Savage Battle Rages for Peninsula Communication Hub
U.S. SHOCK TROOPS
Weather
MedfordT ibune
Forecast: Fair tonight and
Thuridaj. Warmer Thursday.
Hlrheit yesterday , ?8
Ixiwest this morning S3
Precipitation past ti hra. g
OF PUITSCENTER
Troops Closing 'in From 3
Sides; Garrison Threat
ened With Trapment
United Press Full Leased WU
nll.d Prut Full Leased Wire
Thirty-ninth Year
MEDFOSD, OREGON, WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 1944
NO. 88.
Warships Shell Saipan Capital City
Allied Supreme Headquar
ters, London, July 5. (U.R)
American shock troops drove
into the French transport cen
ter of La Haye-Du Puits today,
captured the railroad station,
and were slashing forward in
violent street fighting within
300 yards of the center of the
shell-scarred town.
Gen. Dwieht D. Eisenhnwpr's
headquarters confirmed front
reports of a savage battle at
close quarters in the streets of
La Haye-Du Puits, and said the
Normandy town was invested
from the northwest, northeast
and southeast.
May Trap Nazis
United Press Correspondent
, James McGlincy, reporting the
penetration of the vital town in
the west coast sector of the low
er Cherbourg peninsula, said
other American forces were
driving in from the east and
west, threatening to trap the
German garrison unless it gets
out quickly.
The American right flank
along the coast advanced two
miles, McGlincy reported, while
the fighting front spread to the
area due west of Carentan
where U. S. forces made limited
progress yesterday before a Ger
man counter-attack nudged them
back. .
At the other end of the Nor-
mandy front, Canadian troops
who had seized most of the
Caen-Carpiquet air field were
forced by German pressure to
reorganize their positions. A
headquarters spokesman said
they now were 600 yards west
of the airfield hangars, which
were in enemy hands.
Air Field Holds Out
Several German tanks were
knocked out and some prison
ers taken in the heavy battle
raging around the Carpiquet air
field. A front report said the
Canadians and Germans were
facing each other across the
ruined runways, but the town
of Carpiquet was firmly in al
lied hands.
Although the latest reports to !
headquarters said only that the
Americans were fighting their
way through the streets of La
Haye-Du Puits, some quarters
felt that the town might already
be in U. S. hands, since it is a
market town of 1,300 through
which a man normally could
walk in 10 minutes.
Caen Fight Rages
In the Caen sector, heavy
fighting was going on around
Esquay. Violent struggles sway
- ed back and forth over high
ground a mile northeast of Es
quay, eight miles southwest of
Caen.
The British apparently were
holding the western part of the
village of Fontaine, three miles
southwest of Caen, with the Ger- j
mans battering back into the
eastern section.
The Normandy weather closed
in
somewhat this afternoon.
Clouds lowered to 1,500 feet and
kn. .n aimncr niiH mrpr.
cast with some drizzle.
F
SAFE AND SANE
In contrast to the heavy toll
of accidental deaths throughout
ths nation over the Fourth of
July holi.'ay, Jackson county
citizens observed Independence
Day in the quietest and safest
f ion in years. Police r jrted
there were no serious automo
bile accidents, and no fires were
reported either in Medford or in
fore-ted are ..
Many local persons attended
the program 'n Ashland's Lithia
park yesterday, featured by a
war bond auction; a number
Joui i- ed to the Rogue River
celebration and some went to
Klamath Falls for the "Buck-
aroo Days rodeo, others went:
fishing and on picnics and the
rest stayed home,
SIDE GLANCES
By
TRIBUNE REPORTERS
Auctioneers Earl Newbry,
Frank Van Dyke and Ebe Dunn
fluently selling war bonds to
Ashland's Lithia Park visitors
in typical double-talk style.
Bill Zicgler gallantly buying
a piece of gooseberry pie for an
acquaintance.
Betty Allen all atwitter over
her first fishing trip and a catch
of four trout. I
(Acm Telephoto)
Leathernecks from the Second Mnrlne Division the conquerors of Tarawa tighten vise around this dazing
coastal area, which was the city l "larapan, Saipan capital city. Fires caused by fleet bombardment can be
seen as well as sunken Japanese shipping (arrow) In the harbor. Coast Guard photo.
Bonin and Volcano Islands Blasted as
Marines Take Garapan, Mariana Capital
MEDFORD FATHER
CLAIMS EX WIFE
Portland; Ore., July 5 U.R)
Police today are still seeking
the mother of the 11-month-old
Luchterhand baby whom she
left with a strange woman at the
Central Bus depot here "Sunday
while she went "to make a
phone call," and failed to return.
