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About Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1919-1980 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 19, 1942)
Joiaraal 54th Year, No. 197 SSfjTJSSiSS Solem, Oregon B tSHI . HI Wednesdoy, Aagij'-'fl, 7ft3 '-., Price Five Cents ' .' entro . - French Coast at Dieppe Stormed by Allies 1 I. U.S. Sub Sinks Jap Warship West Aleutians 23 Enemy Ships Now Smashed Fog Prevents Identification Washington, Aug. 19 (U.R A - U. S. submarine has sunk a Jap anese cruiser or destroyer in the western Aleutian area bringing to 23 the number of Japanese ships sunk or damaged in that area the navy announced to day. ' Fog prevented "an exact iden tification of the type of ship," the communique said. Ninth Warship Sunk It was the ninth warship hit by U. S. submarines alone in that area since the Japanese moved in there in June. The submarines, penetrating to the Japanese bases under cover of the fog which usually hampers air and surface opera tion, already had sunk six des troyers, were believed to have sunk another destroyer and left another "burning fiercely." So far, all U. S. forces in the area have sunk ten ships six destroyers, one transport, one cruiser; one cargo ship and the cruiser or destroyer mentioned today. The 12 damaged, in addition ,-to the destroyer probably sunk, were iour cruisers, an aircraft carrier, three destroyers, a gun iboat arid three transports. .. V 1 Text of 'Communiqn'S"'iJv.'" k "North Pacific area. , ' "1. A U. S. submarine has reported the sinking of a Jap anese cruiser or destroyer in the , western Aleutian area. Condi tions made impossible an exact identification of the type of ship. "2. This sinking has not been announced in any previous navy department communique." This was the first submarine action reported by U. S. under sea craft in the Aleutians since July 21. Planes Continue Raids Since then, however, the Aleu tian bases of the Japanese es pecially that at Kiska have been under bombardment by U. S. army and navy planes, and on August 8 naval forces heav ily bombarded ships and shore establishments at Kiska. Chinese Again Take Wenchow Chungking, Aug. 19 (U.R) Chi nese forces have recaptured the walled city of Wenchow on Chi' na s east coast, only 600 air miles from Japan, a Chinese communique said today. Th,e communique said that the 0 city of about 1-00,000 population was taken by storm last Satur day. Wenchow lies 250 miles south of Shanghai and about 600 miles southwest of Japan's home isl ands. Japanese Formosa is about 200 miles south of Wenchow. It was the second time that Chinese forces had taken Wen chow since its fall to the Jap Aanese a month ago, In driving the enemy from the city last Saturday, it was said, the Chinese forces com pelled part of the Japanese gar rison to flee by sea. Other Jap troops retreated to Tslngtien af ter suffering heavy casualties and losing large quantities of war materials. Contract Let for Camp Adair Washington, Aug. 19 Wj The war department announced the award of construction contracts by ihc army engineers, counties in which the work is to be per formed, and district engineers' office In charge, as follows: Contracts between $100,000 .v Qand $500,000: ! B. H. Sheldon, CorvalHs, Ore " gon, water and sewer system, Tenton county, Oregon, Portland V.Hce. m. i I,,, 'agh Succeeds General Auchin leck General Harold Al exander (above), former commander in Burma, and "the last man out of Dun kerque" was named Brit ish commander-in-chief in the Middle East. He suc ceeds Gen. Sir Claude i Auchinleck. (Associ a t e d Press Photo.) Japan's Fleet Sought in Vain General MacArthur's Head quarters, Australia, Aug. 19 VP) The final 1 expulsion of Japan from the Solomon islands ap parently : rested .today on the completion ;of two, tedius,;.difflr where the United States marines have landed and the, consolida tion of naval mastery . in that south Pacific zone. This still was a triple-header operation of major magniiude, involving land, sea and air forc es, but every indication in the sense of official fact and figure pointed to accumulating success es. For one thing, the Japanese radio has begun changing its story on the battle and the only reference to it in the latest Tok yo broadcasts was a commentat or's warning that the United States onslaught might lead to further attacks on Japanese-held territory "or even on Japan her self." A report to Auckland from a New Zealand correspondent somewhere in the south Pacific said the United States had won "sufficient successes" at sea to reinforce and supply, the assault troops for what may be weeks or months of "extremely bitter" fighting in the islands. "Japanese units which were in the Solomons at the opening of operations either have been sunk or have fled to, the Caro line islands," said this dispatch to the New Zealand Press asso ciation. Still, however, the fleet of U, S. Vice Admiral Robert Lee Ghormley and the land-based air forces of General MacArthur scoured . thousands of miles of the Pacific on the watch for en emy ships. Japs Unable to Use Bases in Aleutians Anchorage, Alaska, Aug. 17 (Delayed) VP) Because the Jap anese apparently have been unable to carve airfields out of the rocky Kiska Island, no bombs have been dropped on American Aleutian bases since early June, an American air force officer said today. Lacking land bases or an air plane carrier, the