The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, December 21, 1943, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” VOL. XLIL, NO. 9529. 00 Tons of Bombs Dr CRUSHI BLOW HIT | BIG CITY, JUNEAU, ALASKA, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1943 MEM BER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS AIR ATTACKS MADE, SOFIA, ATHENS Svnm SullBr | Other Sections of Germany | § Stabbed During 24- Hour Attacks LONDON, Dec. 21—Hundreds of Royal Air Force bombers gave Frankfurt the most crushing blow of the war last night, raining 2,000 long tons of incendiaries and ex- plosives on the German chemical and armament center. This is one of the mbsidmry at- tacks in which the RAF lost 42 bombers in a great air offensive against Germany which reached a (Continued on Page Three) The Washington, Merry - Go - Round By DREW PEARSON (mmmm-mn-") Drew Pearson today awards the Brass Ring and a free ride on the Washington Merry- -Go- Round to the Sea Bees on their second anniversary, and to the commanders who helped train them. WASHINGTON — When U. §. Marines stormed ashore on the Gil- pert Islands, they found what the Japs did not find two years before when they raided Wake and Guam just after Pearl Harbor—namely, tremendous concrete block-houses, which not even big guns could knock out. Today, however, if the Japs should counter-attack some of the islands we have taken from them, they, would find miracles of con- struction. These miracles have been performed by a branch of the Navy which was thrown together only after Pearl Harbor and which this month celebrates its second anni- versary—the branch known as the Sea Bees. Official name of the Sea Bees is “CB.s” or “Construction Battal- lions.” Two years ago, they did not exist. And it was the killing and capture of civilian construction workers on Wake, Guam and at Cavite which emphasized the Navy's need of enlisting construc- tion men and forming them into fighting engineer battalions. There are 59 contruction trades enrolled in the Sea Bees—so wide a range that their men can oper- ate bulldozers, install water sys- tems, telephones, elecjric light plants, build cnnt.unme‘ls,,or even repair ships. v In the Aleutians, at Salerno, and especially in the Southwest Pacific, they have had to do all of these things, sometimes under en at- tack. In the Solomon Islands, for instance, a battalion of negro Sea Bees landed on a jungle-covered) island and began construction of a vitally needed airfield. A few days later, despite enemy fire, they had logged and milled their own lum- ber from native trees, supplied wa- ter from a mounta{n stream, in- stalled lights and telephones, and had the field in operation—all in addition to digging fox-holes for themselves. | [ TROPICAL ROAD BUILDING When U. S. troops landed on Rendova Island, a Navy commun- ique carried one terse sentence, “The corrugated road made possible the passage of all equipment,” which, to any engineer, meant an- other construction miracle. What happened was that: the oozy, tropic muck of the shore made it impossible to land trucks, tractors, artillery, ammunition. The (Continued on Page Four) Taking the words right out of th Police Chief Paul . Johnson (left ficer Ben Sorrells tell Tyra Vaugh and fantas” bathing suit displays fantasy,” tween the name of the bathing sui intentional. (AP w:nn-hotm and maybe she’'d better use the barrel. ings Rebuke | JAPSFLEEING ONE SECTION 50. PACIFIC . | Knox Reports on Missions e mouth of a nearby press agent, ) of Lagnna Beach, Calif,, and Of- , Ear), Carroll show gixl, her “flesh “too much flesh and not enough Any similarity be- it and the title of a movie is purely Alaskan Based Soldiers To Have Maneuvers This “ Winter in Far Wesiward Acposs RIVER GEN. HARMON IN COMMAND, SOUTH PACIFIC Supervises Landing Opera- tion on Bougainvill- Army Takes Over ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN | angd- various other branches of the bombers, | supply THE SOUTH PACIFIC, Dec. 21.— Adm. William F Halsey's headquar— HEADQUARTERS, ALASKAN DE- PARTMENT, Dec. 21.