The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, February 18, 1944, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE VOL. XLI., NO. 5979 “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” JUNEAU, ALASKA, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1944 MF MBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENT. 5 JAPAN'S GREAT NAVAL BASE BOMBARDED Attacks on Allies at Anzio Beaten Down Fliers' Bail-Out Girl BIG DRIVE ON CASSINO AT DAWN TODAY Gigantic Aimnbrella and Barrage Precedes Allied Push ALLIED HEADQUARTERS AT NAPLES, Feh. 18.—Allied troops, moving up under cover of a thun- dering six-hour barrage of hun- dreds of tons of bombs, one of the most intense of the Mediterranean War, began an attack on the town of Cassino, on the slopes of Mt. Cassino, before dawn this morning, Allied headquarters announced. American and British troops at| the beachhead below Rome, with the aid of one of the greatest air| umbrellas ever raised in the Med- iterranean, have beaten down head on attacks made by the Germans in their effort to drive the Allies into the sea at any cost. The attack on Cassino and Mon- astery Hill, with the benefit of a deadly hail of steel, switched like (Continued on Page St The Washingion Merry - Go-Round By DREW PEARSON (Major Robert 8. Allen on active duty.) WASHINGTON — The extent to which Army wives influence pro- motions, dictate military expediency and dominate the Army always has been a matter of warm debate at Army posts. Inside the War Department, there are two schools of thought. One| admits there is a certain amount of petticoat influence; the other main- tains that the Army is a man’s Army and that women have abso- lutely nothing to do with it. Those of the former school point to the fact that General John Per- shing, when only a captain, mar- ried the daughter of Senator Fran- cis Warren of Wyoming, then Chair- man of the Senate Military Affairs Committee, after which Pershing was jumped in rank and became a brigadier general. - Then, when Woodrow Wilson faced Senate con- troversy over who should head an American expeditionary force to France, with many Senators de- manding Teddy Roosevelt, Wilson selected Senator Warren's son-in-| law and thus quashed Senate con-, troversy. The petticoat school also polm.m to the fact that General Douglas MacArthur first married ‘the beau- tiful daughter of Edward J. Stotes- bury, a J. P. Morgan partner, who requested Secretary of War Weeks | to advance MacArthur to the rank| of major general when most of his West Point classmates were still majors and colonels. ! Another example is Mrs. George Patton, Jr., wife of the pistol-packin’| general. Her coolness, poise and charm helped her hot-tempered husband out of a good many peace- time scrapes long before his unfor- tunate encounter with a sick soldier in Sieily. In the other school are those who point to a host of high-ranking generals whose wives have had no political influence on their careers.| General Marshall’s first wife aspired | to be an opera singer, was sick for a long time, finally died. General Eisenhower’s wife is an unassum- ing lady who has kept in the back-| ground. General Somervell, until recently, was a widower. “WARNING” TO FLIERS' WIVES Now, however, comes a new ar- gufier in this controversy. General “Hap” Arnold, chief of the Army Air Forces, has been put squarely on record by Colonel Alfred L. Jewett, commander of the Air Forces| Technical School at Gulfport, Miss., as recognizing that wives influence an officer's promotion. Colonel Jewett himself doesn’t (Continued on Page Four) R Air cadets of Group D, ‘Squadron 36, Wing 1, of San Antonio Pre- flight School, would like to “hit the silk” (make a parachute jump) voted Evelyn Keyes, screen actress, as the girl they with. Se, Evelyn, in Hoollywood, got her a parachute, just in case. (AP Wire- photo). 'Final Links of Canol Projed Pipeline Are NINTH AIR FORCE NOW IN BRITAIN \Will Join with RAF and Ground Units as Spear- head of Invasion LONDON, Feb. 18.