La Grande evening observer., April 17, 1945, Image 1

Weather
Data for 24 hours ending 7 a.m., .
April 17.
Temperatures:
Maximum 56
Minimum 29
Forecast: Generally clear to-,,
night, becoming unsettled Wed
nesday. brnie
Pyle
Troops Would
Like Okinawa
Iii Peacetime
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m
Uniot and Wallowa Coutiliat
ESTABLISHED 1S9G
LA GRANDE. OREGON TUESDAY EVENING APRIL 17, 1945
FIVE CENTS,-;
.ii ... . i tin
Bv ERNIE PYLE
OKINAWA (Dy Navy Radiol
Wc camped one ni(ht on a little
hillside that led up to a- bluff
overlooking a small river. The
bluff dropped straifiht down for
a long way.' Up there on top of
the bluff it was just like a little
park.
The bluff was terraced, al
though it wasn't farmed. The
grass on it was soft and green.
And those small, straight-limbed
pine trees were dotted all over
it.
Looking down from the b'.uff,
the river made a turn and
across it was an old stone
bridge. At the end of the bridge
was a village or what had
beej a village.
It was now just a jumble of
ashes and sagging thatched
roofs from our bombardment.
In every direction little valleys
led away from the turn in the
river.
It was as pretty and gentle a
sight as you ever saw. It had the
softness of antiquity about it and
the miniature charm and dainti
ness that we sec in Japanese
prints. And the sad, uncanny si
lence that follows the bedlam of
war.
A bright sun made Ihe morning
hot and a refreshing little breeze
sang through the pine trees.
Tlvre wasn't a shot nor a warlike
sound within hearing. I sat on
the bluff for a long time, just
looking. It all seemed so quiet
and peaceful. I noticed a lot of
the marines silting and just look
ing too.
You could come from a dozen
different parts of America am!
still find scenery on Okinawa that
looked like your country at home.
Southern boys say the reddish
clay and the pine trees remind
them of Georgia. Westerners
see California in the green roll
ing hills, partly wooded, partly
patch worked with little green
fields. And the farmed plains
look like our midwest.
Okinawa is oie of the few pla
ces I've been in this war where
our troooa don't gripe about
what an awful blace it is. In
fact most' of the boys sav they
; would like Okinawa if it were
r.ot at war with us and if the
people weren't so dirty.
The countryside itself is neat
and the little farms are well kept.
. See ERNIE PYLE . . . Page (i
No V-E Day Until
Major Nazi Forces j
Are Wiped Out
PARIS, April 17 (UP) Gen.
Dwight D. Eisenhower will pro
claim V-E day only after the last
important German pockets on the
western front have been wiped
out.
' He served notice to this effect
at an interview at his field head
quarters with a group of visiting
American radio correspondents.
The war in Europe is not like
ly to end until allied troops have
occupied Germany completely, he
said. He doubled there ever
would be a formal nazi surren
der. "Nazi units, including divi
rmns, corps, armies and finally
ai my groups will give up sepa
rately as they exhaust ammuni
tion and gasoline or find them
selves hopelessly encircled," he
said.
(Military and government
sources in London warned there
probably would be serious fight
ing in Germany "for many
weeks" after Berlin has been
captured. The announcement of
V-E day even may be held up
until German resistance has
heen cracked in Norway and
Denmark, it was said.)
Churchill Says Death of FDR
Is "Bitter Loss to Humanity""
LONDON, April 17 (UP)
Prime Minister Churchill told
commons today that he noticed
President Roosevelt was ailing
at Yalta, and left him at Alex
andria with an "indefinable
sense of fear that his he'nlth
and strength were on the ebb."
Churchill spoke in commons
of his "personal regard and af
fection beyond my power to
express" for Mr. Roosevelt af
ter attending memorial serv
ices at St. Paul's, where he
wept openly.
Churchill said he received
his last messages from Mr.
Roosevelt last Thursday. They
"showed no falling off in his
accustomed clear vision and
vigor upon perplexing anel
complicated matters."
