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SCENTS Served By Leased Wires ASSOCIATED PRESS EVERYWHERE unitei/press ■ With Complete Coverage of - 2 __ State and National News ... ig <gQW AMR) g>iLgAgy.gng^& J -- 10:- -WILMINGTON, N. C., SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 1945___FINAL EDITION Patton Seizes Coblenz, Envelopes Saar Basin; Reds Cut Thre#Miles Into Stettin Defenses; Carrier Planes Strike Japanese Home Islands _—-*-.+ - * * _* . Civilian Meat Supplies Cut 12 Per_Cent (J. S. Planning Less Beef And Pork But More Veal Lamb and Mutton WASHINGTON, March 17. (/Pi __ The government to night announced a 12 per cent cut in meat supplies for civil ians starting April 1. Reduc ing them to ‘‘the lowest point in ten years.” Less beef and pork will be avail able, said the announcement issued by the Office of War Information, but the civilian table will get more veal, lamb and mutton. The War Food Administration al lotted meat to civilians lor the April. May, June quarter at rate of only 115 pounds per person a year, compared with 130 pounds in lllc quciuci Lend-Lease Reduced Simultaneously OWI announced s "substantial reduction” in lend lease shipment of meat, and in creased supplies for U. S. Army end Navy use. Britain will get only 25,000,000 pounds of lend-l«ased meat next Quarter, or about 12 1-2 per cent of present shipments. This evident ly was based on the theory that British reserves are large enough to sustain England without great American assistance. To head off dire shortages in this country in the east and far west resulting from the curtail ment, OWI said the government was undertaking to parcel out live cattle more equitably among slaughterers and packers over the country. At a meeting with War Mobiliza tion Director James F. Byrnes, six government agencies agreed to the writing of regulations doling out available livestock among all (Continued on Page Two; Col. S) -V-— COUNCIL QUIET ON PROMOTION ACTION Members Silent On Re fusal of Commission To Confirm Selections City council members yesiorday Uiorning declined to comment for mally on Friday night’s action by t f Civil Service commission, i Wich not only, refused to confirm be council's selection of Lt.H.W. Corbett and Pvt. R. N. Sellers ' - Fire department promotions, proffered counter-recommen "anons of its own. named Lt.I. L. Padrick !': Pvt. E. E. Bullard as their J ,lces for advancement, basing ",5'r selection on seniority. The torncil recommendations had t?I> made with reference to the candidates’ ratings on the merit scale in use within the de partment for the past IB months. ! Was ui,officially pointed out Jesterday that the submital of al rn,u6 nan'es by the commission j n°t be construed as an of - al Civil Service move. The ^Continued on Page Ten; Col. 4) | Hit On Iwo Raymond W. Ickes, USMC, above son of Harold L. Ickes, secretary of the interior, was wounded in action on Iwo Jima, according to word received by his wife, Miralotta L. Ickes, of Silver Spring, Md. U. S. Bombers Batter Reich Attack Five Key Rail Com munications And Im portant Oil Plants LONDON, March 17—(JP)—More than 2,000 American bombers and fighters roared over Germany to day in weather described as the worst of the winter, raining bombs by instrument upon five key rail communications and oil plants in the 33rd day of the non-stop aerial assault. The RAF joined in the daylight attack today and Mosquito bomb ers attacked Berlin again tonight, the 26th consecutive night the Reich captial has been bombed. Friday night the RAF unloosed a 1,000-plane assault on Germany but there was no immediate in dication of the strength of the forces ranging over the Reich to rn crht More than 1,300 heavy bombers and 750 fighters of the U. S. Eighth Air Force split into five groups over Germany today, striking syn thetic oil refineries at Bohlen on the southern outskirts of Leipzig, and Ruhland, 30 miles north of Dresden; benzol plants at Moblis, also near Leipzig; a large rail yard at Muenster; and a tank fac tory at Hannover. Bohlen and Moblis are “war boom” towns which have sprung up around the refineries and ben zol