-—~The United States Ninth Air Force, whose orig- inal elements wrote the victorious air war history in the Middle East and Asia, are now established in | Britain in reorganized and greatly expanded strength, as the American aerial spearhead for the invasion of Europe, the Allied Command an- nounced last night. The rew Ninth has been joined with the Royal Air Force and ground support units to form an Allied Expeditionary Air Force under Air Chief Marshal Trafford Leigh Mal- lory. The unified group’s first job will be to “knock the Hun out of the £ky.” —— e MRS. RUTHERFORD BACK Mrs. Roy Rutherford returned vesterday after a visit of several weeks in the states. o MARTIN LAVENIK RETURNS Back after a short visit in the states, Martin Lavenik has returned here on a northbound steamer. Lavenik is on the sta#f of the Post Office. ‘WHITEHORSE, Y. T, Feb. 12— The final links of the American fi-| nanced Canol project pipeline from the Fort Norman wells to White- horse, have been welded near Mac- Millan Pass astride the Arctic Con- tinental Divide deep in the Mac- Kenzie mountain range. The welding completed one of the most vital parts of the $130,- 000,000 project. ed as of today and we hope soon to make the first test runs to Whitehorse,” said Brig. Gen. Wor- sham, Commanding General of the Northwest Service Command. N. ITALY IS INVADED BY PARTISANS Engage Nazis South of Caporetto LONDON, Feb. 18.—Partisan forc- es which have stabbed across the Slovene border into Northern Italy, are now battling the Germans just| |south of the Pirst World War bat-| announced in a broadcast commun- ique over the Yugoslav radio. The report said that units of the Thirtieth Patriot Division crossed the Isonzo River between Gorizia and Tolmino and occupied the right bank of the stream, and added |that bitter fighting is in progress. |anese ships of a “The pipeline project is complet-! Yugoslavs Cross River and| tlefield of Cappretto, Marshal Tito! JAP CONVOY | IS SPOTTED, 15 ATIACKED Iwenty six More Planes Smashed in Raid on Rabaul Airdromes ! ot ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN |THE SOUTHWEST PACIFIC, Feb. 118 —Allied air raiders hit six Jap- convoy caught off Massau Islands northwest of New | Ireland. | 1 The convoy is believed to be at-| [ tempting to supply the beleaguered |enemy garrison of the Bismarck | Islands. The attack is continuing, Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s communique says. | Allied Aircraft smashed 26 en- lemy planes on the ground and !shot down 10 interceptors in a re- sumption of raids on Rabaul. Allied bombers dropped 221 tons |of explosives on Rabaul airdromes on raids on Monday and Tuesday.l ROOSEVELT sky, one plane plunges down with ~ WILL VETO. 34 000 NAZIS TAXBILL gRE LOST IN Decision ComesasSurpnse KORSUN AREA -Doesn’t Produce Enough R ‘Complete German Aband onment of Northern WASHINGTON, F\eb 18.—Pre: Russia Foreseen rdent Roosevelt is reported autho By Associated Press Air Force during a recent raid ov | | ] | | tatively to have informed Congress- |ional leaders he plans to veto the| Inew two billion three hundred and |additional revenue. The Germans : 1 The President's reported decision|the evacuation of Staray Russ came somewhat as a surprise to|their mightiest base between Lenin- tfifleen million dollar tax bill be- causo it fails to produce sufflnlenl‘ Administration lieutenants, who|grad and Smolensk in the broad-! furged him earlier in the week to ening crackup of their defenses |gress would not likely pass any plete German abandonment of other revenue raising measure this Northern Russia. | year. The Red Army triumph south | As the bill went to the President’s | !desk it was geared to extract about \5664 000,000 additional individual in- | come taxes, $502,000,000 corporation tax, and collect $1,051,000,000 more by excise levi of Lake Tlman came just a day after the Russians said they com- pleted the liquidation of the Ger- {man Eighth Army trapped around Korsun near the Dnieper bend, in- flicting on the enemy the worst | single disaster since Stalingrad. Caught In Trap Stalin announced that 