New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1918-11-30
NAVAL HERO TELLS
STORY OF ESCAPE
Captured by U-Boat, Lieut.. Isaacs
Declines to Remain Prisoner

London, NOV. 20. correspondents
of the Associated Press. )---Here is the
story of Lieutenant e. Y. Isaacs of
the United States Navy, watch Off
Ger Of the American transport Presi-
dent Lincoln when that vessel was
torpedoed in the Atlantic on May 81
last. He was captured by the German
submarine which sunk the ship. When
Off the Scandinavian coast he attempt
eel to swim ashore but was caught.
On his way to a prison camp in Ger
many he jumped from a train but
was recaptured. He escaped from the
prison and swan across the Rhine
river to safety in Switzerland.
Tho story has been told briefly in
the Associated Press dispatches but
its details are SO filled with the spirit
OF adventure as to be we'll worth the
falling.
When the President Lincoln went
to the bottom of the ocean Lieuten-
ant Isaacs, who is from Cresco, Iowa,
! climbed upon raft. Soon afterward
tho submarine emerged and her COM
! nander demanded the captain of tho
President Lincoln as d prisoner. The
survivors told him they believed the
captain had gone down with the ship,
not shat they were aware of that, but
20 save, if possible, the captain being
taken prisoner
While this was going on Lieuten-
ant Isaacs said, he lay on the raft
with his arms under him to hide the
officers stripes on his uniform, but
without success, and he was ordered
aboard the submarine, It was the
U30 and her T.; commander. Capt
Remey, had resided in the United
States and England and spoke Eng
iish f1uently. -...
apparently Reny had been af-
fected by our civilization said the
lieutenant, las he treated me pleas
antly while inQuiring as to the where
abouts of the skipper of the Lincoln.
was told that I would tell him where
he could find our captain or go to
Germany myself as a prisoner. I
could not conform to his first COM
mand and, OF course, would not have
had been able to- -'r
The young officer said that he was
given a, good bunk on the submarine
and four good meals daily, including
meat, eggs and real coffee The fol-
lowing day as the submarine was
cruising about seeking new victims
she was sighted by two American de-
stroyers. '.~.e.-.s ..@
while the destroyers were plung-
Ing toward us we were getting under
water as rapidly as possible and fl
nally stopped at a depth of 60 me-
ters,' Lieutenant Isaacs said. When
the depth bombs began to explode
every German was at his station, tef1se
and pretty badly scared. Now and
then a junior officer would sing out
to the captain that destroyer was
about so far away to starboard or port
as the case might have been. They
were recording the positions with
their listening devices. Then would
come a. depth charge. It Is difficult
to describe just the sensation, but it
seemed to me much like a, dog shak-
Ing rat and it was anthing but pleas
ant to be the rat. With each explo-
sion a look of horror would flash over
the faces Of the Germans, for they
expected every moment that one of
the. charges would be fired bit clos
or and they knew their craft could
not withstand it."
Too many destroYers were in that
area for comfort, SO Remy headed
for the Kiel canal the next night.
When off the Scandinavian coast.
Lieutenant Isaacs said he decided to
attempt to swim to shore when the
submarine approached territorial wa
tiers. With his life belt on, he was
Just slipping over the side shortly af-
ter midnight when he was discovered
by Remy himself and pulled aboard.
On arrival at WiIhelmshaven he
was kept three days on a submarine
mother" ship and three days in a.
land prison, carefully guarded and
badly fed. During this time he was
taken to the German battleship Kali
ser Wilhelm II, the flagship Of the
elect, and questioned by a staff off
Ger.
'I finally told him that the United
States would send SO many men to
France that the battle lines wouldn't
hold them said the lieutenant.
was then taken to KarlCruhe and
placed in q. hotel room by myself the
irst day. The next day I was put in
another room with eight French of
ncsrs, it having been learned In the
meantime that spoke French. These
rooms I afterwards learned were
known as the listening rooms" and
they were rightly named. The French
men and / found three dictaphones
and destroyed them. The next day I
was placed in room with three Brit
ish officers and there were dicta-
phones in that room"
After a few days at Karlsruhe, the
lieutenant was started for prelimt-
nary distributing camp at Viilingon,
Baden. In the railway carriage with
him were two guards. He was unawars
of conditions at the Vi1lingen camp,
; and decided to try to get away from
the train if the slightest opportunity
came.
zone of the guards seemed to be
dozing while the other was interested
In omething out OF the other side of
the carriage, when I dove through
the carriage window" the officer said.
The train was moving more rapidly
than heliexed for recaived an aW-