Fred Luchterhand, father of
MHfnrrt f ,im the .hlid. told
. .. ... hu .x.wifa left Mcd.
ford en route to New York to
p'ace the child with her mother.
He said he would return the
baby to his home.
Luchterhand in a telephone
conversation with the police,
Monday, reported that the wom
an was his ex-wife. He said that
he had pa.d her passage fremi
San Francisco to Oneida, N. Y.,
on the understanding that she
was to take the baby to relatives
i . Oneida.
Left With Woman
Mrs. Luchterhand had left
the baby with another woman,
asking her to "hold him while I
make a phone call." When the
woman did .not return the
youngster was turned over to
police who later discovered a
suitcasi full of clean baby cloth
ing believed to be left behind by
the mothcr.
Police officials reported that
the woman had been around the
K..a ilnnnt BDUOTill fimP flftPf
sne baby but was not
V" "L
apprehended.
No Information concerning
Luchterhand or his ex-wife
could be learned here today,
directories not listing either and
I police authority having no
knowledge of his address or oc
cupation. It was not known how
Portland police learned Luchter
hand was the child's father.
London, July 5 U.R Amer
ican airpower struck a smashing
double blow at Axis Europe to
day, sending some 500 heavy
bombers and fighters against
Nazi target's across a wide belt
of northern France, Belgium and
Holland while other four-en-
gined raiders struck from Italy
at Toulon and the Zeziers rail-
way yards on the French Medi-
terranean coast
Another large force of Allied
bombers, presumably American,
streamed out across the British
east coast at six o'clock this eve
ning, heading toward the south
east and flying at a great height.
Sales to date In the Fifth
War Loan Drive
S2,060,657
"E" Sales
Quota
.$425,912.50
S600.000
Total Quota
for County
.42.262.000
United Press War Correspondent
Pearl Harbor, July IS (U.R) The campaign to wrest Saipan
from the Japanese entered the final phase today as new strikes
were reported against the Bonin and Volcano islands, 650 miles
from Tokyo, by a powerful U. S. naval task force which sank or
damaged six enemy ships, including four destroyers, and knocked
out 104 planes.
(A Japanese communique,
broadcast by Tokyo radio and re
ported by FCC, acknowledged
that "powerful" American forces,
supported by tanks, planes and
warships, steadily were pene
trating the Japanese positions on
: Sapan and sald "confused fight-
ing is taking place here and
there.")
Foe Squeezed
U. S. marines, driving up the
west coast of Saipan, captured
Garapan, the first Japanese city
to fall to Americans in the
Pacific, and Tanapag harbor
while other ground forces ad
vanced along a line all the way
to the east coast to squeeze the
enemy Into a nine square mile
area at the northern tip of the
island.
Fall of the Marianas' adminis
trative center and the important
land-locked harbor came as Vice
Admiral Marc A. Mltscher's car-
, rlM tesfe force h, he Bon,M an(J
Volcanos with waves of planes
and tons of shells from the guns
of cruisers and destroyers.
The task force, which struck
the island groups of Japan s in
ner defense line for the second
time in a month, opened the new
attack on Sunday by raiding Iwo
Jima, key island of the Volcanos.
The American fliers shot down
39 enemy planes and probably
16 others while 24 additional
planes were destroyed on the
ground in the initial attack.
Haha Jim Hit
On Monday the American
forces, with cruisers and de
stroyers joining in the bombard
ment, again hit Iwo Jima and
also attacked Haha Jim in the
nearby Bonin islands.
(Axis broadcasts yesterday
acknowledged the attacks on
Iwo Jima, but said the second
target was Crichi Jima in the
Bonins.)
Admiral Chester W. Nlmlt?
said three Japanese destroyers
were sunk or beached, a large
cargo ship and a medium oiler
sunk, and another destroyer left
dead in the water and burning
in Monday's attacks.
Several small cargo vessels
also were damaged, while 25
planes were shot down and an
undetermined number destroyed
pn the ground.
In the two days of action the
carrier force lost nine planes, but
all the surface vessels escaped
damage.
II BOYS CUED
IN BURGLARY TRY
Charged with attempted burg
lary, Earl Flaherty, 19, and Ver
non C. Smith 16, both of Dorris.
Cal were to be arraigned this
afternoon, the former in Justice
of the peace court and the lat
ter in juvenile court.
