The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, July 10, 1945, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” V(L. LXV., NO. 10,009 JUNEAU, ALASKA, TUESDAY, JULY 10, 1945 MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS 2000 YANK PLANES SWEEP OVER JAPAN Q@ Hea Schwellenbach Sworn in as Secretary of Labor|Five German Prisoners 0f War Hang for Murder; Lewis B. Schwellenbach (right) of Perkins (left), by Sherman Minton viest (4 Spokane, Wash. (center) a U. C. cffice of Senate Secr®ary Leslie Biffle. (AP Wirephoto) First Baflle Casualty of NO PEACE Present War Loses Parts, Arms, Legs * By KATHRYN UMPHREY BATTLE CREEK, Mich,, July 10. Where Man tors to save his mangled right fore- arm, that, too, was amputated while Air Blow Of is sworn in as Secretary of Labor to succeed Frances Circuit Court of Appeals Judge, in the Washington, D, - OFFERIS RECEIVED Japs Only Trying fo Stir Up Action Is ~ IN ACTION ~ OVER JAPS Man - made Comet Now . Streaking Through Skies ' Dropping Bombs STRATFORD, Conn, July 10.— | These man-made comets streaking across Japanese skies these days are new Corsair fighter-bombers, amazing planes that can fly fast- er han seven miles a minute and carry 2,000 pounds of bombs plus |a load of rockets plus the standard armament of six .50 calibre ma- | chine guns in their wings. 1 The Chance Vought Division of | the United Aircraft Corporation | has been making the new plane— designated F4U-4 and outwardly \resembp_ng the. familiar . Corsair | F4U-1—here for sometime, and a | description of the deadly aircraft was announced last night in Wash- ington by the Navy. | The F4U-4 already has been in !action, and the first Japanese pilot {who ever saw one lived only two | minutes thereafter. Marine Lieut- | enant Douglas M. West of Excel- | sior, Minn,, flying with a group of !the new planes over the Japanese Jhome islands, saw the enemy pilot Pa TASK FORCE OFCARRIERS INATTACK ' Admiral Halsey's Third; Fleet Goes Right to Unpre{edenled H (By Robert Otey) FT. LEAVENWORTH, Kas., July | 10.—Five German prisoners of war, sentenced to death for the murder of a fellow prisoner, were hanged early this morning at the U. S. Shores of Japan Disciplinary Barracks in a move ;x;lul)‘n-(l-t-(igr;u:od i;)m the lz;l;nal:: of ASSAUI.' 's MADE I" nited States military historv. | The prisoners, termed “fanatlca]1 (I-EAR, (RISP MORNING Nazi by army authorities, were | convicted Jan. 25, 1944, at Camp | [ Gruber, Okla.,, for the murder of | 1Johannvs Kunze at the Tonkawa, Okla., branch compound. They | ! were the first foreign war prisoners | ever to be executed in the United States. | | The executed Germans, all mem- | bers of Rommel's Afrika Korps, | (Associated Press War Correspondent) were: Wal(or_ Beyer, 32, whose | WITH ADMIRAL HALSEY'S rank was equivalent to that of a| First Sergeant in the U. S. army; | THIRD FLEET OFF TOYKO, July Berthold Seidel, 30, a Staff Ser-|10.—The Third Fleet’s, fast carrier geant; Hans Demme, 23, Sergeant; ilaSK force steamed contemptuously | Hans Schomer, 27, Sergeant, and | clgse to Japan's main island of Hon- | it Schots, 22, Oarparkl: |shu today and sprang more than | Beyer, the ranking member of the | group, was the first to go to the | 1,000 planes off flattop decks against Tokyo. gallows. Asked if he had a last statement, The first plane stook off about 4 Bever replied: a. m,, in the clear, crisp dawn and “I can’t see why this is being hours later the striks was still con- done to me.” tinuing with indications there would | <. brack hood was placed over be no respite for the enemy’s de- Beyet’s head, Maj. John Sagar, |vastated capital until nightfall. It was the first earrier assault Post Chaplain, prayed as he was ; on Tokyo since last February. marched to the gallows, where three-foot trap ‘'was sprung. Bombing weather over tne target The four other prisoners follow- | was reported perfect with visibility ed at half-hour intervals. |unlimited. The chief objectives of All five marched erect. | the arids were airfields. There aro | | between 72 and 80 airdromes in the HOMESITES MAY | rioce Airfields A?Targeis in Tokyo AreaChallenge Is Thrown Out By JAMES LINDSLEY | | | | | | Pilots also were ‘Instructed to hunt‘ |out enemy aircraft but preliminary | President 0 cific War Is Str ® e o 0 0 0 0 0 THIS FOR TOKYO GUAM, July 10. — Among ships participating in today's carrier strike against Tokyo are: Aircraft carriers ton, Essex, San Jacinto. Battleships—Indiana, Mas- sachusetts, "South Dakota, Towa. Cruisers Chicago, San Juan, Springfield, Atlanta. Destroyers —DeHaven, Samuel N. Moore, John Rog- ers, Schroeder, Cogswell, Heerman, Southerland, Aul, John W. Weeks, Colohan, Wedderburn, Rowe, Caper- on, and Frank Knox. Footnote to Tokyo: Many of these ships, particularly the new Lexington, Essex, Independence, South Dakota, Towa and the new Chicago and Atlanta have been an- nounced sunk many times by Radio Tokyo. e e 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 n Board Cruiser Berlin Bound Peaceful MEA—IIanIit Seen as Augury for Big ' Three Meefing By ERNEST B. VACCARO ABOARD CRUISER IN MID-AT- LANTIC WITH PRESIDENT TRU- MAN, July 10.—President Truman is enroute today to Europe for his first “Big Three” meeting, shape the course of world affairs for generations. He is traveling in a battle-tested Lexing- Independence, . . . o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ° . which may, uck TOKYO IS (ENTER OF BIG RAID Five Other Industrial Cities Also Under Terrific Attack FIRE BOMBS DROPPED BY LARGE AIR FLEET Great Ol R:fi?lery Is Tar- get - Chemical Area = Given Pounding | | By Leonard Milliman ' (Associated Press War Editor) | Nearly 2000 American planes 'swept virtually unchallenged = over |Japan today in the heaviest aid blow of the Pacific war. The attack centered on Tokyo. More than 1,000 aircraft from & pow-, erful Third Fleet task force lying southeast of the caplital bombed and strafed nearly 80 airdromes around Tckyo in a day-long attack—pro~ bably just the beginning of & two or three days assault. | Approximately 500 superforts dumped 3,500 tons.of {ire bombs and high explosivés on ‘&t least five in- 'dustrial citles. Tokyo said théy hit seven while 17 other B-29s mined |coastal waters. Japanese broadcasts reported 100 Mustang fighters from Iwo Jima raided Osaka and Kobe while 130 bombers and fighters from Okinawa raked Kyushu, Coordinated Attack The coordinated attack stemming from the most powerful carrier force ever to enter Japanese waters, and 4 | | —The first and thus far the only | he was en route to this country on a | first, dived on him from out of Py (from bas>s in three island groups battle casualty of this war who has lost parts of both arms and legs is now a patient at Percy Jones Gen- eral Hospital here. He is Master Sgt. Fredric Hensel | of Corbin, Ky., who had both legs above the knees and his left arm above the eibow blown off on Okinawa June 2 when he stepped on a Japanese land mine. Despite desperate efforts by doc- The Washington Merry - Go-Round i | | Dissension Among Al- hospital ship. ‘I'd make a good picture for pro- paganda against the next war,” drawled the good natured Kentuck- | | WASHINGTON, Jyly lu,rAr-tingwm'f use of the Pratt and Whitney His wife, Mrs. Jewell Hanscl,|Secretary of State Grew declared |Double Wasp engine for its power formerly of Corbin but now lving|today that the Japanese are using |Plant, the Navy said. This gives it at Salem, Ind., was on hand to greet | “purported peace feelers” in an at- its speed of at least 425 miles an him when he came in late Sunday. | tempt to stir up dissension in the | hour, its ability to climb almost Miraculously, Army doctors said, | United States and among the Allies. ian. Hensel is in good condition. They lies, Says Grew Their objective, he said, is to ob- say he will be able to walk on arti- | tain a peace short of unconditional ficial legs and use his new artificial | surrender even though they know arms. The sergeant hopes to be | beyond question already that their getting around in a wheel chair in | defeat is certain. time to celebrate his 27th birthday | Grew related several instances of August 3 and his third wedding an- | what he called these “alleged peace niversary August 12. | feelers” and then wound up a state- | the clouds and watched him crash |in the ocean after firing only 100 rounds from his wing guns. | The big change in the F4U-4 is 1,000 feet a minute faster than the F4U-1 and a ceiling high enough to give it an advantage over high- flying, land based Japanese planes. The engine is rated for 2,100 zhorsepowcr, and this can be increas- |ed in emergencies by water injec- | tion. | |reports indicated not many Were | warship, The vessel is part of a Soo" BE BouGHI | | two-cruiser task ferce, under the Pilots returning from early strikes | ccmmand of Rear Admiral Allan R. | reported no fighter opposition and and caused them little WASHINGTON, July 10.