plants supplying the German war machine. Clouds covered most of Germany, making instrument sighting neces sary. There was no indication of serious Luftwaffe opposition. ‘‘We expected some bad weather but what we ran into was worse than anything I saw this winter,” said Maj. Charlec V. Bordener of 944 Carleton Ave., Stephenville, Texas, who led the attack on Boh ^Because of severe flying condi tions, some bombers landed in France, U. S. Army Air Force headquarters said, making it im (Continued on Page Two; Col. 2) Ports Authority Measure Advanced In N. C. Senate re State Ports Authroity bill, a-t-hioiziriH the appointment of a eici.-naai) state board to recom P°rt improvements for Wil pM“S;on: Morehead City arid South Vpn„and 'he issuance of state re Un e bonds to finance them, won terd'm°"S ,:jr'nate approval yes j ,‘u- ;tl -ts second reading, Rep. p iffirand reported from Ra last right, it will be voted Aifain Monday Per SVead 011 the floor of the up Ed (C:;atT!tler was the Board ol ju .a,|on sponsored New Hanover ablv°it Co1 hill, reported favor in a Ser|ate committee earlier $6r.A.'-'pE. It will be read for its “ hnie Monday and come to * \ vote Tuesday, the day on which the assembly is expected to adjourn sine die. ' Final appearance of the Ports authority bill, which contains nc appropriation clasue, was held over until Monday at the instance of Senators D. L. Ward, of New of Senators D. L. Ward, of New Bern, and Whittaker, of Kinston, who asked time to examine the measure. This led Senator Roy Rowe, ol Burgaw, to anticipate yesterday that ‘‘there might be a little fighi about it”, bu Cyrus D. Hogue Wilmingon Port Commissior member, stated subsequently tha (Continued on Pore Ten; Col. 1] Enemy Radio Airs Shikoku, Kyushu Raids Mitscher’s Force May Be Making Third Close Approach To Japan SAN FRANCISCO, March 17—(A3)—Suggesting the like lihood that Vice Adm. Marc A. Mitscher’s carrier task force—the world’s largest — has made its third close ap pioach to Japan, the enemy radio reported carrier-based attacks Sunday, Japanese time, on Kyushu and Shikoku islands. These two southern islands of Nippon are immediately south of Honshu, which was the object of the two previous Mitscher assaults, concentrated on Tokyo. The unconfirmed enemy broad cast made it clear it was a continu ing operation, Domei saying the carrier planes had “begun” the at tack at 5 a. m. Sunday. South Of Kyushu The broadcast added that an “enemy task force” is in waters south of Kyushu. “Our air defense forces inter cepted the enemy raiders and have already scored considerable -war re sults,” said the dispatch. Recorded by the Federal Communications Commission. Domei said the Japanese air force had “caught up” with the task force and was “launching heavy attacks.” Mitscher’s big task force twice sent carrier planes in strength up to more than 1,200 against Tokyo in February in support of the invasion (Continued on Page Two; Col. 5) PAPER CAMPAIGN SCHEDULED TODAY Will Be Conducted By Jun ior Chamber of Com merce and Scouts A scrap paper drive in Wilming ton and its suburbs, Wrights ville Beach, Wrightsboro, Carolina Beach and Kure’s Beach, will be conducted today by the Junior Chamber of Commerce and Boy Scouts. Two previous drives by the Ju nior Chamber of Commerce netted 57,000 and 06,000 pounds of paper, respectively." Today’s goal is 125, 000 pounds, and leaders have ex pressed confidence in reaching that goal. Members of the Junior Chamber of Commerce have planned the drive, secured trucks from coop erative Wilmington business con cerns, handled publicity, arranged for disposal, and will serve as cap tains. Scouts and Cubs have distribu ted 1,5000 doorknow reminders and will gather the paper and load it onto the trucks. Citizens are urged to place their paper in fornt of their houses as (Continued on Page Ten; Col. 2) WEATHER FORECAST North Carolina: Sunday partly cloudy and slightly cooler. (Eastern Standard Time) (By U. S. Weather Bureau) Meteorological data for the 24 hours ending 7:30 p.m., yesterday. Temperature 1:30 am, 64; 7:30 am, 65; 1:30 pm, 84; 7:30 pm, 68. Maximum 85; Minimum 63; Mean 