Altogether, he said, he and
Mr. Roosevelt had exchanged
more than 1,700 message's. On
Ihe basis of these and his per
sonal association with the pres
ident, he "rojiceive'd an admi
Reel A 07 Mobs IF
Elb
e
9th Army
Fights for
U Bridges
PAULS, April 17 (UP)
American ninth army tanks
and infantrymen broke into
Magdeburg from three sides
today in a savage liattlo lor
the last four K 1 b e river
bridges still standing' on the
load to I'erlin, lid miles to the
northeast.
United Press War Correspond
ent Robert Vermillion reported
in a dispatch from Magdeburg
this afternoon that tl2 Ameri
cans were advancing rapidly
through the flaming city after
having broken the back of the
nazi .defenses in a fierce 'street
battle.
By late afternoon the enemy
defenders, 2,000 to 4,000 strong,
had bet n herded bacK almost to
the river edge and their resist
ance was beginning to crack.
Major Breakthrough Looms
Vormillion said the nazis stiil
had not blown uo the four key
bridges, raising the possibility of
a major break-through that
would spill the ninth army's full
striking power across the Elbe
cn the direct, road to Berlin.
Long columns of American
heavy tanks were rolling in to
ward the Elbe bridges, smashing
down nazi barricades and clear
ing the way for the infantry.
The assault coincided with
equally heavy American attacks
on Leipzig and Nuernberg where
other United States troops were
striking furiously to link up with
the Red armies in the east and
block the nazi escape roads into
the Bavarian redoubt.
Flee Toward Bavaria
Field dispatches revoaled that
lens of thousands of Germans
were llteing southward through
the Oder-Elbe corridor toward
Bavaria, with thousands more in
full flight northward toward the
Baltic roast in a last-minute race
Si e YANKS . . . Page 5
I
Truman Approves
Lend-Lease Act
WASHINGTON. April 17 (UP)
President Truman today sign
ed the lend-lease extension act.
He said the lend-lease program
"will be carried on unlil tr.:1 un
conditional .surrender or com
plete defeat of Germany and
Japan."
I The signing product rl a his
torical novelty Mr. Truman's
I name appeared on the bill twice.
;Hd signed it originally as pio
j siding officer of the se nate, and
then again today as pre siete nt.
i Mr. Truman in his senate role
j evoke a tie vote to kill an amend
ment to the extension act that
I would have tightened roslnctiems
Ion post-war use of lend-lease
program until June 30, 1IWI.
ration for him as a statesman,
a man of affairs, and as a war
leader. I (ell the utmost con
fidence in his upright, inspiring
character and oulleiok."
'it is a loss, indeeel a hitter
loss, to humanity that these
heartbeats are stilled forever,"
he saic. "There is ne eloulit
the pre.:, lent foresaw the great
(anger ch sing m upon the pre
war work: with far more
prescience than most well in
formed people on either side of
the Atlantic."
Churchill moved a resolution
expressing the deep sorrow
with which commons learned
of Mr. Roosevi It's death.
"Fer us it re-mains enough to
s; y that in Franklin Roosevelt
eheei the gieatest American
friend we have ever known,
and the greatest champion of
freedom who has ever brought
help and comfort from the new
world to the old." C'hutclull
.-aid.
: v 1
Kiver
Missouri Banker
Named by Truman
As Head of RFC
Old Friend Of
President Gets
Nomination
WASHINGTON, April 17 (UP)
John W. Snyder, St. Louis
hanker, was nominated by Presi
dent Truman today to be federal
loan administrator.
This was the first major, ap
pointment made by Mr. Truman
since he became president.
Snyder, vice-president of the
First National bank of St. Louis,
has been a friend of the president
for more than 25 years.
As load of the multi-billion-collar
reconstruction finance
ten p. and other lending agencies.
Snyder will fill the place left
vacant by Fred M. Vinson's trans
fer to the peist of war mobiliza
tion director.
From 1930 to 1937 Snyder was
liquidator of national banks in
tho insolvent division of the
United States comptroller of the
currency.
From 1337 to 1940 he was man
ager of the St. Louis agency of
the reconstruction finance corp.
and in 1940 became executive
vice-president and director of the
elefense plant corp. and assistant
to the diteclors of the RFC. He
went back to private banking in
St. Louis on Jan. 1, 1943.
