Scrvico Men; v
Oar , beys ef Salem an 41
vicinity are la uniform with
Uncle 8am ever the face ef
lb globe. Follow them dally
ta The Statesman's 'Service
Men column,
DIxnoui
-r Friday : sunset I 7 p.n
sVtrday snarhe , fZ-u
?L$ FOX VAIXEY-irr. an.
B. A. Comforth and faf2v
:, this Week to St
- ' - .' X "Tloyed In the ship-
Or
PCUNDQD JC1
KSISTYiTCOHD YEAH
Salem, Oregon. Friday Morning. December 4, 1342
section 1 pagls i to is
I.
Fia i wo
t T
"-T1.
re:
Mew
Ji nairnns
450 Japs
In Guinea
23 Planes
Allies Raid Enemy
At Low Level but
Losses Slight
By VERN HAUGLAND
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS
IN AUSTRALIA, Friday, Dec.
4-iflVAlIied troops have wiped
out 450 Japanese in the Gona
area of New Guinea with only
slight fosses themselves, and
allied planes are attacking the
remaining enemy coastal foot
holds at such low levels the Jap
anese are using their mortars as
anti-aircraft guns, a spokesman
said Friday, 7 V'V. - - -.v "
The boon communique ac
knewledged t h e Japanesfrvwere
resisting stubbornly every Inch
of ground both in the Gona . and
Buna sectors, but said "our ground
forces are. receiving artillery and
air support
The allied airmen also dealt
a amashlnr blow In another sec
tor, the island of Timor, where
21 Japan Me planes were de
stroyed or damaged at Koepang,
the communique said.
The situation in New Guinea
was summed up thus by an allied
spokesman:
At Gona : two Japanese . ma
chinegun - posts were captured
during a slight advance and 450
of the enemy were killed. An al
lied "patrol inflicted 20 casualties
In the same area and artillery
fire, leveled several native huts in
villages near Gona where the
Japanese had entrenched them
selves."" ' ,
i I At Buna the allied advance, also
was ' slight a ' matter of a few
yards through swamps where' the
Japanese resisted every foot of
ground in -close-quarter fighting.
- Allied A-20 and B-25 bombers
and .Airacoba fighter planes con
tinued to give the ground troops
strong support repeatedly straf
ing Japanese , anti-aircraft posts,
machinegun nests and barges, .
' ' Oae ; Japanese anti-aircraft
rva was blown from its pit and
the American attack planes
swept in so low the Japanese
began, firing on them with their
BoorUrs. They missed." '
I There were no further" reports
of the Japanese destroyers that
attempted to land reinforcements
and were beaten off. When last
seen the enemy, warships were
40 miles off shore and heading
north away from New Guinea.
' Belated reports said that Beau
fighter planes in the Gona area
(Turn lo Page 2V
North Saritiam
Road Opened;
South Closed:
,l The- North" Santiam highway
was opened to traffic late jrnurs
day when the bridge over. Sar
dine creek was ; repaired and
opened to loads of hot more than
two ton weight This Information
was received from Fox - Valley
and confirmed by t the Oregon
state pqlice, who xeponea me
South Santiam was closed by
1ML oresumably near Soda. . "
A bad cavein on the .Crooked
Finger road, : southeast of Scotta
Mills, was reported to the county
-court It was said not to be dan
gerous but was to be marked by
county workers Thursday nignt,
in avniA accidents. -
Criticism of the county for al
leged delay in repairing the Sar
dine creek bridge is unwarranted
in the opinion of , County Judge
Grant Murphy. v ' ' ; '. .
i The f crew, worked all day
Thanksgiving in a driving rain
and under conditions unfit for a
human being to cope with. When
fh hole made by the high water
la observed, and what the bridge
- CTurav to,. Page 2)
Steiwer Claims -Kauff
man Pledge
PORTLAND, Dec. , 3-(-State
Sen, W. H. Steiwer Fossil, as
pirant to the presidency of tne
1943 UDDer house, claimed Thurs-
; day the pledged vote of Senv H, R.
-Kauffman, Toledo. :
: Ken. Dorothy McCullough Lee,
l.Iultaomah, 4n announcing the
j pledged votes of 15 of the senate's
SD members Wednesday In sup
port of her bid for the presidency,
tad included Kauifmans name.
