Evening Star Newspaper, February 4, 1942, Page 7

THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, “EARLY TO BED”—Representative Wilson, Republican, of Indiana, advocate of 2 10 p.m. curfew for Government girls, is shown with one of them, a little after 10 last night, in the studio of WJSV. The girl is Miss Eileen McBride of the Federal Works Agency, author of a verse published in The Sunday Star which took the Hoosier Representative to task. (Story on Page B-1.) —Star Staff Photo. Land, Sea and Air Forces Mesh Like a Team To Smash Japs’ Moonlight Landing at Batan By CLARK LEE, Astoctated Press War Correspondent. WITH THE UNITED STATES FORCES IN BATAN, Feb. 4—In the most spectacular battle yet fought in Luzon, American naval, land and air units early yesterday smashed a strong Japanese attempt to land from the China Sea on the American left flank. Many Japanese landing boats were sunk under a storm of American machine-gun and artillery fire and aerial bombing. Scores of Japanese troops were killed outright or drowned. Small enemy groups succeeded in reaching shore, but were cornered quickly on the west coast of this wooded peninsula. The area now is being mopped up by Filipino Scouts who are masters of jungle warfare. This dispatch, filed just before noon yesterday, Philippine time, reached New York shortly before midnight, Eastern standard time. (The War Department an- nounced yesterday that the forces of Gen. Douglas MacArthur had repulsed two new Japanese land- ing attempts on the west shores of Batan Peninsula.) Battle Fought by Moonlight. The battle was fought under a| brilliant full moon. Against the cloudless sky the tracer bullets of machine guns and anti-aircraft made flaming paths of red and | orange death. | From a vantage point I watched | the firing, which started shortly after midnight and continued for | three hours. The Navy and Army co-ordinated | perfectly in beating off the Japanese attempt. The Japanese landing boats were | sighted far up the coast, escorted | by a warship—either a large des- troyer or a light cruiser. Army shore defenses immediately | were placed on the alert to repel an enemy landing. MacArthur's Men Amuse Selves WithPaul Bunyan Rumors of Aid Oldest One Is Convoy 100 Miles Long, 30 Wide, | That'll Land Million WITH THE ARMY IN LUZON, Feb. 3 (Delayed).—The scene is Corregidor Island and two Amer- jcan soldiers—typical members of the hard-bitten forces writing a brilliant new chapter of Army his- tory here in the Philippines—are discussing the war. Pvt. Howe Willlams, 21, a lanky, red-headed Southerner, begins the conversation: “Hiya, eergeant! mors today?” Sergt. Ken Johnson, a Midwest- erner in his thirties with six years in the Army, has a ready answer: “Sure—a convoy 100 miles long and 30 miles wide’ll be here in three days. They're geing to land 1,000,000 men at Lingayen behind the Japs, while the Navy closes in between Any good ru- Formosa and Luzon and bottles | up all their ships and the B-17s (long range bombers) blast hell out of Tokio.” Pvt. Williams: “Sure, I heard those rumors two weeks ago.” Sergt. Johnson: “Okay, okay. Well, seriously though, here’s some dope I got from a pal who works in MacArthur’s headquarters. You know how our help's comin'? They're buildin’ a bridge from San Fran- cisco to Manila—and they’ve already finished the first quarter mile.” Planes Will be a Pretty Sight. Pvt. Williams: “While they're fin- | ishing it I sure wish that fourth | Army'd hike out here across the water double quick.” Sergt. Johnson: “Keep your shirt | on, fella. Uncle Sam is gettin’ busy | and he's gonna start really buildin’ those airplanes.” | Pvt. Williams (waxing enthusi- astic): “You bet. When he gets his sleeves rolled up he’ll turn out so many they'll fly over here all day long so thick we can't even see the sun.” Sergt. Johnson: “Yes, sir! They'll do slow rolls over the Rock (Cor- regidor) for 48 hours straight. Cer- | tainly will be a pretty sight.” | Pvt. Williams (coming back to earth): “Yeah—if we're here to see it | Sergt. Johnson: “Well, T guess we can wait awhile for our help pro- | vided those boys over on Batan know for sure it's comin’ some day before | long. They're doin’ all right.” | Pvt. Willlams: “Those American | fiyers at Rangoon are right on the | “We Poured It Into Them.” Sergt. Johnson: “So was the Navy down in Malacca or Macassar | or whatever they call those straits. ‘Those Japs sure are