Last Rites Are
Held for Former
Senator Stanf ield
Mrs. Carl G. Helm lias returned
from Weiscr, Idaho, where she
attended the funeral services of
her brother, Robert Nelson Stan
luld, Gil, former U. S. senator
from Oregon, who was found
dead in his bed in Weisor Friday
night of a heart attack.
Gerald E. Stanfield, a brother,
said the former senator had suf
fered from heart trouble for 20
S cars.
He was born at Umatilla Land
ing, Oivgon, July 9, 1877, a son
of Robert Nelson Stanfield who
located in Oregon in 1849. He
was married in 1897 to Inez Hill,
and for many years engaged in
the livestock industry in eastern
Oregon. In 1920 Stanficld's sheep
holdings numbered 350,000 head
and he was rated as the largest
individual sheep owner in the
world.
He served as a member of the
Oregon stale legislature for three
terms and was speaker of the
house of representatives. In
li'20 he was elected U. S. sen
ator from Oregon on lh-2 Repub
lican ticket and served for six
yeais.
Since retiring from politics he
had devoted his time to livestock
lanches and other business in
terests, and had made his home
in Weiser for the last few years.
Stanfield was a life member of
the Masonic and Elks fraternities,
and was a member of the Epis
copal church."
Survivors include his widow,
a daughter, Mrs. Barbara Dunn
anel three grandchildren, all resi
oents of Scaredalc, N. Y.; three
sisters, Mrs. Helm, Mrs. A. L.
Means of Seattle and Miss Kate
Stanfield of Fallbrook. Calif., and
one brother, Gerald E. Stanfield,
prominent stockman of Weiser.
Funeral services were conduc
ted Sunday at Weiscr. Inter
ment was in the Weiser cemetery.
U. S. Aiimen Bag
1,50.) Nasi Planes
LONDON. April 17 (UP) The
U. S. eighth air force destroyed
at least 200 grounded German
planes fvday. according to pre
liminary reports, to add to the
ailie-i' bag of 1,305 nazi planes
ft roved or 9am,'(gfd yesterday.
lJay's '$Iiws against the
trie-Ken luftuaffe were (Wuck in
the areas Regensburg and
in Cze-chosIevakia.
More than l.OUtOortresses and
Liberators with 850 Mustang and
'i bund jrbeilt fighters as escort
ettacked rail targets and an oil
storage depot in Czechoslovakia
anel tail centers around Dresden.
Def
crnie Pyle Col umn
Starts in Observer
Ernie Pyle's famous daily col
umn describing life among our
fighting men, which has won the
plaudits of millions of readers, is
presented today
to its readers by
inc L,a uranne
Evening Obser
ver. Pyle Is now on
the Pacific front,
in Okinawa,
where he is re
porting the prog
ress of the fight
for the island
ind the activities
of our troops.
He has con
tinued to win
distinction and
popularity for
his work during J&mjt
this war. In a rZ
recent issue of k y
Life magazine a
full article was devoted to his
life and exploits and the qualities
President Truman Refuses to
Discuss Probable Changes in
Cabinet as tie Meets Newsmen
WASHINGTON, April 17 (UP) President Truman in his first
press conference today gave whole-hearted endorsement to the for
eign and domestic policies prevailing at the time he took office.
He said that he would not lift the ban on horse racing and that
he thought the midnight curfew had done a lot of good for the mor
ale of the country.
The president would not discuss any official appointments involv
ing the cabinet or other lop government personnel.
James W. Crowley
Called by Death
James W. Crowley, 76, man
ager of the liquor store at Elgin,
ciied Sunday at a local hospital
after a short illness.
He was born in New Bruns
wick, Canada, and had been a
lesident of Union and Wallowa
counties for more than 30 years.
When he came to La Grande
about 30 years ago he was fore
man of woods operations for the
George Palmer lumber company,
and later was co-owner and oper
ator of a pool hall in Elgin. He
was a member of the La Grande
lodge of Elks.