Killed
Fight;
Down
Injured
ft
r--.f
1-
t
Brig. Gen. HANFORD MacNIDER
This picture of Gen. MacNider,
wounded by a Jap grenade,
' came out of New Guinea only
a few days ago and shows him
i resting weary feet on a jangle
'marchw UN Sonndphoto.
Grenade Hurts
Ex-American Legion
Head's Condition
Not Serious
: SOMEWHERE IN NEW GUIN
EA, Nov. 24 -(Delayed)-(P)-Brig,
Gen. - Hanford MacNider, former
assistant secretary of war, receiv
ed eight wounds in the explosion
of a Japanese rifle grenade last
night during the American - at
tack b Buna, strongpoint en the
northeastern New Guinea coast
The general was in the Ameri
can front lines during a mortar
barrage when he was wounded.
(A spokesman at allied head
quarters In Australia announced
Friday, Australian time, that
General MacNider wasn't .ser
iously Injured, however. The
. general at present is recovering
nicely la an Australian hospital,
he said.)
, The, Japanese " grenade killed
one: American soldier and bowled
ever but did not injure General
MacNider' aide, MJ. C. M. Beav
er of lYankton, SD, -.
Gen. MacNider was taken to .a
field hospital - and : given a quart
of blood plasma despite his' pro
tests that.; he wasn't badly hurt
Physicians 'said his wounds -were
not - criticaL v - -----5.; :""
The former commander of the
American Legion, whose home is
In Mason City,- la received two
wounds in the right arm, one in
the' abdomen, two on the right
thigh, one on each knee and on
the right hand.
Around Oregon
' j By Too Associated Proas
Two more ships were launched
In (Portland-Vancouver Thursday,
a subchaser by the Albina Engine
& Machine Works, a tank-lander
by Kaiser's Vancouver yard . . .
Passen f era riding Portland's
streetcars i and busses have in
creased 10 per cent to . 300,000
daily since gas- rationing- started,
the traction company said Thurs
day ... Leon Barr of Caldwell,
Ida whose stepfather is a prison
er of the Japs at Shanghai (he was
i marine captured at Wake),
joined the marine corps to Port
land Thursday . . The job of
keeping rolling stock rolling while
war makes replacements, and repairing-
difficult Will be pondered
by the Pacific: northwest advisory
board at a : meeting f in Eugene
starting Friday, V vfWilliaEor C.
Cowgill, 84, whose family lived in
the same .neighborhood : as Abra
ham Lincoln in Springfield, IlL,
back in 1858, ? died Wednesday
night at his Corvallis home; the
widow, a daughter and two sons
survive. - -
'' f i. "V
Yank
bener;
Russians
Destroy
40 Planes
Red Army Captures
Enemy Positions
In Fierce Fights
By EDDY GILMORE
MOSCOW, Friday, Dec. 4-(JP)
Russian troops have destroyed
40 more riazi transport planes
trying to ferry aid to enemy
forces pocketed in the Stalin
grad area, captured a strategic
height on the left bank of the
Don river west of that city in
a hand-to-hand fight and smash
ed another hole in the enemy's
lines west of Rzhev on the snow
choked central front the Soviets
announced early Friday.
More than 3100 Germans fell
during Thursday's widespread and
violent actions to boost the toll of
nazi dead and captured to ap
proximately 170,000, the Russians
said.
Field dispatches , said the
hard-pressed Germans on the
Kzhev-Velikie Luki front north
west of Moscow were fighting
in summer uniforms and were
abandoning f rosea tanks and
guns on the blizzard-swept
plains.
The midnight communique
acknowledged strong German re
sistance and even counter-attacks,
but gave this picture of the situa
tion on the various -fronts:
Stalingrad Inside the north
ern factory belt the Russians dis
lodged the enemy from' a number
of buildings and wiped ou an
enemy company. Fifty planes, in
cluding 40 big transports, were de
stroyed.' "The Russians two days
ago announced the destruction of
50 transport planes trying to sup?
ply the Germans between the Don
and Volga rivers. ' .'
Hundreds of Germans died on
the - southern outskirts of Stalin
grad after a fierce fight in which
the red army captured an enemy
strong point which "covered the
flank of a German formation." :
On theleft bank of the Don
northwest of Stalingrad where
the Russians are trying to en
circle the entire nazi siege army
by driving southward to line up.