—Troops from the Alaskan and Aleutian bases are gathering here making preperations for maneuvers to start next mouthl in the rugged area near Talkeetna, | Lt. Gen. Simon B. Buckner, Jr. announces. The maneuvers will last about six weeks and are for the one purpose of giving soldiers assault training under Arctic combat conditions and with Arctic items of clothing and | equipment. Simulated combat will be under conditions as realistic as possible. Obseyvers will represent the Can- | ladian Army, the Army Ground! | Forces Command, the Quartermaster {General from Washington, D. €, service One-third of the force will be in One Week - Also Nip Movements WASHINGTON, Dec. 21.-—-Navy Secretary Frank Knox reported that | the Japs are apparently fleeing from the southern part of Bougain- ville in an obvious effort to con- centrate their forces farther on the island. Knox told newsmen at a confers ence, “It seems a very obvious thing” that the enemy tempt to combine all their forcesy The task of cleaning up the oppo-| sition was turned over by the Mar- ines to Army forces under Gen. Oscar Griswold. None of the enemy’s once strong air fields on the island are usable now, cbject of constant United States bombing raids. Knox said that eva- cuation is under way not only on ithe land but by barges along the {coast which are subject to heavy attack. The Navy Secretary also lcpon,etU active ¥ {ity in the Pacific for-the week end-| of 71! nine of which were upon Jap positions in on the compilation of aerial actl ing December 20. A total missions were carried out, the Marshalls planes H\nd nine probably jerican losses for three planes. e JAPS CHASED where 19 enemy destroyed. Am- ON PENINSULA (Cape Gloucester Is Given Heavy Blasting with Record Bomb Load ADVANCED ALLIED HEAD- QUARTERS IN NEW GUINEA, Dec. 21.—Tuesday the Australians at bayonet point chased the Japs |across the Madawand River on Hu- lon peninsula, a MacArthur com- munique said. The Yeport also said that heavy blasting the Jap aer points at Cape Gloucester, dropped 414 tons of bombs, and ters announced that Army forces | clothed in the Army’s standard Lold‘also took toll of 25 enemy barges under Lt. Gen. Millard F. Harmon| took over on Bougainville on De- cember 15 from the Marines wno landed at Empress Augusta Bay November 1, Gen. Harmon, com- mander of ground forces in the, South Pacific personally supervising and coordinating land operations on the beachhead which is now| eight miles long and several miles, | deep. Gen. Harmon was aboard the transport McCawley when she was torpedoed and sunk by the Japs| off Rencova. Harmon was a ilghter‘ pilot of World War I and is an ac- tive pilot yet after 28 years in the jair forces. ——e—— SPRINT SHOES T0 BE IN PILOT HOUSE OF CHAS. PADDOCK | SAN PEDRO, Calif, Dec. 21.— When the Liberty ship Charles Pad- dock is launched this weekend, it will carry in the pilot house the sprint shoes that set records for| the former world sprint star who as a Marine Captain, was killed in| a plane crash near Sitka, Alaska, | last July. | l]essons they learned. weather issue. i Another third will be in the pro- | posed issue for Arctic clothing and | the remaining third will wear what !is described as “strictly experiment- |al” clothing. Basic infantry arms also will be | tested to determine how well they | function under these climatic con- | | ditions. ‘ Dog teams will be used along wn.h1 standard and experimental army | transportation equipment, carrying capacity loads. | The forces will be commanded by‘ Lt. Col. William Walther, of Juneau. | The troops from Fort Richardson, | after the maneuvers, to instruct | members of the parent units the ~~—o—— GORDON WILDES HERE' Gordon L. Wildes, with the R. J. Sommers Construction Co. at Nome, flew in from the Westward yester- day to spend the Christmas holi- days here. He is registered at the Baranof Hotel. — e FROM STRAWBERRY POINT From Strawberry Point, Mr. and supplying the hard-pressed theater, - 4 JAP BASES CAPTUREDIN CENT. CHINA CHUNGKING, Dec. 21.