Survivors include two sisters,
Mrs. J. M. Goode and Mrs. James
E. Colbert, both of Calais, Maine.
Rosary will be said at 7:30 p.
in. Wednesday in the Snodgrass
funeral home and funeral serv
ices will be at 9 a. m. Thursday,
in the American Legion hall in
Elgin. Father M. J. McMahon
will officiate. Interment will be
in the Elgin cemetery.
Peace-time U.S. Navy of
1,191 Combat Ships Planned
WASHINGTON, April 17 (UP) A tentative navy plan
for a post-war fleet of 1,191 combat ships almost three
times the size of the pre-war fighting fleet was presented
to congress today.
The public was given its first glimpse of the navy's post
war blueprint as the house appropriations committee recom
mended a ?2I,879,010,'I")() navy department budget for the
19 16 fiscal year starting- next July 1. This . was a slash of
?."2,655,10-1 from estimates previously approved by the bud
Governor Becomes
Grandpa of -Twins
SALEM, Ore., April 17 (L'P)
Twins, a boy an a girl,
made Gov. Earl Snell twice a
grandfather'foday, for P)e
time.
The chilelren, son and daugh
ter of William Earl Snell, a
medical student at the Univer
sity of Oregon, were born dur
ing the night in a Hoitland
hospital. w 6$
The children's mother, the
former Marylce Frye, is the
daughter of Mr. unci Mrs. Dan
J. Fry, jr., of Salem.
enses
which make him an outstanding
reporter of the human side of
the war.
His coverage of the campaigns
in North Africa,
Sicily, Italy andf
France won him
enough honors
for half a dozen
men the Pulit
zer prize, the
Raymond Clap
per merrvor i a 1
award, and the
National Head
liners' club
award for two
successive yenrs.
In accordance
with its policy
of presenting to
its readers the
best, the Eve
ning Observer
,
prcsoms name
I Pyle in today's issue. We hope
I you like and enjoy him.
There were a manner of ques
tions which Mr. Truman would
not discuss today. Among these
were how to dispose of synthetic
rubber plants, the Polish silua
t'on, and repeated questions
about possible changes in govern
ment posts.
Despite Mr. Truman's refusal
to discuss any possible official
appointments, some circles close
to him believed that gradual
changes may be started within
a few weeks.
No Plans For Byrnes
He said, under questioning,
that James F. Byrnes, former war
mobilization director, was not go
ing to the San Francisco confer
ence. He's going back to South Caro
lina, Mr. Truman said of Byrnes,
adding that when he needed
Byrnes' advice he would send for
it. In response to a further ques
tion, Mr. Truman said he had no
plans for bringing Byrnes into
the government.
He endorsed the Bretton
Woods international monetary
program that had been sent to
congress by the late President
See TALK . . . Page 5
get bureau.
Would Scrao 337 Units
Vic? Adm. Frederic J. Horne',
vice chief of naval operations,
v?s revealed to have told the
appropriations committee the
navy expert to end the war with
1,52(1 combat shy, ranging down
in size to destroyer escorts and
submarines. Of the'se, 337 obso
lescent craft in Id be scrapp(l)
or used ;P target vessels.
Oithe combat sh(Q remaining
in We pe.st-r flc-et, 482 will be
on agfcve status and 709 in an
inartVre state. Skeleton ofvs
woulel be retained on the inactive
ships to maintain them and keep
them in immediate readiness for
Si'c PEACE-TIME . . . Page 5
mm
Crack
Yanks Smash
Jap 'Suicide'
Air Attacks
GUAM, April 17 (UP)
The Japanese air force lost
2(M planes yesterday in a
third unsuccessful attempt to
smash the American invasion
forces off Okinawa, and today
a huge fleet of Superfort
ressees blasted six enemy air
craft staging bases on ,the
home island of Kyushu.
Blazing aerial battles were
fought between American and
Japanese pilots in the skies along
a 30-mile route between Okinawa,
and Kyushu. Navy gunners on
ships ranging from gunboats to
carriers of the Essex class joined,
in the fight, front dispatches, re
ported. .
Fleet Attack. Tails
The battle lasted all day. Jap
anese planes trying desperately
to tench the U. S. fleet were sent
hurtling in flames into the sea.