. crura to rage
Be Candidate,
missioner
To the list of prospective can
didates for the- Marion county
commissionership' which .will be
vacated when Ralph' Girod ' is
called to active duty with a navy
construction . . battalion has been
added the name of John; CT Sieg
mund, . former county judge. . f
That Judge Siegmund had been
suggested was revealed by CToun-
ty! Judge I Grant 'Murphy,' who
said th former county executive
had himself indicated his interest
in the upcoming vacancy.
- Other suggestions include Al
derman Tom Armstrong of Sa
lem; Roy Rice, prominent farm
leader of the county and recent
candidate for a commissioner
ship; Gus Moisan, Gervais "farm
operator .and Ed Rogers, county
road, foreman
Girod, who. announced . his en
listment, last week, has already
placed in the hands of Judge Mur
phy and Commissioner Jim Smith,
the . other two members of : the
county court his : resignation to
become effective when he is call
ed. Just when that call may come
is a moot question; it may-not
be for six months and it may be
within .two weeks, Murphy said
Friday.-;. :?.', .
Berlin Tells
Raid Alerts
NEW YORK, Dec 3.-F-The
German radio announced Thurs
day night that air raid alarms had
been - sounded during the evening
in Bern, Switzerland, and Sofia,
Bulgaria. -;;r . -.N
Air alarms in Bern - usually
indicate that RAF planes are en
route to bomb Italy. The alarm
Thursday night lasted - 30 min
utes. . --.i j :'-;fj;.'y- fi r V
Alarms have sounded previous
ly in Sofia when allied planes
have been active, over the Bal
kans. The radio said no planes
flew over the Bulgarian capital,
during a 45-minute alert .
Siegmund
May
Beef 'Browned'
Beyond Repair
A phone. eaU, a scurry of men
and equipment a shriek of the
. siren and city firemen were off
to an exciting alarm Thursday
afternoon.'
Shortly t h e r ea f t e r, very
shortly, they returned and dis
gusted Chief Barry Hutton re
ported, - "No loss somebody's
beef roast just burned up."
No loss! A beef roast in these
times? Better it were the chim
ney or the parlor davenport but'
not a beef roast! i 4
Allied Invasion
Loses 16 Ships
Five US Transports
Sunk; Casualties
Small in Foray
LONDON, Dec. 3-;P-Sixteen
allied naval vessels, including five
United States naval transports,
were lost out of an estimated 830
participating in the occupation of
north Africa nearly a month -ago,
announcements here and in Wash
ington disclosed ' Thursday, but
casualties were described as "very
small."
The delayed disclosures of al
lied losses came1 almost simulta
neously with an admiralty com
munique telling of another smash
ing blow at axis supply lines to
Tunisia the sinking of four axis
transports and two destroyers last
Tuesday by a British battle force
that included three cruisers.
Allied warships lost hi the
original allied movement oa
Morocco and Algeria, the ad
miralty said, included the small : '
British aircraft carrier Avenger, -three
destroyers, two cutters, a
sloop, a minesweeper, an anti
aircraft ship, a depot ship and'
.the corvette Gardenia. Tha tell
'. of - Allied naval vessels iahd?
transports in the het firhting
. that . occurred at several points
.was described In the house of
commons as considerably .small
er than expected and "far less
than the enemy claimed. ' -.
The US transports listed as sunk
were the-Tasker H; Bliss,' the
Hugh L. Scott : and the Edward
Rutledge all Jost off Casablanca,
where the French put up- their
most ' spirited . resistance; the Jo
seph Hewes, sunk off Rabat, Mor
occo; and the Leedstown, sunk off
Algiers. All were sunk, by enemy
Submarines.,-:
The US navy department added
that three other transports, a de
stroyer and a tanker were dam
aged. , ,
In his November 30 radio ad
dress Prime Minister Winston
Churchill declared that "for every
transport or supply ship we, lost
(off Africa) - a U-boat has been
sunk or severely damaged." . To
day's, atQed announcements thus
would place the toll of axis sub
marines at 16. .destroyed or crip
pled at least in -the month-long
engagementV
? The, Bliss was identified as the
former liner. President Cleveland,
gross .tonnage 11(1; the Leeds
town as the former liner -,Santa
Lucia,-9f33 tons; the Scott as the
former President Pierce, 12,578
(Turn to Page 2)
Bay Alerted
By Vessels9
SAN FRANCISCO, Dee. S -JP)
The reported presence of a "large
number of unidentified surface
vessels" of the California 'coast
brought an unprecedented ' alert
here Thursday but the navy an
nounced later the report - was"
"considered in" error." 5
It came from a naval patrol at
dusk Wednesday night and led to
a " radio broadcast - ordering all
fleet personnel to report to- their
ships immediately. f . ; - t - - ?