—If the President approves, homesites may | be purchased on public lands in | Of the fleet was within short carrier Alaska. plane range of Tokyo when the The House has completed con-:Strikes were launched, no enemy gressional action on a measure ex- | Planes came out by 10 4. m,, to chal- tending the 5-acre homesite law to|lenge Amefican ownership of this scanty trouble. Despite the fact a huge element said that anti-alrcraft fire was, the Territory and the bill has been | sent to the White House. | The Homsite Law, which heretofore has applied only to continental U.S., is amended; also to permit purchase by Interior Department employees stationed in Alaska. It also permits ocean. The crews were at battle stations| most of the time with gunners alert and ready for action after a long and boring cruise. A Third Fleet spokesman said the target comprised an area of about Brig.-Gen. Joseph E. Bastion, | ment on the subject by declaring: By DREW PEARSON | Commanding Officer at Percy Jones, Lt. Col. Robgrt S. Allen mow on active service with the Army.) — As President | ! WASHINGTON Truman and Secretary of State Bymes prepare for the Big 3 con- ference, significant light can now | be thrown on one extremely im- | periant phase of our snarled rela-| tiors with Soviet Russia, wmchi still remain the most impertant queition facing the USA at the Berlin parley. Ore of the chiex criticisms we have made of the Russians is that they have not lived up to the Yalta | agreement. Ampng other things U. S. and’ Briti& diplomats have claimed that | the Fussians established the Ren- ner givernment in Austria without | notifyng their allies. Under the| Yalta agreement it was specified | that tae Big Three should consult with eich other regarding new gov- ernmests, such as that in Austria, to be established in the liberated areas. o certain British and Am- erican/diplomats, in the course of feeding out anti-Soviet stories at San Fnncisco, dropped word to the| press tiat the Russians had (nken‘f the bitin their teeth and set ur| Karl Rinner, former Socialist leader | as the jew Chancellor of Austria— without consulting us. Howe'er, this columnist is now able to give the text of a note! from tie British Foreign Office which sates just the opposite. The | note, fo! the information of differ-/ ent pags of tie British Empire and its allies, is dated April 29—| a the vgy start of the San Fran-| cisco coiference, It shows that thel (Cortinued on Page Four) one of the Army’s largest amputa- tion centers, said there has been one other guadruplicate amputee in the Army during the war but that he was not a battle casualty. He was an Army pilot who lost parts of all four extremities due to freezing after a plane crash in New England, the General explained. In all, there have been 12,500 am- putees from the war so far and of these five per cent are “double amps,” Gen. Bastion said. Six soldiers have lost three limbs. NO CHURCHILL, FRANCO CONFAB ST. JEAN DE LUZ, France, July 10—Prime Minister Churfhill’s va- cation at nearby Hendaye took on a possible diplomatic significance to- day as reports circulated here that Generalissimo Francisco Franco had “The policy of this government has been, and will continue to be, | unconditional surrender , . . that is | the best comment I can make upon | peace feelers and rumors of peace | feelers of whatever origin.” | The United States, the Acting Sec- retary emphatically asserted, has “received no peace offer from the | Japanese government, either through official or unofficial channels.” “Conversations relating to peace,” he continued, “have been reported to the department from various parts of the world but, in no case, has an approach been made to this government, directly or indirectly, by a person who could establish his authority to speak for the Japanese government, and in no case has an offer of surrender been made. “In no case has this government been presented with a statement purporting to define the basis upon which the Japanese government would Be prepared to eonclude peace.’ { conferred with British officials at|and to use the whole idea of an end Bordaberry Chateau. LONDON, July 10—A No. 10 Downing Street spokesman said to- to reports that Prime Minister Churchill had held a conference or wes planning 2 conference with Generalissimo Francisco Franco. - — GOULDMAN IN JUNEAU W. L. Gouldman, of Anchorage, is a guest at the Gastineau Hotel. - —— OLSEN HERE Olaf, Olsen, of Tenakee, is guest at the Gastineau Hotel, a {day “There is no truth whatsoever”; to the war as a meaps of stirring up argument over peace terms in order to create dissension. e, TAKU MEN HERE Erwin Kerburger and Bill Massie, of Taku, are guests at the Gastin- eau Hotel. - ., SZABO IN TOWN |at the Hotel Juneay - e REV, MRS. JUSTICE HERE The Rev. and Mrs. Jester Justice, of Yakima, Wash., are guests at the Baranof Hotel, What the Japanese always seek with their peace feelers, Grew said, | |crossed the frontier from Spain and |is to find out the American position J. F. Szabo, of Seattle, is a guest | Wil Delay National Elections in Poland WARSAW, July 10.—Premier Ed- {ward B. Osubka-Morawski of the |new Polish Provisional Government says in an interview that the pro- Jected Polish national elections must. be delayed until nearly 5,000,000 Poles abroad have been given a chance to return home. acquisition of sites for camp, con- |40 by 60 miles northeast and south valescent, business and recreational |of Tokyo. purposes. Adm. Willlam F, (Bull) Halsey's |" ‘Due to the large interest in Alas- airmen are trying to pin-point ka—many veterans have indicated |smaller industries with which Jap- their interest—and since practically ' 8n abounds and which the Super- all the land is in public ownership, forts in their bludgeoning blows are it is felt the legislation is very de- unable to give individual attention. sirable,” the Public Lands Commit-| The strikes today were described tee reported to the House. (as “probing”—prasumably an effort The Committee said Delegate to get the Japanese to trot out Bartlett (D-Alaska) approved meiwhavever sea and air power they bill, which was identical with one may have left for the showdown ‘he had introduced. ‘near their homeland. Anni\;ersary of No. Pa By OLEN CLEMENTS (Associated Press War Correspondent) ADAK, Aleutian Islands, July 10 —Forces of the North Pacific Com- mand celebrated the second anniver- | sary of their first raid on the Japa- | | nese Kurile Islands today with the | | pledge by their Commander, Vice Adm. Frank Jack Fletcher, that un- | | ceasing warfare would be carried | |out against the northern defenses} of the Empire i The first raid on the Kuriles wasl made July 10, 1943, by eight Army | Mitchell bombers flying from the re- | captured basé at Attu. Since then, | North Pacific®Command fliers in { Mitchells, . Liberators, Catalinas, Venturas and Harpoons have attack- Raid on Kuriles from !Polalo Mail; If's New Vflnkle Now IDAHO FALLS, Idaho—When |Farmer Henry Mais sold some pota- | First al | |toes to the Army last February, he |wrote his name on one tuber with the notation: “Whoever gets this, RS- e Moo iter mie s {ed the jpanese back door ilymg: Months later he received the same ‘r.ne of the world’s most hazardous (spud in the mail with the ‘added | air routes. |inseription: “March 23, 1945. Oahu Naval surface units of the com- island (Hawaiians). Let me hear mand have patrolled the fog-swept from you. Corp. Clare E. Pferrer.” |seas until Japanees shipping, in- S'O(K MAHBHS | cluding the vital Japanese fishing | ific Celebrated industry, has been swept from the; area. Ten surface bombardments have been carried out against Para- | mushiro and Matsuwa, the strongest | of the Japanese bases in the island | chain, In their latest sweep surface | mnits boldly steamed through the | chain into the Okhotsk Sea to crip- | pler a six-ship convoy. | Now, promises Fletcher, the at-| tacks will be intensified. 