The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1919-07-30


given fifteen-day furlough to visit
his home here with the understanding
that at the expiration of that time
he is to go to Camp Gordon, Atlanta,
where he will receive his discharge
from the service. Possessing healthy
color and apparently quite heavy
in weight, one could hardly conceive
from his present appearance that the
returned soldier weighed hardly nine
ty pounds this time a year ago thanks
to two plates of near-soup a day and
one hunk Of black bread week.
German doctors with whom we
came in contact more or less in the
two German prison camps we found
to be pretty decent lot," said Capt.
Hunter. "However, they would not
let us work with them except as
assistants or orderlies, and they did
nothing toward feeding us any more
than the rules allowed.
No Hope of Escape.
Escape was impossible. Located
as we were in the poorest part of
Germany, beset by enemies on every
side, there was no chance for a get
away. Had we managed to escape
from our captors, it would only have
been to be retaken because to get out
of the country we would either have
had to get through entire Germany
or the one side or Russia on the other
side, and escape through Russia would
have been just as impossible as
through Germany. Several Allied
prisoners did get away temporarily,
only to be recapturcd and sentenced
to days of solitary confinement. There
was nothing for us to do except make
the best of it and await for the day
of liberation at the end of the war
which the Germans saw, as well as
we, was inevitable. You may imagine
that November 26, was one glad day
with me when / was given my release
and returned to the British forces.
| was not sent back to my old regi-
ment-there was little of ii left to go
back to; but was assigned to hospital
work in which ! was engaged until
my return to the States"
Gwen so soon as April 1918 we
prisoners realized that the end was
near for Germany" said Capt. Hun
tcr". The Germa ntroops were fairly
well fed then and on to the end; but
the civilian population was slowly
starving. They knew about those two
plates of soup a day as well as we
prisoners. We could tell from the
appearance of the horses, the ram
shackle wagons taken from Russia,
the despairing look in the eyes of
civilians, the worried look of German
officers and soldiers that the end for
them was near. And those facts
helped to alleviate our own sufferings
wonderfully. Thanks to the good Of
fees of the British Red Cross, we got
more to eat about August l, the ex-
tras being furnished by the Red
Cross"
British Fought and Died Like
SpOrtsmen.
Capt. Hunter has none but the
highest praise for the British troops
with whom all of his service was
spent. Intimately associated with
both officers and men of Great Brit
ain for two years, living in the
trenches with them, binding their
wounds, coming to know their inner
most thoughts and feelings through
months and months i'm the thickest
Of it all with them he is a most com
pcten. Judge of the true character
and worth Of the British and the
gallant part that he played in the
struggle for world democracy. He
naturally made many friends among
the English during his long service in
England and with English troops in
Belgium and France, and while he is
hopeful that it will never be necc:-
sary to 81 to war again, if it ever
does become necessary he could rot
hope To serve with finer and drawer
personnel Of officers and men than the