52,000 were killed and 11,000 captured from two 'y > REE[E(TIO" oF divisions of the brigade and another 121,900 killed in futile efforts to FDR "E(ESSARYbrenk open the trap, bringing the | total German losses around Korsun to 84,900. | | WASHINGTON, Feb. 18. — Vice {President Henry A. Wallice ex- pressed the opinion at a conference |Hitler's growing manpower crisis. with reporters the Nation’s war ef-| The Germans asserted the retreat forts will be retarded if President| WAS Decessary to “shorten the front bastion term and flatly predicting he will|Serves.” Moscow has not yet con- The Vice President said his own| Outflanked possible renomination is in the “lap Actually Staraya Russa, |flanked by the Russ SIO(K ouo"‘"o"s |west from captured Novgorod, north |ingrad to within 27 miles of Pskov. NEW YORK, Feb, 18.—Closing These columns had reached posi- | stock today is 6, American Can|RUSSsa. The Red Army is astride 83%, Anaconda 25, Beech Aircraft the direct east-west railway aupply {Wright 5%, International Harvester| Another German dispatch reach- |70%, Kennecott 30%, North Ameri- |18%, Northern Pacific 16%, U. S. miles inside northern Estonia, has |Steel 51%. thrown back a Russian attempt as follows: industrials 136.08, raiis River before Narva. 38.32, utilities 22.85. | - | MRS. WICKERSHAM BACK | RETURNS TO SITKA FROM VISIT IN STATES Mrs. Hattie Peterman returned to Returning by boat yesterday, Mrs. morning after spending the past few | Grace Wickersham is back from a Weeks in Juneau as a member of the |be reelected again. |firmed the victory. of the Gods.” on the Lovat River, h |of Lake Ilmen, and south from Len- |quotation of Alaska Juneau mine |tions 100 miles due west of Staraya 10%, Bethlehem Steel 59, Curtiss line. can Aviation 8%, New York Central Troop formation at Narva, nine Dow, Jones averages today are t0 cross the ice covered Narova ———— | HATTIE PETERMAN her home at Sitka on the boat this | visit of several months in the States. Petit jury. THE AIR POUNDINGS that many German cjtles the U. S. This dramatie photo combination sl earthward (circle). At right, as other fou have announcefl | |sign the measure contending Con- | which seemed to presage the com-, Welded; Oil Flowing Berlin’s account of thé newest retreat in the Baltic states reflected Roosevelt is not elected for a fourth and gain further operational re- been 6ut-j i n offensives ing Stockholm said a Nazi Storm| have been receiving are not without cost to Great Britain and hows the death of two Flying Fortresses of the U. S. Army 8th er Bremen, A bomber (left) with smoke pouring from its motors hurtles r-motored bombers leave trails of vapor behind them high in the its severed tail (circle) behind., Air Forces photo. (International) One Thousand American Soldiers Reporied Losi When Troopship Is Sunk WASHINGTON, Feb. 18. — The ginking rapidly sinking of an Allied troopship European waters with the loss of cued. The loss of the Americans is the largest toll so far of the war. | Only the bare details are given l The date nor the place the out, the Nayy explaining that the {sinking is not disclosed. Germans probably do not know The ship was lost in the night, fully the success of the attack. in heavy seas but in approximately 1,000 men were res- 1,000 American soldiers is announc- ed by the War Department of Some (ongressmen | Set Fuse fo TNT on | Some legulaho ! By JACK INNETT Prefers Two Bars | wasumcron, Feb. | Congressmen are beginning to real- ize just how much TNT they have set fuse to in quibbling over legis- |lation affecting the armed services. Some of these few have been ‘g.ene;ons enough to discuss the sit- uation quite frankly with me in the last few days and make avail- able their letter files which was what I asked for in the first place. From a lad who served 11 months {heavy bomber in the Eighth All Force: “During my tour of opera- tions, I saw 80 per cent of my or- iginal squadron go down. For the | heavy bombers of the Eighth, that is a low percentage. “On my return to the United | States I was, to put it