—Chinese Fort Greely and the Aleutian bases | forces smashed forward in the cen-| will return to permanent stations |tral China rice bowl area, captur-| ing four main Jap advanced bases! |at Lihsien, Tsingshih, Nanhsien, and Ansiang, Gen. Chiang Kai-Shek's | headquarters announced. The victory . followed up the smashing at Changteh of the Japi offensive against the Changsha. b e HERE FROM FUNTER At the Baranof Hotel, Mr. and Mrs. Sam Pekovich have arrived here from Funter. Mr. Pekovich i§ The sprint shoes were donated hy | Mrs. Harold W. Taylor are guests ja well known mining man in this the widow. atsthe Baranof Hotel, vicinity. norti| should at-| Maj, | and are now being kept the| were definitely shot down the period were , important | Chinese base of communications | in the center of the province of| | | | | | | | .bl)w of the ship broke off while t “lAl’ “Irvehohfl ( "BLASTINGAT Navy Planegia;id Shipping Lanes.in Western Marshalls PEARL HARBOR, Dec. air offensive against the Jap held Marshall Islands continued for the twelfth day last Sunday with Army Liberators blasting Mili atoll with 30 tons of bombs and knocking down at least five Jap planes, Ad- miral Chester W. Nimitz announces. Meanwhile, Navy planes and six vessels were attacked, one possibly sunk D Machrthur Is Coming |Report Mak}ng Plans to Return During Next March INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Dec. | The Indianapolis Star, in a dis- | patch from its Washington Bureau, |says Gen. Douglas MacArthur is| ! making “tentative plans” to return to the United States in March for |a series of conferences. Quoting from “persistent rl‘pmti \by reliable persons returning from Australia,” the Star adds that it is !not clear whether MacArthur will} take advantage of the retirement! age of 64, to present his resigna |tion, or take heed of the “MacAr \thur for Presldent' movemm\t, 21.- |CLERKS, STENDGS, MONTREAL FORCES, OUT ON STRIKE MONTREAL, Dec. 21.—The city’s| ees in a week has started. It is es- timated that 2,000 City Hall clerks and stenographers are out to en- force demands for higher wages, which were turned down as was the offer of arbitration by a board to lmvrsnzau the wage demands. opped MiLl ATOLL raiding | shipping in the western Marshalls' Back Home ibery Ship Breaks Aparin Alaskan Walers he craft was off the Alaskan coast. After portion of the John P. Gaines listed heavily with the stern low in the water many hours after the Note the lifeboat in the foreground. LIBERATORS Canol Projed Defense Is Given by Somervell; OIL PROJECT HAD OKAY OF CHIEF EXEC 0il Needed for Expected Military Action in Al- aska, Says FDR 21 WASHINGTON, Dec Presi- | dent Roosevelt said he approved of ' the Army’s controversial Canol de- | velopment at a time when it ap- | peared there might be great military action in the Alaskan and Aleutian | area and added that at that time { would have approved anything to get a new source of oil in that part of the world. His comments were made at a press conference. When asked if he had known of | the $130,000,000 cost of the project when he approved it, the President said he thought he knew at | time what the cost would be. | Chairman Truman said of Gen. | Brehon Somervell's testimony: “It |hasn't changed my mind that this bad project was undertaken with- lout an estimate of the cost and time required to complete it. During yesterday's testimony, | Sentors Tom Connally and Carl A. Hate, of the committee, indicated | by their comment they approved of Gen. Somervell's steps. Evan Hill HEADQUARTERS, ALASKAN DE- PARTMENT, Dect. 21. Lt. Gen. | Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr, an-| { nounced the promotion of Evan Hill | of Juneau from Second Lieutenant to First Lieutenant oni The Empire reportorial | Hill, |services, was recently in Juneau for I his first visit after nearly two years’ absence. For 15 months he was sta- is now stationed at Ladd Pield, Fair- banks. Friends in Juneau will be pleased over his promotion. the Promoled | tioned on the Pribilof Islands and | Nelson, Ickes Atfacked WASHINGTON, Dec. 21.