The sheriff's office, which ar
rested the two youths here
Monday night, said they readily
admitted trying to enter the Sun
nyslde store at Ruch last Friday
night by forcing a window The
store owner, Chester McDon
ough, sleeping inside, heard the
disturbance and when he shout
ed the two ran away.
Sheriffs office and the state
police investigated the case.
L
Minneapolis, July 5 (U.R)
Mrs. Norma Ward ' Lundeen,
widow of U. S. Sen. Ernest Lun
deen of Minnesota, and Sen.
Rufus C. Holman, R., Oregon,
were married last night at the
home of Judge Levi M. Hall.
Sen Holman said today that
besides Judge and Mrs. Hall, the
children of Mrs. Lundeen were
present for the ceremony. They
are Lt. Ernest Lundeen, Jr., 22,
of the U. S. army, and Joan Lun
deen, 20. a junior at the Univer
sity of Minnesota,
"It Is our plan to proccde at
once to Oregon by automobtle,
which will permit me to visit
officially as a member of the
senate committee on military ar
fairs, a number of military es
tablishments en route," Holman
said.
Sen Lundeen was killed In an
airplane crash in 1940. Since
then, Mrs. Lundeen has lived in
Minneapolis and has been active
in the America First movement.
FLIES OVER LINES
Ninth Air Force Fighter Base,
Normandy, July 5. (U.R) Gen.
Dvight D. Eisenhower, supreme
"ilied commander, flew over the
German lines on the Fourth of
July in a Mustang fighter pilot
ed by Maj Gen. Elwood R. Que
sada, head of the 9th Air Force
fighter command, it was reveal
ed today.
Pilots said Eisenhower ap
peared "greatly pleased" by his
observations. He flew in a for
mation of seven planes, which
was believed to have encount
ered little or no flak or other
German opposition on its sweep
over Nazi-held territory.
(NBC Correspondent Merrill
Mueller, In a dispatch for the
combined press, said Eisenhow
er had returned to his headquar
ters In England after the visit
to France during which he twice
penetrated behind German lines.
Mueller reported Eisenhower
had Important conferences with
Gen. Sir Bernard L. Montgom
ery, commander of Invasion as
sault forces, and Gen. Omar N.
Bradley, head of the American
1st army group.)
CAPONE PAL DIES
San Qucntln, July 5 U.R)
Ralph Sheldon, 45, former hench
man of Al Capone on Chicago's
South Side, who was serving a
life sentence for kidnaping, died
Monday at San Quentln prison
of a heart attack, Warden Clin
ton Duffy announced today.
Sheldon was sentenced In Los
Angeles In 1930 for the kidnap
ing of Zeke Caress and hit wife.
9rc 11 Ale) WiW&
MmA p) ii rS)iyj5)g)
OF
Parts of East Prussia EvacuatedHigh-
Command
Admits Loss of Kowel
London, July 5 (U.R)
Premier Josef Stalin an
nounced tonight that the Rad
army had captured Molodech
ino, 45 miles northwest of
Minsk, where street fighting
had been going on for three
days.
London, July 5 (U.R) Berlin
reported today that the Germans
had pulled out of the Kowel
area of Old Poland 175 miles
southeast of Warsaw, and Stock
holm dispatches said German
civilians were being evacuated
from parts of East Prussia to
ward which the Red army was
rolling at a rate of a mile an
hour.
The German high command
acknowledged the loss of Kowel
the last strong point east of its
Bug river defense line In that
sector, and supplementary Ber
lin comment indicated a sizeable
piece of territory had been
yielded to the Russians, giving
them a springboard for the lower
arm of a pincers push against
Warsaw.
15.000 Moved
A Bern dispatch to the Stock
holm newspaper Dagbladet said
the Nazis had begun removing
civilians from the border region
of East Prussia, and 15,000 al
ready had moved westward out
of the Immediate path of the Rus
sian forces some 150 miles to the
east.
Many East Prussian families
have arrived in Austria, the
Stockholm advices said, but a
majority of the evacuees were
going into eastern Germany be
cause of transportation difficul
ties. Another Swiss report relayed
through Stockholm said 40,000
evacuees from Poland and the
Baltics mostly German farmers
and officials were hurrying to
ward Konlgsberg, capital of East
Prussia. By the same accounts,
the Germans began the evacua
tion of Latvia, with many en
gineers and technical experts al
ready out of the country from
whose border the Russians were
onlv 10 miles away. -
German quarters in Stockholm ,
were described reliably as count
ing on the likelihood that the
Nazis would have to give up all
the Baltic states.