mildly, shock- led. On every side I heard com- | plaining. There were no tires, no | gasoline, food was rationed | started striking again.” The lad explained that he under- stood the necessity for free speech, free enterprise, etc, but “I would like to remind official Washington | that the war will soon end. Close to 10,000000 men civilian life—and a voting status. | At that time, if not before, we will | know who is at the bottom of the confusing medley that is the labor | situation today. “T am writing not for myself, but it | for every soldier who left home for | an indefinite period in hell. A. L. FLORENCE IN | determined l)?:t the Unlled“gl,;l: Arriving from Ketchikan, A. L | shall retain her position as the most Florence is at the Baranof. lConunued Page Threer NO major’s gold leaf for him, says Capt. Jimmy Stewart, former movie star now commanding a bomber squadron in England. He declined any promotion until, as he put it, “my junior officers get pro- moted.” Jimmy left "em all gasping with that one, (International) | 18.—A few as flight engineer and gunner in a' Then, {on top of all these complaints, labor. will return to 1. S. FORCES STRIKE TRUK HARDBLOWS {Nippon’s "Pearl Harbor of Pacific” Atfacked by Navy OCEAN'S DOMINATION IS NOW CHALLENGED Tokyo lnfeE _Methanized | Forces Are Used Which Is Not Explained | By Associated Press 4Admiral Chester W. Nimtiz, Su- preme Commander of the Mid-Pa- cific, is without details himself re- garding the engagement at Truk, demonstrating the tightness of the radio silence. The communique issued late yes- terday simply stated that several hundred Navy carrier planes bomb- arded Truk, Japan's Pearl Harbor of the Pacific. The raid began - Wednesday at daylight when pow- erful Naval task forces of the United -States' Pacitic: Fieet: g ed the Japanese Naval base. Presumably the engagement con- tinues. The communique did not make clear whether warships were in the attack or just accompanying the airplane carriers. The carriers would have to approach within 200 miles of Truk to release planes for the attack. Tokyg Report A Tokyo radio broadcast, picked up in New York, said ‘“powerful mechanized units as well as air power” is used by the Americans in the attack on Truk and “fighting with our troops is now going on." The broadcast added: “This pre- sent attack by the enemy is not the real thing and it seems it does not go beyond the scope of a strong reconnaissance.” Sea Conflict Looms An Overseas Dispatch broadcast by the Domel agency recorded by the U. 8. Foreign Broadcast Intel- ligence Service, says “the main foree of our inyincible Navy is bid- lng its time until the very end, and cocrdmaunx it with supply diffi- culties that increase in proportion to the distance of the enemy’s ad- vance, is now looking for the gold- jen opportunity to destroy the en- lemy at one stroke.” The NBC quotes Tokyo as saying the “Japanese Army and Navy units are engaged in fierce fighting with American concentrations at Truk.” There is no explanation as to what Tokyo means by “mechanized forces.” Nothing from any other source supports the implication American ground forces might have atempted a landing on Truk. DCMINATION CHALLENGED WASHINGTON, Feb. 18. — The Navy’s assault on Truk Island marks the end of the unchallenged domination of & huge area of the Pacific Ocean and whether it was seized or simply neutralized, this “Pear]l Harbor of the Mippons” goes into the decline as a major obstacle blocking the drive fo the Philip- pines, now that the American sea and air power has proved ability to attack it directly. It is highly doubtful whether Japanese shipping evidently de- stroyed or damaged can be re- pairéd or replaced. It is considered certain that the attack on Truk on Wednesday has resulted in a situation in the Paci- fic that makes a profound and per- manent change. This is due to the fact the Japanese navy will not hereafter be able to use Truk free- ly and with a security previously maintained. The great base has been used for enemy domination of a wide domination of the Pacific area.