spread out, an’ one good lickin' any place oughta gum up their whole schedule.” Pvt. Williams: “That artillery fire over on Batan keep you awake?" Sergt. Johnson: “Hell, no. I'm | used to it. You hear us poundin’ | them on the other side, too?” (Corregidor is only one of the islands guarding the mouth of Manila Bay. By “the other side” Pvt. Williams meant the islands south of Corregidor, which con- stitute the southern front of the American forces.) Pvt. Williams: “Yeah, we sure poured it inta '‘em at Ternate the other day. That dust shot 300 feet up into the air. That was my bat- (A communique issued from QGen. MacArthur’'s headquarters Sunday announced that Corregi- dor's big guns had wiped out a concentration of Japanese barges and troops assembled at Ternate, 35 miles to the south across Ma- nila Bay, apparently for an as- sault on the island fortress.) “See You in Manila.” Sergt. Johnson: “Well, I sure wish T could let my family know I'm Men in Lingayen Gulf son. They probably sawed my cor- ner off the dinner table.” Sergt. Johnson: “Well, let's leave | the war to Roosevelt and MacArthur and get back to work.” Pvt. Williams: “Yeah, I gotta go write Tojo’s name on some 12-inch shells.” Sergt. Johnson. “See you in Ma- nila.” Pvt. Williams: “Manila? You mean ‘Tokio. If they send us five or six airplanes we’ll be in Tokio by the Fourth of July eating that sookey yakee.” Sergt. Johnson: “I'll settle for a small steak, well done. But we can try some of the Jap beer, anyhow. It sure will be good to taste beer again.” [Rios Parries Questions 'On Immediate Axis Break | By the Associated Press. SANTIAGO, Chile, Feb. 4—Presi- | Xuienhelect Juan Antonio Rios par- ried queries yesterday regarding his| attitude toward an immediate break with the Axis, but did say he ex-/ | pected Congress to complete action | on the Rio de Janeiro accords be- | fore he takes office. | Rios explained that these agree-| ments, including the unanimous recommendation for all the Ameri- cas to end relations with the Axis powers, must first be submitted to Congress for ratification. indicated heretofore that he would line his government up solidly be- hind the United States. Waving aside suggestions that hc‘ assume leadership of the govern- ment immediately, he said he would wait until elapse of the 60-day pe- riod provided by the constitution. Quak;r Mercy Caravan Starts Over Burma Road | B3 the Associated Press. RANGOON, Burma, Feb. 4—A Quaker mercy caravan headed by | two hospital buses started over the Burma Road to China today. One bus contained a completely equipped operating room and the other an X-ray laboratory pur- chased with American and British | funds. Dr. Henry Lauderbaugh of Ver- mont is a member of the staff, which will work behind the lines of the Chinese-Japanese front. SINGER treadle—a com- szz pletely reconditioned machine WESTINGHOUSE—recondi- szz tioned modern type portable DOMESTIC floor sample su night table model ___ . WHITE de luxe rotary portable, practically new___ He has| | | SINGER de luxe console model that - sold when new for about $160. In very good condition SINGER Round Bobbin Portable that looks and sews like a new machine. okay.” Pvt. Williams: “I bet my mammy end pappy done forget they had & 4 1015 Seventh St. $55 | ‘The boats were about 40 feet long, motor-driven and carrying 30 to 50 men each, protected by sheet metal and armed with machine guns. As the Japanese approached, the American shore defenders curtained the beaches with bullets and shrapnel. With many Japanese struggling in the water as the result of this fire, others pushed on toward land. U. S. Planes Slash at Japs. American planes suddenly dived out of the night. The pilots se- |lected their targets in the moon- light, dropped their bombs, then roared low and heavily strafed the Japanese. The paths of the diving planes could be followed easily by their tracer bullets. Sometimes they came almost straight down, zoomed and rolled in again at steep angles. The Japanese warship anti-air- craft guns sent tracer shells at the planes ineffectually. As the planes roared off, an American patrol vessel pitched into the middle of the remaining Japanese boats and attacked the warship, which still was attempting to cover a landing with its guns. The Japanese war- ship then fled under the attack. Details of the Navy’'s participation cannot now be disclosed, but it can be stated that the Navy was very much in the midst