More Gasoline
For Servicemen
Enjoying Leave
Kansas City, Kan., July 5.
(U.R) The Office of Price Ad
ministration will liberalize its
gasoline rationing policy toward
servicemen on furlough within
t next two weeks, Rep. Errett
P. Scrivener, R., Kan., said to
day. Scrivener said he had been
notified by his Washington of
fice that furloughcd servicemen
will receive five gallons of gaso
line for the first three days of
a leave and one gallon per day
for each day thereafter, under
the new plan.
Servicemen have received
five gallons for their entire fur
lough up to the present time.
The representative said he
had been informed that men on
furlough would receive "leave
slips" showing the length of
their furloughs. Those slips
would be presented to ration
boards, which would then Issue
gasoline for the number of days
indicated.
HITLER DELIVERS
GRIM SPEECH ON
Allies Have Far Outstripped
Reich in Production, Der
Fuehrer Warns Workers
London, July 5 (U.R) Adolf
Hitler, in the grimmest speech of
his career, warned today that
Germany was fighting for Its
very existence and acknowl
edged that the Allies have far
outstripped the Reich in war
production.
He told German arms and oth
er war production leaders at his
headquarters that "this gigantic
struggle for the fate of the Ger
man nation Is deciding the fu
ture of many generations to
come."
Won't Capitulate
"I know that unheard-of
strength, nerves and determina
tion are necessary to survive In
such times as the present," he
said. "But I also know that the
guiding star of all our actions Is
the one unchangeable principle
that we will not capitulate, how
ever great the difficulties that
face us."
In what amounted to a desper
ate appeal to his people to keep
fighting despite defeats and over
whelming odds, Hitler called on
everyone to emulate his forces
at the front, where "our gallant
soldiers are accomplishing what
seems Impossible and do not
shrink from tasks which seem
impossible to carry out."
Gloomiest Yei
The speech, reported by the
German Transocean and DNB
News agencies, was regarded
here as the gloomiest and most
foreboding ever made by Hitler,
exceeding even that following i
Italy's capitulation last year. I
Though he did not mention1
the Allied Invasion of France,
the Anglo-American victories in
Italy and the Red army's break
throughs on the eastern front,
Hitler acknowledged that a
"magnitude of difficulties" was
confronting Germany.
The pessimistic tone of the
speech, coupled with the fact he
chose to make it before German
war production leaders, led to
the conclusion that he was mak
ing a final effort to squeeze out
still greater efforts from Ger
man workers already laboring
to the limit of their endurance.
U.S. Casualties Now 261,541
Total In Last War 259,735
Washington, July 5 (U,R)
American casualties In World
War II have surpassed those of
World War I, an analysis of the
latest official reports disclosed
today.
In this war, 31 months of glo
bal fighting have produced 261.
541 casualties as compared to the
259,735 casualties accumulated
during the 19 months of United
States participation in the last
conflict.
A breakdown of categories
shows:
This war 58,772 dead, 107,
038 wounded 55.903 missing and
40.928 prisoners of war.
Last war 53,878 dead, 201,
377 wounded and 4480 prisoners.
The World War II figures
were taken from four non-con-
fllctlng, non-duplicating an-
World War
Dead
Wounded
Army ....35.2R9
Marines 5,851
Navy 4
Coast Guard 19.632
87,812
14.333
8,793
Totals. 38,771 107,938
BASEBALL
National
Brooklyn 13 2
Cincinnati 4 8 1
Head, King and Owen; Heus
ser and Mueller.
(Playoff of unfinished eight
inning game of May 21)
Philadelphia 9 15 2
Pittsburgh 4 9 1
Lee, R. Barrett and Finley;
Cuccurullo, Gee, Rescigno,
Butcher and Camelli, Davis.
American
Cleveland . 2 7 2
New York 6 11 0
Smith, Calvert and Schlueter;
Donald and Garb-irk.
MAKES BIG BLAST
Stockholm, July 8 (U.R) The
Danish press service reported to
day that the explosion of a Ger
man ammunition ship In the
Aarhus harbor of Denmark's Jut
land peninsula yesterday killed
an estimated 80 persons, Injured
300 others, destroyed or dam
aged more than 1,000 buildings
and sank several-nearby ships.
