and resigned, enlisting in
the ROYAL Flying corps He was
then sent 10 Canada where he be
came one OF a company Of Is bird
men. only three of whom are now
alive. One is a prisoner Of war IN
Germany, another is in service in
Italy. while the other. O'BTien, was
wounded and captured. but made
good his escape. The remaining Is
we're killed.
Lieutenant O'Brien described
clearly the three sorts of service
flying: scouting. bombing and fight
ing. The latter is that type of low
flying where the planes fly over the
enemy trenches to pick out the in
tantrymen therein. The aviator
and his machine make an excellent
target for machine gun and rife fire
under these conditions. No man
is ever hurt in the rush 10 volun-
teer for this service" dryly COM
mented the lieutenant. Its about
as dangerous work as 1 know of. -
Taken Hun Prisoner.
Wildly describing his act in
bringing down his first enemy plane,
0BTien led up TO Aug. Is OF last
year when he was one OF eight Brit
ISL aviators who were attacked by
20 enemy planes. Four OF the hos
tile craft singled out O'Brien. He
had forced one OF them down when
be was shot through the mouth and
his machine damaged. He lost CON
sciousness 5000 feet in the air, and
plunged head foremost 10 the earth.
When he came 10 he was a German
prisoner of war. his plane being
brought down behinl the Teuton
lines.
Pats friends in his flying unit be-
heTed him killed, but following the
practice that has prevailed since the
outbreak OF the war between air
men OF the Combatants. the Ger
mans dropped notes in the British
lines giving information that Pat
was alive and q prisoner
l found feeling against the
americans who had entered the ser
vice OF the allies in advance of the
United States entrance into the war
very bitter" continued Lieutenant
oBrien. They called US murder
ers. The doctor who removed the
bullet from my mouth took the OPP
portunity he had while attending
me TO inform me OF his opinion OF
my conduct II l had my way, |
would line you up against a stone
van in front OF a firing squad he
told me.
i talked with 20 or more inter
prefers at the prison camp and
found them all alike All wanted
peace. but Il was a German made
peace They wanted Belgium and
serbia retained. II any man tells
you again that we are fighting only
lAe kaiser. tell him that Pat O'Brien
says he lies"
me speaker described how he Sc
sored tip as the hiding place of a
seslred map by feigning a quarrel
the prison camp with one of his
,rsiloH prisoners. an English officer.
me Two fell 10 arguing loudly be
.eath the window Of the owner of
/ e map. a German officer. Pat
sS,yalSteFously proclaimed that Held
ssOefg was not on the Rhine. while
az fellow equally as loudly declared
ne reverse. The German TO settle
Ae dispute. brought forth the map.
nsciosing It's place OF concealment.
-ater, OBrien purloined it. and re-
,asned i as q guide for use in the
ape which he was even then
FLAMING.
How lie Escaped.
: ne then narrated the story of his
sape We were being trans
sIea % another prison camp on
seW- and were crowded into \