The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-08-30
TELLS OF LIFE IN PRISON.
Continued from Page IL

He was born in Pittsburgh, Pa, IS years
ago, but his parents died when he was a
boy and he came to Brattleboro to live
with his uncle and aunt, Mr.. and Mrs.
Burke. Mr.. Burke is a janitor at the fed
eral building.
Private Sexton went with Company /,
LIST Vermont regiment, to the Mexican
border in 1916, returning here three
months later, and after month went to
New Haven, Conn. When the United
States entered the world war he joined
Company ID, LIST Connecticut regiment
OF Bristol, and was assigned, to police du-
ty guarding bridges at Ansonia, Derby,
Shelton and Seymour. He was in the
first battalion, modified in Waterbury
in May, 1917, which became part of the
l02d infantry Later he sailed for Eng
land, landing in Liverpool Sept. 81, going
at once to southampton and crossing the
English Channel the next day, landing at
lie HAVE. From there he made three.
day trip to Landville, and the next four
months We're devoted to hard training
through the winter
He entered the trenches at Chemin Ges
Danes the middle of February. Two
months later he made l00-mile hike to
Neufchateau and then went into the
trenches again at Seicheprey. on the Toul
| sector, in the night He had been in the
trenches but about half an hour when
the Germans came over about | O'Clock
and captured about $50 prisoners, about
90 of them being members of Company D.
10 hi, & Al n,l
was April 20, 1913
| The Germans stole the footwear of the
/ prisoners and forced them to walk bare
looted III miles to the intelligence bureau
at Contains, and while crossing No Mans
Land Private Sections feet were badly
cut by barbed wire
| AT the intelligence office the prisoners
were relieved of all letters and papers in
order that any information of value in
them might be made available, and they
were questioned for the same purpose
Here they remained five hours and Their
were herded in church, where soup wa.
provided them and they were given wood
en- shoes. Another hike of five miles
brought them to a train which carried
them to Metz, Germany.
| For a week they were confined in the
top story of building, over a moving
picture house, sleeping on the bare floor
and their next transfer was to the German
prison camp at Darmstadt.
About 1000 prisoners of various nation
ahties were at Darmstadt, and here Pri
vate Setxon remained seven and hal
months, or until after the armistice wa.
| signed
For breakfast acorn coffee was fur
| nished. and soup was provided in tn,
middle of the day. At night there wa
more soup and a piece of bread abou
two inches thick. Toadstools were served
twice a week as a side dish, also hors
meat twice a week While peeling pota
toes in the kitchen one day Private Sex
ton saw horses head with the mea
! boiled off,
/ The prisoners ate from wash pans will
spoons which they cut out of wood unles
they had money with which to buy spoon
at the canteen
This sort of fare naturally was not ar
petizing and it was some time before Pr
| vate Sexton could bring himself to ca
of it. He became sick and was in tn
prison hospital two weeks with grip.
I The French had been able to have foo
ocHt HUH itieHuS, anu later the Amer
cans received packages from the Re
+. Cross, but for time the Americans wer
eager to exchange any of their possession
: with the French for food. Private Sexto
. obtained biscuits and other food in thi
way in exchange for his uniform, tn
2 French giving him a pair of red trousers
II For two months Private Sexton slept O
the floor in the barracks. For tw
+. months he had no bath or shave. TIL
camp was connected with war industr
: and the prisoners had to shovel coal an
sand and do other work, and as they ha
no soap their condition during those tw
: months hardly can be imagined. FINAL
e the Norwegian ambassador visited tn
: camp, and after that beds were provide
and conditions were improved
The camp was surrounded by hig
wooden fence with barbed wire on to
and armed guards were stationed nea,
but number of prisoners escaped. T