Japanese are using single float fighter planes in attempting to ward off Unit ed States bombers which have blasted them almost every day. The American officer said ap parently the long flight to U.S. bases has been too difficult for bombers based only in the sea. He said the Japanese in har boring their planes only on water were making the first at tempt by a modern army to ope rate full speed fighter planes minus either land bases or a car rier deck. - Axis Sub Sunk Off Brazil Coast By U.S. Bomber Brazil Recalls Soldiers On Leave to Prepare for War Declaration Rio de Janeiro, Aug. 19 VP) All Brazilian soldiers on leave were recalled urgently to duty today and the navy forbade fur loughs for regular reserves as this nation at the "gates of war" hastened steps to meet the threat of axis submarines that recent ly sank five Brazilian ships. One of the submarines lurk ing off these coasts was destroy ed by a United States plane, a Brazilian official announced. Two Subs Seen It was learned authoritatively that two submarines had been located at widely separated posi tions in the western Atlantic and that one was of enormous size. Meanwhile a merchant marine spokesman said all Brazilian coastal waters were clear of shipping and that 13 ships which were in the submarine zone had reached ports safely. The first official word of the sinking came from Commander Ernani A. R. Amaral Peixoto, federal liaison officer in the state of Rio De Janeiro, who told a crowd gathered before the presidential palace that one of the undersea raiders had been destroyed. X:.;..Jv-;,.iMUvji.'!i-!i.t-,-. Story of Attack . 'V? "". Government press department and other accounts in Brazilian newspapers gave this version of the attack: The submarine was sighted 50 miles off Brazil's coast by a United States plane piloted by Captain Jack Lacey. The plane dived, machine-gunning the sub marine and forcing it to the sur face with bombs when it at tempted to submerge. U.S. Takes Over Machine Plant Washington, Aug. 19 VP) Ro bert P. Patterson, acting secre tary of war, on orders from President Roosevelt, today di rected Major Ralph F. Gow of the Boston ordnance district to take possession of the plant of the S. A. Woods Machine com pany in South Boston, Mass., and operate it for the war depart ment. In a statement explaining the action, Patterson said failure of the company's officials to obey a war labor board order in a dispute with the company's em ployes "has created a serious threat to the production of vital war material which it manufac tures." "No company and no labor organization can be permitted to defy the mandate of this impar tial tribunal," Patterson assert ed. . Patrols and scoutships equip ped with floats and sometimes catapulted from battleships and cruisers have been used by many navies, but only for such limited activities, the air officer ex plained. Army sources believe that United States bombing surprised the Japanese by its strength de spite great weather hazards, and played a part in halting develop ment of land bases. Another unexpected difficulty, say some persons who know the geology of the islands, is the unusually hard rock which might have forced runway build ers to fill In depressions instead oi leveling off the high spots. Guests at Get-Together Senior officers of the 96th and other units stationed at Camp Adair were honor guests at an informal get-acquainted dinner staged by the Salem Cher rians last night. In the back row from left are Col. H.' M. Monroe, 96th; Col. M. E. Halloran, 96th; Col. P. E. Goode, 96th; Col. Edward McCallum, hospital unit; Col. C. J. McClure, 96th. Front row, Col. E. T. May, 96th; Brig. Gen. Paul Kane, 96th; Maj. Gen. J. L. Bradley, commander of 96th; King Bing Frank Earnest, official host; Brig. Gen. C. M. Easley, 96th; Lieut. Col. R. E. M. Des Islets, construction chief for army engineer. Governor Charles A. Sprague and Secretary of State Earl Snell were additional guests. (Jesten-Miller.) Surface Raider Sinks U. S. Ship A New England Port, Aug. 19 (U.R) An enemy surface raider, using two torpedo boats in a pincers attack, has sunk an American merchantman in the first such attack of World War II, it was revealed today. Fifteen or 16 men were believed killed and the remainder of the 46-man crew were wounded or captured. - - Curacao Beach Wilfemslad, Curacao, Nether lands West Indies, Aug. 19 VP) Allied navy and army forces started search for enemy sub marines off the south coast of Curacao today after two torpe does exploded on the beach. An official announcement said: "Late yesterday afternoon ex plosions were felt throughout the city of Willemstad and per sons on the south shore of Cur acao saw jarater geysers thrown into the air at spots where two enemy torpedoes struck the beach. Appropriate action was taken immediately TJy naval and military authorities, and within a few minutes depth charges had been dropped in the sus pected areas." Curacao, an oil refining cen ter, is garrisoned by United States forces in cooperation with the Dutch. The firing of the torpedoes marked the third attack in this area by enemy submarines. On February 16, a submarine shelled oil installations on the island of Aruba, and on April 19 an other shelled similar installa tions at Bullen bay. Navy Patrol Plane Crashes Panama Tug Balboa, C. Z Aug. 19 (U.R) A PBY navy patrol plane crash ed into a Panama Canal tug in