Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1918-11-25

LIEUTENANT ISAACS OF NAVY
WELL TREATED ON SUBMARINE
BUT BEATEN in GERMAN CAMP

we planned TO try again on the night
of october g. Fifteen feet from our
barred windows was a high barbed
wire fence which turned inward at
the top much the same as at our in
'(ternment camps in the states. Be
tween the fence and our window was
ditch seven feet wide filled with
strapped larbed wire. We had al
most severed the bars of the window
in the room in which l was impris-
oned. using an improvised saw one of
the soldiers had obtained from a Rus
sian,
1.-TWO other soldiers with me were
to use two tennis court markers
eighteen feet long, as a bridge from
our window to the top of the barbed
wire fence The wooden markers
which we calculated would barely
hold us when strapped together, were
to be brought into our room after the
roll-call at night
1--WE figured that soon after the at
tempt the guards would be attracted
from 'ho main gate. so three officers
elected to try dash there at the
proper moment. Three others were to
attempt to get through the fence with
The wire cutters, while two others
planned to get over. We had fixed
the electric light wires so that we
could auickly short-circuit them This
was to be done exactly at ! 0:30 o'clock,
when every mon was ready to 60
Il will tell the name of only one of
the officers as | do not know the fate
of the others. He was Corporal Harold
p, Willis of Boston, a member of the
Lafayette escadrille. He was one of
- 1.
gate, and he and | had rendezvous
two miles from camp.
when the lights were extinguished
by the shor'- circuitine we forced the
bars as quietly as possible. and ran out
the two markers strapped together,
and darkened with shoe backing as
much as possible in the short time we
had. There was no moon hut the sky
was clear.
"One Of the window bars stuck. and
we made considerable noise forcing
it. but it didn't take us long to start
the risky trip to the top of the fence.
I got outside all right hut there were
guards both to my right and left
There were no protecting trees, so
ran as fast as l could with bullets
whis;ling about me.
IT met Willis at the rendezvous and
we set out southwest We travelled at
night slept in the day and lived onI
raw vegetables we took from gardens,
At last we reached the Rhine at al
point between Schaffhausen and Basic.
1--WE found that at every place we
might approach the bank it was thor
oughly guarded We decided then to
find creek if possible and wade
down it until we struck the Rhine.
The current in the one we found was
very swift and the water cold Willis
had just taken off his clothes for thei
plunge into the Rhine, when he was
swept away by the current, which att
that point moved abovt twelve kilome-
teers an hour.
at was an awful trip I'M the cold
water with eddies swishing me around,
and at one time / turned on my back
to float as long as possible. 1t seemed
that il was impossible to bring thatl
hank any closer with my waning
strength Finally l was fortunate
enough to be caught in an eddy that
swept me to the shore.
when able TO walk, I found a
farm house and was warmly welcomed
by the Swiss peasants. | told them OF
Willis and asked them to send some
one down to the bank to look for
him A short distance down the road
the peasant met one of his nelghbors
who had come to look for me. Wins
had landed much the same as ] had,
was treated as / had been by anothef
peasant and had sent a MESSENGER
for me lust as / had for him. Willis
went to France and l assume mas
Joined his command by this time.