1 The Japanese “are pretty well dug in but we will give them no peace' or rest,” he promised, .NEW YORK, July 10. — Closing | quotation of Alaska Juneau mlne: stotk today is 7 American Can | 96%, Anaconda 34%, Curtiss-Wright | 1, International Harvester 83%, Ken- | necott 38%, New York Central 20%, | Northern Pacific 337%, U. S. Steel 70%. i Sales today totalled 940,000 shares. | Dow, Jones averages today are' as follows: Industrials, 167.09; rails, 65.86; utilities, 33.35, | McCann., The Presidential party, which in- | cludes James F. Byrnes, Secretary of | State, and Fleet Admiral William D. Lzahy, the President’s Chief of Staff, will fly from the port of debarka- tion to the Berlin area in the big C-54 luxury liner in which Mr. Tru- man flew to attend the San Fran- cisco conference of the United Na- tions. | Captain James H. Foskett com- mands the ship carrying the Presi- |dent. The other cruiser is comm- |anded by Captain Robert L. Boller. Tanned and apparéntly in tip-top | physical condition, President Tru- man is cruising toward his first con- ierencz with Premiler Stalin and Prime Minister Churchill through mid-Atlantic - waters as placid as those of a mill pond in his native Missouri, Wearing a sporty cap cocked | jauntily on the side of his head, the Precident seems to feel the peace of | his journey may augur well for the outccme of the rendezvous in mid- July in Potsdam, on the outskirts of conquered Berlin. Primarily, the meeting will con- cern the laying of the groundwork for the peace treaty with Germany, including settlement of boundary, re- parations, occupational, rehabilita- tion and other questions. The President left Washington last Friday night by train, sailing the next day from the Army Port of Embarkation dock, Newport News, Va., on a journey which may cover in excess of 10,000 miles by the time he returns to the White House. - May Invite lfaly fo Join Big League WASHINGTON, July 10—The House Foreign Affairs Committee voted today to authorize President Truman to “use his good offices” to the end that Italy be invited into. the United Nations. The former Axis partner is now treated diplomatically as a “co- belligerent” which holds it short of full Ally status. S TR MR., MRS. HUNTLEY HERE Mr. and Mrs. C. M. Huntley, of Seattle, are guests at the Baranof Hotel, |carved out of the Nipponese empire, cencentrated on knocking out what's left of the Mikado's air force and the airdromes from which they could defend Tokyo. | Vice Adm. John 8. McCain's fast jcarrier force moved in so close to |the Japanese shore that it's 1,000 {odd planes could well have flown close to 2,000 sorties during the day. They combed a 40 by 60 mile area around Tokyo, pinpointing airports and little factories missed by the |B-20s with their 500-pound bombs. They followed up with rockets and machinegun bullets. Was Carrier Raid Reports for the first half day of the attack, which opened at dawn, carried no word of Interception or enemy counteratiacks on the fleet. For the first time, Adm. Chester W. Nimitz named some 26 of the ships and Admirals participating.. It was the first carrier raid on Tokyo in five months. « The Tokyo-reported strikes at the Nagoya-Osaka area and were similar to American-anno blows yesterday which neut: airdromes in theése areas in prep- aration for the carrier strike and knocked out 26 interceptors. Oil Refinery Bombed Superforts dropped high explosive bombs on the Yokkaichi oil refinery near Osaka in #n attempt to knock out Japan's largest remaining plant preducing aviation gasoline. The other four targets were fire- bombed, making 3¢ Nipponese cities that have been thus ralded. They included Sendal, largest city in northeast Japan, 180 mifes beyond Tokyo. The two millioh tons of bombs dropped by air forces landed on Wakayama, steel and chemical cen- ter south of Osaka. Invasion Shadow The raiders threw the “dark shadow of invasion” on Nippon as Tokyo reported defending troops were “entrenched in fortifications along the coast of Japan awaiting the enemy landing.” X ' Liberator heavy bombers from Okinawa made. their first strike in force against the enemy homeland July 5, raining 200 tons of bombs— plus incendiaries—an Omura air- lield, midway between Sasebo and Nagasaki, on Kyushu, Associated Press Correspondent Robert Geiger veported. Thunderbolt fighters es- corting the Liberator bombers shot down 10 Japanese training planes,