Evening star., 1940-02-22
Eight u. 5. Citizens,
Including Dahl,
Are Freed byFranco
Last of Americans Held
As Prisoners After
Spunish Civil War
BY the Associated Press.

MADRID, Feb. 22-The United
States Embassy announced today
that the last eight American citi-
zens held as Spanish civil war pris-
soners. including Harold E. Dahl,
Champaign, ILL.,. flyer. had been re-
leased and would start soon for
home.
Dahl and two of the Americans.
Clarence Alvie Blair of Red Granite,
Wis, and Cohn Haber of New York
City already are at Seville. They
are to sail for New York aboard
the Extra tomorrow.
Dahl Is native of Sidney. Ill.
His mother, Mrs. G. w. Harrison,
lives in Urbana, Ill. Blair was born
in Little Falls. Wis, and his mother,
Mrs. J. A. Blair. lives at Red Gran
ite, Wis Cohn is the son of Nathan
Haber, New York City.
Due at Seville today and also
scheduled to sail on the Extra were
Lawrence FAINT Doran. born in Los
Angeles, whose wife lives in South
gate, Calf: Anthony Peter Kehr-
ticker, a native Of Polk County,
Iowa, and Rudolph Opara. born in
Cleveland, whose mother, Mrs.
Frances Valentic, lives in Cleveland.
Orders also were given for the
release Of ALI Abdreasen, born In
Bergen, Norway, and a naturalized
American, and Conrad Stojewa, be-
Geved to be a Californian. It was
unknown here, however, whether
they would be able to reach Seville
in time to sail on the Extra.
Freedom Long Sought.
The release Of these last prisoners
who had fought for the defeated
Republican government brought to
an end long diplomatic tussle in
which the United States State De-
partment had sought their freedom.
Dahl. who had been in custody
since he parachuted to earth behind
Nationalist Generalissimo Frances
lines on July IL, 1887, became the
most widely-known American pris-
oner of the Spanish war as result
of his attractive blond wife's efforts
to have him freed.
Dahl originally was marked for
execution, but he was spared from
this penalty after Mrs. Dahl, a
singer, sent a letter to Gen. Franco
asking clemency. She inclosed a
photograph of herself.
Given Great Freedom.
The flyer, however, remained a
prisoner, most of the time in the
Salamanca Provincial Hospital,
where he was said to have been
given privileges and a considerable
degree of freedom. Meanwhile the
American State Department kept
hammering for his release.
Mrs. Dahl returned to the United
State alone last November and only
last January On a new promise
of help from the State Department
in Washington. At that time Dahl
was reported to be in fairly good
health despite his long confinement.
81 Exchanged Last March.
Last March 3, Is days before the
Spanish War ended, the United
States Embassy in Spain arranged
for the exchange of 81 American
prisoners held in Nationalist Spain
for an equal number of italian
prisoners held by the Madrid forces.
After that there were 10 Amer
leans still held by Gen. Franco for
whom the State Department con-
tinued negotiating. On August %
II were freed, while Dahl and Z
others still were held. These were
the released today.
Most of the American prisoners
were captured in the spring of 1898
while fighting with the Abraham
Lincoln Battalion in the Republican
| governments international brigade