The force - was 1 reported : 450
miles " offshore proceeding east
ward. The resultant alert affect
ed only service- personnel and po
lice, who were ordered to their
posts. ' V.1 "'" - ;
A statement by Vice Adm. John
W. : Greenslade shortly before
noon said a thorough search of
the area did not - confirm toe
presence " of ' any unidentified
craft. The broadcast to fleet per
sonnel was discontinued.
Aerial Ace Blissmg
WASHINGTON, t Dec. - 3.--The
i war i department still was
without word Thursday night of
Lt CoL Boyd li "Buzz" Wagner,
ace of aerial warfare in the Pa
cific who has been missing since
he took off November 30 , on a
routine flight from Florida to Al
abama, - -
US Sinks
9Ships,
Mound 3
Reinforcement Try at
r Guadalcanal Pails; -Many
Japs Drown
By The Associated Vnm 5 ,
-WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 The
Japanese came out for round
three Monday night In the bat
tle of Guadalcanal, the navy
announced Thursday, but Were
beaten back again with nine of
their ships sunk and thousands
of their soldiers drowned . ?
The night engagement cost the
United States I one cruiser sunk
rand other US. vessels damaged,"
a communique reported,, but none
of the Japanese soldiers being
brought in by transport, set foot
orr shore except possibly as be
draggled prisoners. " " - " - '
Two Japanese troop transports
and one cargo ship were sunk
and six ether escorting warships'
were sent to the bottom ef the
sea, These included four de
stroyers and twe ether vessels
which were either cruisers or
large destroyers.
- Before the navy issued its com
munique, imperial headquarters
in Tokyo had trumpeted the ac
tion not as an unsuccessful at
tempt to put reinforcements ashore
at Guadalcanal but as "a fierce
attack" by a Japanese "torpedo at
tack flotilla." Tokyo claimed the
sinking of one American battle
ship, one cruiser of the Augusta
type and two destroyers, to the
loss of only one of their own de
stroyers. ' ', ;.-'."-.,
Meanwhile American forces
as'jore on Guadalcanal hacked
way1 a-to Japaneseleft strand
ed there"' without reinforcements
of men or fresh' supplies, "killing
more' than 100 of them in patrol
skirmishes Tuesday ' and Wednes
day (Guadalcanal date).
In the " smashing naval victory
of November 14-15, 28 Japanese
ships were sunk and 10 . damaged.
Despite the crushing setback to
the Japanese fleet Secretary of
the Navy Knox described the en
gagement as . "round two" and
j (Turn to Page 2)
House Passes
tabor-Costs
Farm Parity
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3-JP)-In
a surprise move, the house revived
and passed unanimously Thurs
day a farm parity price bill which
administration forces successfully
opposed -last September on the
ground that it would add billions
Of dollars to the cost of living. , f
" Offered by Rep. Pace (D-Ga.),
the bQl would force the govern
ment to Include farm labor costs
in the parity; formula for the first
time, and thus raise the parity, or
"fair exchange," -price of agricul
tural products. Some- government
economists have estimated that
the revision would raise the par
ity level by 10 per cent.
Senator .Thomas (D-Okla.), sen
ate agriculture ! committee mem
ber, announced he would attempt
to i obtain prompt passage of the
bill by the senate. Private predic
tions were heard that it' would
have sufficient strength in both
chambers to override a presiden
tial veto, if the president disap
proved."! ' .;-'"!,
- President Roosevelt has ex
pressed "unalterable opposition"
to altering the formula for parity,
which is a price designed to give
farm products the same purchas
ing power they had in a past per
iod, usually 1909-14.
i The Pace bill embraced the pro
visions of the 7 so-caned : Brown
amendment ' (by Rep.- Brown,
Georgia democrat) to the anti-inflation
measure.
Oregon Leads Big
Year in Lumber
.'i i- - .-' ;. v -- - - . . , i
WASHINGTON, - Dec 3.-AV
Lumber production in , the United
States last year was the highest
since 1929, the census bureau re
ported Thursday. . .