Confirming earlier reports that
the terrific detonation In the
harbor was caused by the blow
ing up of an ammunition ship,
the news agency said that so far
only Danish casualties were
known and that the German
casualties were believed to be
still higher.
Danish circles here emphatical
ly denied the explosion was due
to Danish sabotage, and snid it
was caused by German anti-Nazi
sabotage or carelessness. The ex
tent of the disaster was explain
ed by the fact that the blast
caused several explosions among
large German ammunition stores
along the Quay,
GEN. DE GAULLE LEAVES
FOR ROOSEVELT VISIT
Algiers, July 5 (U.R) Gen.
Charles Do Gaulle, president of
the French Committee of Nation
al Liberation, left Algiers this
morning en route to Washington,
where he will confer with Presi
dent Roosevelt.
RELIEF ACT SIGNED
Washington, July 5 (U.R)
President Roosevelt today signed
a bill amending the soldiers and
sailors relief act of 1940 to pro
vide that no service personnel
moving from one slate to another
shall be subjected to double tax
ation on personal property,
nouncements:
1. The official war department
announcement of 179.823 army
casualties through June 13 but
not counting losses In Normandy
and Saipan.
2. The official navy depart
ment announcement of 47,"'04
navy, marine corps and coast
guard casualties as of July 5, ex
clusive of losses on Saipan.
3. The announcement by the
supreme Allied command of 24,
162, U. S. casualties In Norman
dy through June 20.
4. Admiral Chester W. Nlm
Itz's announcement of 9752 cas
ualties on Saipan from the time
of the landings on June 15 up to
June 28.
Analysis of these figures pro
vides the following breakdown
by category and service:
II To Date
Missing
Prisoners
36,467
1,944
2,517
Total
205,344
23,816
32,381
43,778
1,688
8,4.19
33,903 40,928 261,541
YANKEES GET 17,
AND BRITISH 9
IN RECENT DAYS
Now Estimated One-Third to
One-Half of Shipping De
'. stroyed Cleanup Near
Washington, July S. (U.R)
The sinking of 17 more Japan
ese ships, including a light cruis
er and destroyer, by American
submarines, was announced to
day by Secretary of Navy James
Forrestal who said the campaign
against enemy shipping would
be accelerated by the U. S. ad
vance into the Marianas islands.
The navy disclosure followed
an admiralty announcement in
London that British submarines
had sunk nine Japanese supply
ships during recent far eastern
patrols, making a total of 26
Japanese ship losses reported
today by the allies.
Jap Losses Heavy
Forrestal estimated that be
tween one-third and one-half of
an estimated 7,000,000 tons of
shipping possessed by the Jap
anese at the start of the war has
been destroyed by American
armed forces.
At the same time, Forrestal
told a news conference that
"completion of the Saipan oper
ation may be expected with con
fidence" and that there la evi
dence of disorganization among
the Japanese defenders. He
warned, however, that the
"main battles are still to come"
In the Pacific. But U. S. forces
I have, he added, approached the
point where they can force the
enemy "to stand up and fight."
4 DIEllECK
OF
Williams, Ariz., July 3 (U.R)
A pile of crumpled coaches to
day marked the spot where the
Santa Fe railroad's Chief, one of
the nation's best-known luxury
streamliners, cracked up early
yesterday, spilling the locomo
tive and 12 of its 14 coaches
along the rlghtof-way.
The speedy streamliner, en
route from Chicago to Los An
geles, was heading into a 15-mile
straightaway when it lurched
from the tracks, piling its
coaches up like Jackstraws. Four
"ersons were killed and more
an 50 Injured In the crash.
Those killed were listed as J.
S. McLeod. New York, national
head of Mctro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Film Exchanges; Fireman J. E.
Edwards, Winslow, Arlz.j Mrs.
Ann Bradys, Hammond, Ind.,
and Harold H. Helper, manager
of the Linde Air Products Co.,
Los Angeles.
June Marriages
Lowest Since '42
Marriage licenses Issued by
the county clerk's office during
June totaled 33, the lowest of
any month since April, 1942,
when the romance boom started
In this county with the construc
tion of Camp Whlto and the ar
rival of soldiers. For more than
a year the marriage license Issu
ance averaged 85 to 90 monthly
and at the height of the Camp
White era one month exceeded
the 100 mark.
YANKS CELEBRATE
Eighth Fighter Command
Headquarters London, July 5
(U.R) Thirteen American pilots
celebrated the Fourth of July by
bagging more than a dozen
planes over France, lt was an
nounced today.