Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-03-19
coLFAx ACE, VISITING oRINNELL
RELATES EXPERIENCES IN
GERMAN PRISONS.
NO ooUsT OF DEFEAT;
GERMANS FIRST TO LEARN IT
Treatment Accorded War Hero Very
Good-"Eseaps" to Switzerland Plan
ned and Aided by Prison Officials
To Allow Him to Secure His Pos.
sessions in France.

Grlnnell, MdTcn ls.--t1edrehS si"u
to be at home again and modestly
deprecatory Of the honors which are
being heaped upon him, Capt. Norman
Hall, an ace OF the United States ny
ing service. Jointly claimed by CoifaX
and Grinnell as war hero. stepped
off the train here. He was greeted by
a committee of the college faculty and
many friends who either had heard
that he was coming or who just nap
pened 10 be on the platform hurried up
TO greet him.
Captain Hall received his discharge
day or so ago, but his civilian clothes
have failed to arrive and ne is still
in uniform. Like all men who nave
been in uniform a few months. he
wonders what the sensation Will be
when he gets into "clts" again and the
cold breezes of early spring wander
unchecked up the unprotected legs OF
his trousers. with the exception Of a
slight limp he shows no traces Of the
occasion when he was forced down
within the German lines, breaking
both ankles and his nose in making the
landing.
Speaking of this exciting experience
Captain Hall said:
Il had been engaged with other
American planes in action well within
the German lines when the cloth on
the upper part OF one wing suddenly
tore loose. This machine wss one
40 Nv
house for combat purposes and had
been offered to the French govern
ment. which rejected il because 1t was
not strong enough. However, the
French had promised TO supply Amer
lean aviators with single seat combat
planes and as they were not able to
furnish "Strads", their best fighting
machine. and dandy, they turned
over these new planes to the Amer
leans. Incidentally several American
flyers were forced 20 descend within
the German lines on account of pre-
clsely the same accident as l expert
enced; the cloth on the wings tearing
away. Fortunately the cloth on the
under side of the wing remained and
by throwing my control over as far as
it would go / was able to keep flying.
tho the plane was tilted at danger
Gus angle. 500.
y WAS trying to make q landing and
had just about decided that ] would
come down in No Mans Land. when a
small German incendiary shell lodged
right between two OF the cylinders OF
my motor and stuck there. Fortunate
~ il did not explode. ] was at con-
siderable height then. and OF course
when the machine was struck it FELL
rapidly All could do toward con-
trolling it was TO direct it downward
in spirais and Just b..tore l hit the
ground | gave a gigantic tug on the
lever which enabled ne to make some
sort Of landing. However. the ma
chine struck so hard that il flew to
pieces and both my feet were bent back
and under as / was dragged along the
ground. The shell remained lodged be-
tween the cylinders of the motor !
have a picture which German officer
took Of it.
Il struck a few kilometers inside the
German first line. and close to a wood.
in which were number of German
dugouts. Two or three hundred Ger
mans rushed out at once, but Offered
no violence. They searched my pock-
cts but did not find much of anything
except my Identification card. They
moved me TO one of their dugouts, and
little later some officers Of the Ger
man unit with which we had been
fighting came and escorted me to the
hospital. The way led near their quar-
tiers and they took me in and gave me
something to eat.
Eddie Rickenbacker, one of my
companions in the aerial fight, had
sent down one of the Germans in
flames. They told me of it, but seemed
to feel no resentment against me. They
treated me very well. They dropped
a note for me over the American lines
so that my friends would know that
was a prisoner. l had accidently left
my gloves in the dugout where I had
first been taken and happened to men
ton it, without any expectation Of see
ing them again. but a few days after
one Of those German flyers came bring
Ing them in.
I'm fact. during my whole time Of
imprisonment / received only good
trea tment. OF course I was an officer,
which made a difference, and I believe
that there is no doubt of abuses to
which prisoners were subjected in other
camps. especially those in Prussia and