Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1919-03-07
BULLYING OFFICERS,
HARSH TREATMENT
Letter from Nick Pilipchuck, Taken
Prisoner to Germany-Saw
Germany Could Not Last

VGIuLd1ly OOu1u NOG AdSG
Because Nick Pilipchuck's parents
live in Russia, and he has no relatives
here, many of the ladies of this COM
munity have taken a special interest
in him, and the following letter from
him to Mr.. and Mrs. Price of Eldor
ado, is doubly interesting, because of
the picturesque way in which he tells
of his treatment as a prisoner of war
in Germany, of the long, hungry,
thirsty hikes, living on cabbage soup
and eating grass plucked from the
roadside, of the shooting of Germans
who refused to go to the front and of
exhausted prisoners left to die by the
roadside, of the sleeping in lousy
quarters; and finally of the welcome
arrival of the Red Cross package. The
letter follows, without material
change in the wording in order to
preserve the simple directness with
which Mr.. Pilipchuck relates his ad
ventures:
Base Hospital No. 1,
A. P o. Vichy, France,
January Fl, 1919.
Dear Friends, Mr. and Mrs. Price:
How are you? I am feeling fine
here in nice hotel of Vichy, France. I
am just writing you in this letter
about me and some American boys
travelling thru Germany. I can't
write you all of it, but will write you
some anyway. I was captured the
18th of July and IL more out of my
battalion in same day. The Germans
got us to their dug out and took ev-
erything away from us, that it, to-
baccO and such stuff as that, and
drove us to German Division Head
quarters, and when we got there a
big German officer came out of the
cellar, half boOZed up, and told Ger
man soldiers to search us again. So
we did not have much left with us
because they took it away in the first
place, but one fellow sneaked away
with a little sack of Bull Durham
and that old German stump found it.
Gee! that made us sore at him, but
boy roll cigarettes for every one. Of
course it did not go far for the boy
was mad and spilled more than half
Of it on the ground and when they
got thru with us we had nothing left.
Then they took us to a building and
questioned us-wanted to know how
many American men were in France,
how many were up to the front, ETC.,
but wasn't fools enough to tell them,
so then he got sore and began telling
about U. S. Army having about one
division, but we just looked at each
other and didn't say anything.+>~He
then put his hand in his pockets and
went to his dug out, for it wasn't
very safe for him in building, as the
Americans we're Smelling that town.
HE didn't come out again, just
sent his orderly out and the orderly
lined us up and we left there. We
hiked to another town thirsty and
hungry, but more thirsty than hun
cry. On the way we met lots of Ger
mans going to the front. We saw
them come up, infantry and artillery,
and we say they came up with one
big horse and one little horse to their
wagons, and one big wheel and one
little wheel on wagons. Then we said
to one another, Germany won't stand
another half year of this war; and
they didn't. Then we came to an
other little town about p. M, where
we got a drink of water and half an
hour rest. I said rest but we sat
down and the Allies were dropping
shells all over in that town, in roads
and woods, and everywhere. Aero
planes we're flying over and shooting
from machine guns and we're shoot
ing from cannons, too, but we did not
care-we were wishing they would
blow Germany all to - moth
ing.
"The German officers said, 'Ameri-
cans, yea, yea Some of the German
soldiers were afraid to go up to front
lines against Americans and I saw
with my own eyes one German Off
Ger kill six of his own men because
they refused to go and had to go or
die. The guards that were guarding
us took leggings and shoes from our
boys, or all those that had new ones,
but they did not take mine, tho I had
brand new leggings and shoes, but
they were bloody to my knees. I have
the same leggings and shoes on now.
Here we got two new guards on horse
back and started to hike. We went
for three hours without stopping and
was pretty tired but could go yet,
but some boys couldn't go any farther
so they lay right down there and the