—Lt. Gen. Brehon Somervell testified that the| $130,000,000 Canol development in| Canada was made imperatively | necessary by the “desperate out-| |look” of the war in the dark days| {of 1940." | ; Two opposing recommendations, | [one by the War Production Board, | chairman Donald Nelson, and Pe- | troleum Administrator Harold Ickes, | who advocated junking the project labout which they said they were not consulted, have been made, but | Gen. Somervell, told the Truman Committee that “any inference or| | statement that the Canol was han- |dled in a cavalier fashion without reference to my associates is en- tirely without foundation.” Nelson, Ickes Chided Somervell said he discussed the| project with members of the Gen-| eral Staff concerned and “it was | L'ullt‘ outside Mr. Nelson's Juand»c- tion.” The same thing is true of Ickes, he said, who is even today looking at it with “hindside” judg- ment, He declared that the con- clusion that the Fort Norman pro-| ject should have been undertaken | appeared inescapable. | i Desperate Days Somervell said: “Those were des-| perate days indeed in Décember | 1941 when we lost our fleet as an| offensive weapon, and it was out of the picture for months to come.” Detailing the mounting losses of the shelling of “West Coast refin- eries by a Jap sub” and the sub- sequent landing of shells in Ore- gon, he said, there “was great| public anxiety on the East and West coasts that there were unfortunate| | possibilities of raids and not; alarms,’ | Pacific In Danger American sources at Point Bar- row and elsewhere, he declared were considered “too exposed for security and the whole Pacific was in danger.” He said that Gen. |Pyron, his oil expert, and others, |recommended the development of {the Norman fields for whatever lhey could produce. He recommend- led the project along with oil de- | velopment in New Zealand Alaska Under Threat He also asserted: “Alaska was second strike of municipal cn\vlol'(sy,au until he joined the armed under a threat: we needed oil, and everything pointed conclusively to the decision which looked as if it was the only thing to do.” Allied Chiefs of Staff have made the Canol development an essen- on F rankfurt IDOUBLERAID IS MADE BY U. §. FORCES Ground Troops Caplure Mount in Snow Storm- Eighth Army Advancqs ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN ALGIERS, Dec. 21. — The Fifth Army forces have lunged forward two and one half miles in a snow | |storm and captured the 2,600 foot Mount Spinuccio. United States Fifteenth Air Force of heavy bombers, escorted by long |range fighters, attacked Sofia and the Elevsis airfields at Athens, In a companion drive, the Eighth Army forces pushed ahead in “stiff fighting” toward Tolo in the Cen- tral sectur’ on the Adriatic front and is improving positions near Ortona. The communique adds that Ger- man resistance is increasing. Allied planes shot down 28 ene- my planes in twin attacks on Sofia and Elevsis. Other air operations included Fighter bomber raids on rail and motor targets in the Rome area. Eleven planes failed to return from the raids. The Germans have . lost 72 planesin - #ttémpted -inter ceptions. SIXTH ARMY HAS TAKEN NEW STRIP Expandsgi;MiIes from Cape Merkus, New Brit- ain-No Air Encounters | BULLETIN — ADVANCED AL-" LIED HEADQUARTERS IN NEW GUINEA, Dec. 21.—The American Sixth Army, expanding six miles from the Cape Merkus, New Bri- tain beachhead, has taken the Arawe airstrip adding another {1andthg field to perches from which |the Allied Alr Birds are purging the air of Japanese, The new field was secured Sun~ day and for the first time since the Americans stormed ashore on December 15 no mention is made (of any Jap aerial activity. e Aot FLETCHER NEW COMMANDER OF NORTH PACIFIC WASHINGTON, Dec. 21. — Ap- pointment of Admiral Frank “Jack" Fletcher as Commander of the North Pacific area is announced today by Secretary of Navy Frank Knox. Fletcher succeeds Vice-Admiral Thomas Kinkaid who was recently sent to the South Pacific. Rear Admiral S. A. Taffinder succeeds Fletcher as Commandant of the Thirteenth Naval District. Flether will be Commander of the northwest sea frontier. e BUY WAR BONDS (Continued on r‘nae Two)