A United Press dispatch from
Vice Adm. Richmond Kelly Tur
ner's flagship said yesterday's
battle offered some of the great
est hunting of the war for Amer
leant fighting men. It was Japan's
third' try In ll days to cripple
the U. Sj fleet in the Ryukyus.'
In hitting kyushu, southern
most of the enemy home islands,
the B-29's sent the rapidly mount
ing aerial offensive against Jap
an into the sixth straight day.
Air Fields Blasted
The Mariana's-based Superfort
resses plastered a half dozen air
fields in northern and southern
Kyushu with demolition bombs
rather than Incendiaries which
were heaped on Tokyo twice In
Ihe last 72 hours.
All the airfields were known to
have held planes which have
heen hitting at the U. S. sen, land
and air forces in the Okinawo
urea, some of them in suicide at
tacks. Except for the invasion of Ie
and the seizure of its airdrome
with three valuable flying strips,
two of which are 5,000 feet long,
ground positions of Okinawa
have chunged little in the past
week.
2,400 Starving Nazi
'Slaves' Liberated
WITH 30th U. S. DIVISION ON
THE ELBE, Germany, April 17
(UP) - More than 2,400 starving
men, women and children most
ly Jews were rescued from a
prison train by the 30th division
near Farsleben, 10 miles"north of
Magdeburg, this week.
The 30th overran a prison train
of 48 boxcars in which the Ger
mans had been transporting their
slave laborers from Hannover to
wards southern Germany.
Sgt. Harold Jantzen, New Al
bany, Ind., and his scuad killed
or captured the nazis manning
flak guns on the train, and then
opened the boxcar doors. '
The prisoners poured out, hys
terical in their freedom,
Junior Chamber
Hoard Will Meet
Directors of the La Grande
junior chamber of commerce will
meet at 7:30 o'clock tonight in
thi chamber of commerce office.
Members of the organization
have been ,ked to give their
lists of servicemen's addresses to
Arlo Noyes or Ned Jones.
County Schools Get
$38,479 State Fund
Apportionment of $38,479 from
Ue state sc'Mil support fund to
me schools of Union county was
announced today at the secre
tary of state's office ii) Salem.
The sum was part of $2,500,000
from state income taxos repre
senting the final payment to the
county educational systems for
Ihe 1944-4.1 school year.
New Holes Cut n
Enemy Lines By
Three-Way Drive l
By United Press "'. :
Marshal Stalin in an order of the day announced the"
Red army has captured Zistersdorf, Austrian oil produc-
ing center. ,
Zistersdorf is 29 miles northeast of Vienna. 1
LONDON, April 17 (UP) Rec armies perhaps 2,000,000
strong tore new holes in the eastern defenses of Berlin along
a 150-mile front today and one column was reported only 17
miles from the nazi capital. . .
While armored forces fought near Eberswaide, 17 miles
northeast of Berlin, two more tank-supported Soviet divisions
plunged through the nazi line east of Letschin, 26 miles ,tQ
the southeast and 30 miles from the capital, the Germans
said.
Another Gorman broadcast said the Soviet attack at the
southern end of the new assault front had "assumed the
character of a large-scale offensive" in itself, apparently
aimed at linking up with the American third army 80-odd
miles to the west. ":
Soviet paratroops dropped even closer to Berlin, but were
encircled and wiped out, nazi broadcasts said.
A Paris report said the Red ,
army already had linked up with
the Americans in tne tioe vauey
southeast of Dresden, but latest
official dispatches placed the
Soviets nearly 50 miles and the
Americans 40 miles from the pur
ported junction point.
Berlin said Premier Marshal
Stalin had thrown nine infantry,.
five tanks und two air armies
into the last great push from the
east, now in its second day.
Nazi broadcasts listed penetra
tlonwifter penetration in the Ger
man '- line all the way from
Sehwedt, 45 miles northeast of
Berlin, to Muskau, nearly 75
miles southeast, despite Adolf
Hitler's order to hold fast and
drown the offensive in a "sea of
blood."
Japs Are Reported
Producing New
'Suicide' Plane
KUNMING, China, April 17
(UP) Rcliuble source-s said to
day that the Japanese have be
gun large-scale production of a
new type suicide plune which
may prove moi damaging in
some respects tnan ucimanys
vaunted V-bombs.
