The Washington times., 1918-12-04
D. c. AVIATOR TELLS
OF BEINGcAPTURED
tcOntIhued from Firsf PaEe.l

raid Americans made on German,
territory.
send out First Picture.
The daring washington aviator.
who Is the son Of Mrs. Mary L. Duke.
has sent his mother q picture Of the
American prisoners with him AZ Camp
Karlsruhe This Is believed to be the
flrst picture OF Yank prisoners in Ger
many to reach Warrington
He writes:
This Is the first opportunity that
1 have had to write q letter, as We.
are allowed two letters and four
cards month. Wen. the story u.
this: -
"we went over the lines on q dull
day with q high wind and lots Of
clouds oraid q railroad siding At
Contains. east Of Verdun. but got lost
and ended up around Coblentb, 40
miles from our own aerodrome. All
OF US were forced to come down be-
cause We had no gasolene, We land
ed July 10 at 1913 o'clock 1t night.
at q place named Cochen, forty mine
kilometers from Cohlentz. The civil
Ian population was very angry be-
cause we were Carrying bombs, but
did not try any violence. A priest
made them take rs to the military
authorities. This old fellow was won
derful and showed us every possible
courtesy. After various examina-
tions and changes We were finally
the frst postal card. The camp II
very nice and there are many English
and French officers here
To Get Y. M. c: A. Boxes.
Don't worry about me because
am quite wen and all right I don't
need anything except, possibly. money.
because the Red Cross and the Y. n
c. A. are giving US all that we need
The Red Cross boxes arrive about
once q week and weigh twenty-four
pounds. All we can do il wait until
the end Of the war or to be exs
changed
1--WE are receiving the same food a..
the German soldiers and can't com
plain Our salary goes on just the.
same, i suppose, but don't know for
certain and the major can't remem-
Der. The German governments pays
US 60 marks a month and We must
pay them most OF that for food. -
can't draw any money in France and
our Government doesn't deposit our
salary .as the English do. Major
Brown will be out Of luck IL he doesn't
get his pay because he has a wife in
the States. and she cannot get along
without his aid.
"AlI our stuff Is going to be taken
care Of by the squadron ] had the,
German aviators drop my keys and
note on the aerodrome and told Bob
Thompson to take care OF my trunks
and carry them with the squadron
4wish you would drop Bob Brown
ing's mother a letter and express our
sympathy to her and tell her he Is in
the best of health. He was my pilot.
you remember told you, and he Il a
mighty me boy.
Went Fight Again. 80
"If the darn war isn't over WREN
we are exchanged ] VIII be sent onto,
some place in the rear because they
won't let you go to the front again
once you have been a prisoner.
don't know why this Is. because all OF
US would want another crack at this.
Tell Gerald and Charlie this two,
brothers) that they viii have to do,
my share as am out OF the running.
Here's our record; the first Ameri-
can bombers to be taken prisoners
and the biggest bone OF the war.
well. mother, this will reach you,
about the middle of September, i'm
agine from the dope that I gathered
around the camps. As soon ash can
will send you some postal cards
because this Is a beautiful country
even IL we are at war with them.
Please don't worry about me and tell
all the rest that 1 am o. K and hope
to get back into the scrap again"
The Red Cross in Switzerland no
titled Mrs. Duke that her son was q
prisoner in Camp Friedriehsfeste.
Rastatt, but he was evidently trans
ferred to Karlsruhe later, for the
picture he sent was from this point
The feat which brought the daring
aviator to the attention OF General
Pershing and caused the subsequent
citation was a regular Doug Fair
banks" at an altitude OF 1000 feat.
The facts were confirmed by the War
Department. a necessary proceedings,
for the stunt reads like fiction.
Hangs On Wire 1000 Feet Up.
While MP as an observer for Lieut..
Robert Browning, the sRob Browning"
in his letter, a wire stay at the end OF
one of the planes gave way. Duke
climbed out on a thin wire stay,
grasped the end OF the broken stay
and held II and the wing together un-
til they were able to land.
The first American bombing raid. In
which Lieutenant Drake participated.
resulted in the destruction of a nVm-
Der OF warehouses. water tanks, and
roundhouse behind the German
lines. The raid was entirely success
full and was carried out without the
loss OF machines or men. In an aerial
combat shortly afterlthis, in which an
American bombing squadron was at
tackled by nine German planes, ~the
plane in which Lieutenant Duke few
was disabled and forced to descend
though neither of the airmen were in
jured.
Until a little over a year ago. Duke.
who Is twenty years old. was a stu
dent at Business High School. He was
a gasoline motor enthusiast and i'm
mediately enlisted in the aviation
corps. He was sent to ground school
at Princeton, N. J.. and graduated
from there about eleven months ago.
He was Immediately sent to France
and was commissioned a second lieu
tenant while overseas. He now wears
six months service stripe and IL
entitled to a blue three months stripe
in addition.
He has two brothers, Daniel Fits
gerald Duke, also an aviator In
France, and Charles l. Duke, a quar-
termaster in the navy, also on over
seas duty. and also has two uncles in
France. One OF them, Private Charles
A. Laughran, is in the Twenty-ninth