The 1941 production was 33,
13,043,000 feet In 1S23, the cut
was 38,886,032,000 feet
. The bureau said Oregon contin
ued as the leading lumber pro
ducing state, supplying with its
neighborhood f ate Washington,
34.6 per cent of the total output
Ships Burn at Casablanca
?
I -
1 Lit;i
This US navy aerial reconnaissance photo, taken the morning after
the first attack by US forces on CasabUnea, shows tbe Frencn
merchant ship Forthos oA Its side and another ship burning at the
ead of the largo pier (circle at top), and four ether ships (circles)
. oa f Ire La the area outside the breakwater AP photo -from US
avy.--: . - ' -v
'Play Ball9
For Assault on Africa;
Story of SinkinjrTold
US Ships'-Guns .-...':.
Cover Landing ,,
PHILADELPHIA, D e c S-)
Flay ball! -
That good old American base
ball cry was the signal for the
all-out attack on North Africa by
allied forces in the early morning
darkness of November 8, a sur
vivor of the transport Tasker H.
Bliss," sunk off French Morocco,
related Thursday. ,
"The ' words w e r e . hardly
spoken," said Lt John Knight
Hanrahan, former University of
Pennsylvania law student, "when
the guns of battleships and cruis
ers cut loose behind us.
E. '
"The navy had a 'Job to do
and did it We went there to put
the army's troops ; and equip
ment ashore, and we did. And :
before we left Fedala was hi
American hands, and se was
CaoabUnea."
' The -young - navigation officer
said the "daily work sheet" from
the task force commander . for
Sunday, November 8, read as fol
lows; "0000 to 2400, , condition four
('condition four means - continu
ous battle stations. The figures
mean from 12 midnight to 12 mid
night) J-'.r-:.p :f,r-5-'?i.
- "AU nandr win work continu
ously debarking cargo, and sup
plies '.'. -' . ' '' . "
ml. The words batter up" trans
mitted on the radio by a. subordi
nate command signifies that the
French have taken hostile action.
; "2. The words: play ball trans
mitted by the;, task force com
mander signifies that an forces are
to take vigoroua and offensive ac
tion against the 'enemy. . ' 0
; "AU forces will be governed ac
cordingly." Congress Warned
Of Degradation
To Reichstag'
WASHINGTON, Dec. -PA
protest that congress might be re
duced to the same state of , im
potence as Hitler's-reichstag was
voiced Thursday l.bf JpvGear
nart (R-Calif) as the-house ways
and means committee bogaa bear
ings en President Roosevelt's re
quest for authority to suspend
tariff laws to aid -the war effort
- Bluntly asserting that powers
already granted have been "abas
ed and misused," Gearhart declar
ed that "it is .time for congress
to check up before it finds itself
in the low and lonely position of
the German reichstag." -
"Millions in the United. States,"
he said, ."feel that we are filing
down the same pathway as Ger
many" in yielding legislative
powers to the executive. "Step byj
step," he added, "it can only lead
to moral degradation."
Yank Signal
lftYcar-Old Gob ;
SaysCrew Calm
BALTIMORE. Dec. 3.-(iqP)-An
18 - year - old Baltimore seaman
who was aboard one of the five
US navy transports ; which . the
navy department announced
Thursday had been sunk in the
North African campaign, said his
ship was torpedoed -twice after it
had landed American troops at
Fedala, French Morocco. - i
Hubert Kirchner, a seamaa
seeead class, said friendly Mor
occans had helped to unload the
ship. After they had. taken food
aad supplies off, the vessel an
chored three miles offshore.
A torpedo struck the ship - at
(Turn to Page 2)
Liberia Lets .
US Establish
Ait Stations :
WASHINGTON, .Dec. ; J-ff)-A
stronger 'American grip on north
Africa, and; increased domination
of the south Atlantic narrows was
indicated Thursday by a. state de
partment announcement that Li
beria had consented to the estab
lishment' of American air - bases
there. - v :..:v "
Troops of the United States,
largely negro detachments, . have
already moved into the famous
negro republic, and are already at
work hacking new airports out of
the jungles. - . ' . .-; , -; 1
T The state department said ; that
action was .taken at the request
of Liberia, which felt that because
of its geographical situation it was
in danger of attack and wanted to
"safeguard the independence and
security of the republie.V . ;.v I
Tk Under the agreement which fol-
lowed, the department added, Li
beria retains Its sovereignty un
impaired, .but the United States
is to have Jurisdiction over aU
American military and .' civilian
personneL ! . - . : V
' Further to . emphasize its close
cooperation with the U n 1 1 e d
States,' ,tlie Zibcrian government
recently expelled the German 'con
sul and his. staff. TheJ American
minister, Lester 7alton, Is to return-,
to Jlonrovia the country's
capital, toc.;i'x'r : '-"
A j dispatch from Monrovia
Thursday -said the Liberian gov.