The plane's will repluce the
more expensive regular combat
planes which Japumlsc suicide
pilots have be?en loading with ex
plosives and alternating to crash
into American warships.
The new planes, now under I
construction in Manchuria, car-1
ry a long ton or explosives
2,240 pounds built into their
now like a torpedo warhead.
The pilot sits In the mieldle of
Ihe plane, which is a pusher type
with propeller in the real. 11
was de'signed to have a cruising
speed of 400 miles an hour and
a diving speed of 000 mile's an
hour.
The planes explode when eith
er the nose or a wing touches a
solid obje'et.
The pilots are locked into the
cockpit from the outsleie before
the takeoff and carry no parachute.
Jap Massacre of Hundreds of
Civilians in Manila Revealed
WASHINGTON. April 17
(UP Hundreds of men, wom
en' and children were mas
sacred by the Japanese in Ma
nila in an incredible wave of
torrent during the first twu
weeks of February, the war de
partment said today.
The Japanese killed thiiir
victims by shooting, bayonet
ing, burning, starvation, suffo
cation and beating, the depart
ment said.
Witnesses Tell Story
The war department releas
ed sworn first-hand accounts
of American army officers und
enlisted merfwho sslv and ex
amined hundreds of victims,
sworn statements of mutilated
survivors, and captured Japan
ese doucments obtained by
Gen. Douglas MacArthur's
headquarters.
"This evidenco proves a Jap
anese campaign of terror in
Manila so incredible by all civ
ilized standards that the most
thorough verification and doc-
Footii"
Roosevelt Estate "
Left in Trust i:
For His Widow t '
FOUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y., Apr.
17 (UP) Franklin Delano Roos'6-.
veil's will leaves the bulk of his
estate believed to be in excess
of $1,000,000 in a trust fund pf
his widow, Mrs. Anna Eleanor
Roosevelt. 'V
No valuation was made, of the -lata,
president's- ostate, . but tyli
mother left him the bulk of her
$1,080,000 estate. The will was
drawn soon after his mother's
death. 'v '"'
The estate included the late
president's priceless stamp col
lection. Mr. Roosevelt's will, executed
in November, 1041, a few months
after his Atlantic charter meet
ing .with Prime Minister Win
ston Churchill, was filed here at
the Duchess county seat for pro
bate yesterday.
Among specific bequests were
$5,000 to St. James Church, Hyde
Park, where Mr. Roosevelt was
senior warden, and all his real
Instate in Merriwether county, Ga,
including the home where he
died to the Warm Springs Foun
dation. ;.,'
Servants and personal em
ployes at the time of his death
were bequeathed $100 each.
"Missing" La Grande
Airman Liberated
n
Mr. and Mrs. E. C. Payne '6t
La Grande hava been notified
that their son, Lt. Scott Payne,
army air force pilot who was
listed us missing in action over
Germany on February 18, was
rescued by the allied army in: a
hospital In Germany.
Lt. Puyne suffered a broken
leg when his plane was shot
down, and is able to write. A
recent letter was postmarked
April 5 after it reached New
York.
A brother is with General Pat
tern's army in Germany and an
other is with the invasion fteet
in the Pacific.
umcntation were . necessary;"
the war department satd. '
"Men between the ies of it
and (10 were ordwc Seized id
shot down," it aid. , "Execu
tion parties moved from house
to house with hand grenades,
bayonets and (yrches. Hund
reds wpe packed into dun- O
geons to perish of starvation
and suffocation.
n, ..,., . . -IV
(7, aiay wnnoux mercy v.
JapantseOldiers massacred
witho0. Tnercy at Concordia
college and De LaSalle college
and at the Red Cross building,
where doctors and nurses and .
patients were indiscriminate"
bayoneted," the war depart
ment said.
"The evidence Includes gris
ly exhibits of sadism. Babies
were repeateWy stabbed and
slashed with bayonets, even In
their mohers' arms. Women
and girls were violated. , ,
Brig. Gen. Carlos P. Romulo,
resident commissioner . of the
See JAP MASSACRE , t , Pag