of the action. Sailors, Aviators Repulsed Attack. Likewise it can be disclosed that another Japanese landing attempt several days ago was checkmated by a force of American sailors and Combating the .Pain of lorsed by many for over 30 years. Mountain Valley Mineral Water MEt. 1062 904 12th 8t. N.W. Before You Buy Any Automatic Washer SEE THE ABC-0-MATIC WITH "SCUM FREE” RINSER Washes, triple rinses and damp dries o 9-Ib. load of clothes in 10 minutes—and turns them out cleaner, brighter and fluffy soft. Uses no more wa- ter, soap or current than con- ventional woshers and requires no expensive permanent in- stalation. CALL REPUBLIC 1590 Piano Shop 1015 Seventh St. N.W. $49 aviators, fighting on land with rifies in the Batan jungles. (In Washington last evening a. Navy communique reported that a naval battalion composed of bluejackets and marines had been organized and was fight- ing on Batan Peninsula with Gen. MacArthur’s troops.) ‘The Americans were unfamiliar with this type of fighting but learned quickly. ‘The sailors were without ships, the aviators without pianes, so they all became adept at tossing gren- ades, avoiding ambush, camouflaging machine guns and taking advan- tage of the natural cover. The sailors and fiyers pushed the Japanese onto the peninsula, where the Filipino Scouts took over the Jjob and annihilated the enemy with the assistance of shelling from a naval patrol vessel. Comdr. Francis J. Bridget, naval aviator and former United States Air Attache at Tokio, directed the early phase of the operations in a manner which won the praise of the Army officers. One of the churches destroyed in Manila is the famous Sebastian Church, which was moved piecemeal from Belgium to the Philippines. D. c., Wenner-GrenMystery Grows; British Search His Estate in Bahamas Officials Find No “Secret Facilities,’ but May Bar Industrialist B3 the Associated Press. MIAMI, Fla, Feb. 4.—Axel Wen- ner-Gren appeared today as a man of mystery after the Bahamas gov- ernment reported a search of his lavish estate, Shangri-La, and the possibility arose that the Swedish industrialist might be barred from the British island until the war ends. Bahamian authorities officially ad- mitted yesterday they had searched the estate “for secret facilities, ap- pliances and stores available to the enemy” and found nothing. The action was prompted by various ru- mors, § was related, and hope was expressed that “this announcement will allay the fears of the com- munity.” A spokesman “considered it un- ‘WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY ¢4, 1942. likely” that Wenner-Gren would be permitted to return to Nassau be- fore the war ends, ‘The action followed within a month the addition of Wenner-Gren’s name to a United States economic black- list. The government of the Ba- hamas, just over the horizon from Miami, quickly took over adminis- tration of his $3,000,000 enterprises, including farmlands and canning plants. ‘Wenner-Gren is reported to be in Mexico seeking to invest $10,000,000 in developing natural resources there. He recently declared that the blacklisfing constituted a “cruel and unfounded charge.” Another angle to the mystery | bobbed up in Miami, where the as- sistant United States district at- torney, George Smathers, libeled a small freighter, the Compadre, ply- ing the Florida-Nassau route, on grounds that it was owned by Wenner-Gren, but was falsely reg- istered in the name of another. Wealthy through ownership of vacuum cleaner and refrigerator patents, Wenner-Gren counts his friends in both Allied and Axis camps. On a visit to Miami, he once took cognizance of rumors that tied him to the Axis with the query: “Why do you say that I am a friend of Reichsmarshal Hermann Goering? I know him, yes; alsp I know the Duke of Windsor and I knew King George of England. Why do you not say I am their friend?” Nicotinic acid, an important mem- ber of vitamin B complex, and not nicotine, has & new name, “Niacin,” chosen by National Research Council WANTED 1940 PONTIAC WILL PAY HIGH PRICE FLOOD PONTIAC 221 . Ave. Conn. Ave. WOEKJ? %‘W Oidest Pontiac CORRECTION! The Terms, “No Money Down,” as Specified in the Hub Furniture Com- pany ad appearing in The Evening Star, ' Friday, January 30, was erroneously used by our Advertising Agency. We regret the mistake, | THE HUB, 7t and D IN WASHINGTON PEOPLE BUY AT G&oryes Special Note! 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