Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 210, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 September 1914 — GREEK WRESTLER IN BULGARIAN WAR [ARTICLE]

GREEK WRESTLER IN BULGARIAN WAR

William Foies Toils an Interesting Story of His Experiences as a Soldier in Native Land. ,-fid

William Polos, the Greek wrestler, who has been here with the carnival company and who became well known here three years ago when he wrestled a number of well known grapplers, tells an interesting story of his experiences as a member of the Grecian army during the recent Turkish and Bulgarian wars. Polos was running a pooltoom at Terre Haute when the call came from his native tend to the Greeks in America to come back home. He left in company with thousands' of other Greeks on the first of November, 1912. He paid hie own passage, about SB4, and went over on the French liner, Rtoma, arriving in Athens on Nov. 15th. He hastened to his home 30 miles east of Athens, where he spent a half day with his mother. All the men between the ages of 16 and 47 had gone from his home to take part in the war and moat of them were serving in the Servian division of the Greek army. He became a member of the fourth company' of the fifth regiment of the central division and engaged for six months in the siege of a Turkish city. The weather was cold and most of the time it was muddy and there was a great amount of suffering. For six days they had no food and after that they were meagerly fed. They were at first paid 15 cents a day, but later this was cut down to 5 cents a day. Polos had taken $l,lOO of American money home with him and was able to buy himself some food outside of the rations allowed. He had taken SIOO into the field with him and was quite a plutocrat with so much wealth. Finally the war came to a close but the Bulgarian war started right away and Polos had enlisted for two years and was rushed into Bulgaria. Summer came on and conditio ite were bet- j ter, but often the rations were short. There was an abundance of fruit, however, and with his money he could purchase apples, peaches, grapes, etc., and he got along very well. He was in a number of engagements and in one battle 8,000 lives were sacrificed. The Grecians carry their equipment on their backs and on one occasion Polos was creeping up to the crest of a hill when a bullet struck the pack on his back. On another occasion one went through 'the tail of his overcoat. His “pal,” also a Greek, who had been in America, was killed while at his side. Polos never received a scratch and was never ’ sick-. Finally at the close of the war he wanted to be released from his enlistment but he had to pay 500 francs, which is about SIOO in our money, for his release. He had served almost 18 months. He went to Borne, thence to Paris and thence to London and from there -to New York, where he arrived about May Ist. » Pblos is a jolly fellow and he reports that he had a great experience and a fine time in the\army. He was given the rank pf corporal in the Greek army and was offered further advancement but refused to be made a sergeant because the sergeants there are not allowed to associate with the private soldiers. Polos talks very brokenly and has difficulty in applying American army terms to the terms used in his native country.