ernment' has decided "on a policy
of full coUaboration with the Unit
ed Nations during the f existing
hostilities."';".".? VV--s:-.?.'S
Liberia is situated ori the 'west
ward bulge of Africa a. little be
low Dakar. Airports there, some
observers thought would be of
great value'as way stations on the
route of the army transport com
mand, over jwhieh supplies of all
sorts have been flown to north
Africa,, and the near east' - . ' '
48-Honir
Losses
Eq
ua
Djedeida Site of Big
Battle; Air Forces f
Blast at Germans
1. i
, By WES GALLAGHER
ALLIED FORCE HEAD
QUARTERS IN NORTH AFRI
CA, Dec. S-jW-A Hied tanir
forces prepared for "another
smash at strong German posi
tions 12 miles west of Tunis
Thursday after a 48-hour bat
tle whlc h resulted in about
equal -losses on both sides." ,
The action was; fought near
Djedeida, 12 miles west of Tunis,
and "the battlefield was dotted
with wrecked tanks," a headquar
ters spokesman said. , '..
Djedeida has changed hands
several times, he said, but the
allies now are holdlnr the west
ern part of the village while
American and British, airmen
continue to blast both Tunis and '
Bixerte oa he northern coast
A communique earlier said an
other big action was fought Tues
day at Tebourba, 20 miles west of
Tunis and 33 miles south of Bizer
te, when allied tanks repulsed nazi
armored forces "with considerable
destruction of enemy equipment"
The fighting still is going on In
the Tebourba area. , j .t ,
t The, spokesman said: '
."The Germans made an all-out
attempt to recapture Mateur,
Djedeida, and Tebourba with a
panzer attack for it is obvious that
who holds ; this' triangle eventual
ly win win the battle1 for Tunis
and . Bizerte. ' v -tg "" -
hyfaed, but tis losse tm
benjieavy on both, sides the
battlefield was dotted with wreck
ed tanks. , ' -
"We I hold the western part of
Djedeida which . has changed
hands several times in the battle."
Allied airmen and the British
navy were sTrius all possible
aid to the . attacking ground
forces, sprinkling the "bomb
alley" area between Tunisia and
Sicily with burning and. sunken
ships and blastingf huge craters
: In axis-held airfields still being
ased in (he constricted Bixerte
. Tunis' areas. . ..' "7 '
Tho British navy striking under
the cover of. darkness Tuesday
night caught an axis convoy in the
Mediterranean narrows which was
trying, to ferry supplies and prob
ably troop reinforcements to Tu
nisian Big British naval guns sanlz
or left on fire four merchant ships
and three Italian destroyers in this
first surface blow at axis sea com
munications.
Two of the axis merchant jihips
Were believed to be troopships. . '
The , allied- cosnmuniquot said ;
that "much damage ; h 11 been
done" , to axis airdromes, especiaW
ly at Tunis, and a spokesman her
fUled in the details. : f v i
Flyrng". Fortresses - with" al-.P- ?
fighter escort bombed the hangarp-
at Sidi Ahmed airfield near Bizer
to and also the docks and 'naval
port, scoring hits on ships and in
stallations. '
- American medium bombers at
tacked anti-aircraft concentrations
at 1 Gabes, on j t h e southeastern
Tunisian - coast while the RAIT
used Its light and medium bomb
ers to blast Tunis and Bizerte in
both a day and night offensive.
The communique said six axis'
-planes were 'destroyed Wednes
day,, but a spokesman -l of the
12th air force said a recapitula-
tlon of US airmen's activities
showed that eight axis planes
were destroyed, five In combat
and three on the ground.
- Twenty -one more planes were
damaged,! he - said, six in com
bat and 15 on the ground, in the
stubborn fight for aerial suprem
acy so vital to the success of the
campaign. '
The allied spokesman said the
ground battle was a furious two
(Turn'-td Pasa-2)-
V r;
-1 r v