Cristobal Harbor while taking off today, killing eight of the 10-man crew of the plane and four aboard the tug, the com mandant of the 15th naval dis trict announced. The names of the dead will not be announced until their next of kin are notified. A naval court of inquiry will be convened to determine the cause of the crash, Camp Adair Officers Receive Promotions Portland, Ore., Aug. IB W) TwoCamp Adair infantry divi sions had officers of new gen eral rank today. At ceremonies yesterday Brig. Gen. Gilbert R. Cook, 104th divisional commander, was ele vated to major general and a brigadier general's rank was be stowed on Col. Claudius M. Eas ley of the 96th division. Wounded survivors said the night, attack in the south Allan; tic was . lauUcJieci'simultaneotuily from three sides. on a calm sea. The 9000-ton raider hurled 60 rounds of heavy shells in salvos of six from hidden gun turrets as the torpedo boats slipped in to fire four torpedoes and spray the medium-sized ship with tra cer machine gun bullets. In addition to the 15 or 16 be lieved killed, 19 or 20 were tak en aboard the raider and 11 were rescued by a United Nations merchantman after sailing 450 miles in five days in a lifeboat The merchantman went to the bottom less than a half hour af ter the attack. All the survivors were wound ed. Jennings Bennet of Chehalis, Wash., one of the navy's seven- man gun crew aboard the ves sel, had half a knee blown away and also lost part of a finger. Bennet s injured finger was amputated-by a crewman of the rescue ship. Nazi Base Hit By Fortresses London, Aug. 19 (U.R) Amor ican flying fortresses today car ried out a successful precision bombing attack on the key nazi air base of north France at Ab bcville in an air maneuver de signed to support the comman dos fighting at Dieppe. Two squadrons of the huge high-altitude American planes roared over the Abbeville air drome, which is known to Amor ican Eagle and RAF pilots as a "hornet's nest" of crack nazi planes and pilots. In good visibility the Amcri cans employed their famed bomb sights to lay numerous hits on runways, buildings nad aircraft dispersal areas. Protecting the U.S. planes were British and Canadian fighter squadrons. All the attacking bombers re turned safely. Abbeville is about 35 miles from Dieppe and is known to be a key point in the entire nazi defense system for France and the low countries. RAF men regard it as one of the most dangerous Luftwaffe bases with which they have to deal. Confirms Postmasters Washington, Aug. 19 (IP) The senate has confirmed these Oregon postmasters: Clifford O. Dougherty, Clovcrdalc; Tracy Savery, Dallas; Henry Aim, Sil vcrtonj Grace E. Neibert, Stay-ton. Protection for State Buildings All state buildings and institu tions in the Salem area will be fully protected against an air raid attack by October 1, Stan Church, state department em ploye who made a survey for the board of control, told the board today. . Church ,-said he distributed questionnaires to the 1300 state employes in the area as the first step to mobilize them into a force to protect state property. He said 98 per cent of the em ployes promised full coopera tion. The board tentatively agreed to buy 23 stirrup pumps to com bat fires in the institutions, sup plementing the 15 already on hand, while the state department is considering Uie purchase of 14 stirrup pumps for the capitol group of buildings. The state hospital and slate penitentiary are fairly well pro tected now, but the tuberculosis hospital aud Fairview home for feeble-minded persons need greater protection because they are located near the army air base being built at the Salem airport, which Church said would be a military objective. Civilian defense authorities arc making plans for protection of all insane asylums, Church said. American Troops Arrive in Egypt Cairo, Aug. 19 (U.RlA "ship load" of American air support troops has arrived in Egypt, it was officially announced here today. The journey from America to Egypt was described as uneventful. Guns H eard A cross English Channel By Harry Ilickinghntham Folkestone, England, Aug. 19 (U.R) The roar of guns and crash of bursting bombs reverberated from the Dieppe area in France today with an intensity equal to that of the days of Dun kirk. Hero at Folkestone, about by miles from the area where the commandos struck, the ground vibrated under the heavy bombardment which rolled across the English channel. Windows shook in houses and hotels from the rattling gun fire, reminding residents of the day of last phase of battle of France. Overhead planes flashed by in perfect formation. . The air action was not confin ed to the Dieppe region. Olher areas In northern France ap parently were attacked by the raiders. The sound of bomb explosions could be heard in regions not as far away as Dieppe, Indicating that RAF fighters and fighter- Furious Battles Raging in Drive On Stalingrad Russians Counter-Attacking and Raiding in Rear of Invaders Moscow, Aug. 19 (U.R) The Russians are furiously counter attacking in the Kletskaya area, destroying masses of infantry reserves and new tanks and planes poured into the most de termined German effort so far to crash across the river Don, capture industrial Stalingrad and cut the Volga river line, front-line advices said today. The Russians, who announced last night that the Germans lost 1,250,000 men between May 15 and August 15, were raising the total on both the Kletskaya front, 75 miles northwest of Sta lingrad, and the Kotelnikovski front, 90 miles southwest. The Soviet noon communique announced that 'Russian forces had carried out successful raids in the immediate rear of the Germans northwest of Kotcl nikovski. The communique ack nowlcdged that German forces had "somewhat pushed back" the Russians around Pyatigorsk, to which a drive apparently had veered from Mineralnye Vody, 10 miles to the north. Counter Attacks Soviet, counter-attacks south of Kletskaya yesterday killed .1500 Germans,' 'destroyed scores of guns and tanks and were con tinuing. Counter-attacks were ordered after heavy enemy lank forces and motorized infantry pierced the first line of Russian defenses on one sector. The So viet command had ordered a re treat, but the Russians managed to check the Germans at their second line, and held them. On all other fronts, the noon communique indicated, the Rus sians were holding fast, and re ported "stubborn battles" south cast of Kletskaya. 2 More British Warships Sunk London, Aug. 19 (U.R) The British anti-aircraft cruiser H.M. S. Cairo, 4,200 tons, and the flo tilla leader, H.M.S. Foresight. 1,350 tons, were torpedoed and sunk in last week's Mediterran ean convoy battle, the admiralty announced today. The Cairo, built in 1918. and converted for anti-aircraft du ties in 1939, carried a comple ment of 400, according to Jane's Fighting Ships. The Foresight, completed in 1935, had a com plement of 145 officers and rat ings. At least 68 enemy planes were certainly destroyed, the commu nique added, compared to Brit ish losses of eight planes, four of whose pilots were saved. bombers were raking the entire region of coastal France. The procession of planes fly ing out over the channel and the returning flights from the French shore was almost continuous. The planes were flying out over the Dover straits in a southwes terly direction and then roaring back in after ramming home their attack. Standing on the cliffs in this vicinity as I have done today would impress anyone with the tremendous strength of the al lied air forces. On one occasion this afternoon several large formations of fight ers could be seen streaking to ward Dieppe at an altitude of less than 300 feet above the sea. Commandos Stage Greatest Raid of Conflict Troops Withdrawn After Invasion Rehearsal 1000 Planes Used London, Aug. 19 (IP) The em barkation of the allied forces taking part in the commando raid on Dieppe today has beea completed, a British communi que announced tonight. .Every operation ordered was complet ed . with clock-like precision, nine hours after the initial land ing, as planned. The announcement, from Brit ish combined operations (com mando) headquarters, added that "casualties on both sides In the all-day battle are likely to have been heavy. Some tanks were lost. "A German radio location sta tion has been destroyed and an anti-aircraft battery wiped out, the communique added. "Ninety-five British aircraft arc missing and 72 enemy planes are known to have been de stroyed in addition to several shot down by naval vessels. Over 100 German planes were recorded as 'probably destroyed.' "A lull report will not be available until our forces are back In England. London, Aug. ll VP) United States troops with Canadian, British and Fighting French commandos stormed the French coast on the broad beaches around Dieppe at dawn today, and with tanks and the greatest aerial umbrella ever spread aloft fought on throughout the day against the German defenders.; Despite the unprecedented scope of the attack, the British repeatedly announced that the action was not an invasion In tended to create a front In wes tern Europe, but was only a raid. This was supported by the re turn to Britain during the after noon of some of the commandos who had accomplished their mis sion speedily. Main Battle Rages The main battle roared on, however, and the possibilities in herent in the situation increas ed as night fell. The constant procession of more than 1,000 United State army, RAF and Royal Canadian Air Force fighters and bomb ers from British frontline air dromes to the battle zone in France suggested that, at the least, the great assault might be a test to determine whether (Concluded on pane 3, column 1) Berlin Claims Raid Debacle Berlin (from German broad casts), Aug. 19 (IP) The German DNB agency reported tonight that a large-scale allied attempt to land on the French coast near Dieppe had ended in debacle, and that since this afternoon "there was' not a single armed British, American or Canadian left on the European continent." More than 1,000 prisoners were taken by German troops, the agency said, and the allied losses in men and materials are "very high and cannot be sur veyed." (The British previously re peatedly had announced that the raid on Dieppe was strictly a commando attack, not an Inva sion, and that all forces would be withdrawn as soon as their objectives had been attained. So fnr there has been no British word of the withdrawal except for arrival back in Britain dur ing the afternoon of some of the commandos who already had ac complished their mission.) DNB said that German coastal artillery participated in the Dieppe fighting and sank num erous British landing boats and that several transports turned back to sea without having ac complished their tasks. 1