74; Normal 53. Humidity 1:30 am, 91; 7:30 am, 94; 1:30 pm, 52; 7:30 pm, 62. Precipitation Total for the 24 hours ending 7:30 pm, 0.00 inches. Total since the first of the month, 0.20 inches. Tides For Today (From the Tide Tables puglished by U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey) High Low Wilmington - 1:03a 8:Z0a l:57p 8:32p Masonboro Inlet-11:20a 5:05a ll:48p 5:21p Sunrise, 6:18 a.m.; Sunset, 6:22 p.m.; Moonrise, 9:37 a.m.; Moonset, 11:46 p.m. (Continued on Page Two; Col. X) v ) 4 Beethoven’s Statue Survives War The statue of the German composer, Beethoven, stands in the city square at Bonn, Germany, his birthplace, surrounded by the wreckage of an air raid shelter which received a direct hit during an Allied bombing raid. This photo was made by William C. Allen, Assocated Press photographer with the Wartime Stille Picture Pool. U. S. Invades 24th Isle In Philippines -- -, Also Forge Ahead On Three Luzon Fronts And Zamboanga Peninsula BY H. D, QUIGG United Press War Correspondent MANILA, Sunday, March 18—(U.R) — American troops are forging steadily ahead on the three Luzon fronts and the Zamboanga penin sula of Mindanao and have landed forces on Basilan, the 24th of the Philippine islands to be invaded, Gen. Douglas MacArthur announc ed today. Basilan, northernmost island in the Sulu archipelago guards the southern aproaches to Zamboan ga and with Zamboanga, com mands asilan strait. Particulars of the landing were not disclosed. In the U. S. 14th corps sector of southern Luzon, our troops captur ed Mabini and Mt. Muntingtubig, on the Calumpan peninsula be tween Balayan and Batangas bays. In the 11th Corps sector south of Manila the 43rd Division occupied Teresa and extended its positions to the northeast. Continue Drives In the 1st Corps sector northwest of Manila, our troops continued their drives on Balete pass against increasing resistance and towards Baguio, former Philippines sum mer capital. Medium bombers, at tack bombers and fighers attacked enemy installations at Baguio. less than six miles from our closest forces. On the Zamboanga peninsula of Mindanao the 41st Division, with close air support, continued a gen eral advance. An enemy counter (Continued on Page Two; Col. 4) Carolinas Swelter As Heat Wave Hits CHARLOTTE, March 17—(JP) —Carolinians sweltered under a burning sun today as an un seasonal heat wave struck this area. Hottest temperature in the two states was recorded at Ra leigh, 91 degrees. Greensboro reported 90.3 degrees while Durham, Charlotte and Colum bia, S. C., listed 90 degree^,. The Greensboro mark set a 3.3 degree top over all previous records in the weather bureau there. Last St. Patrick’s Day it was only 71. M’KEITHANHEADS JOB OFFICES HERE Will Take Up Duties To morrow As Successor To Peter A. Reavis R. T.'McKeithan, of Washington,' N. C., has been appointed man ager of the Wilmington offices of the United States Employment Service and supervisor of the branch office at Whiteville, it was announced yesterday by Henry I. Shepherd, Wilmington area direc tor of the War Manpower Commis sion. He will commence his duties tomorrow. Concurrently Mrs. Shepherd an (Continued on Page Ten; Col. 4) Red Cross Drive Will Be 4 Formally Opened Monday “As we officially launch Wil mington’s Red Cross campaign for $88,000 at a “kick-off” breakfast Monday morning,” R o b ert Strange, chairman, said yester day, “we are encouraged by the fact that we have received several early returns from firms and em ploye groups that are entitled to Award of Merit certificates.” The certificates, he explained, will be presented to all firms and employe groups which meet or ex ceed their quotas and will express the gratitude of the organization and the community. “We know other firms and groups will respond to the appeal and that again this year, Wilming ton will over-subscribe the Red Cross objective, he continued. He reminded all workers that the breakfast meeting will start promptly at 8 a.m. and adjourn at 9 a.m. The meal will be served by the Canteen Corps, under the direction of Mrs. E. C. Hines, at St. Paul’s Lutheran parish house, Sixth and Princess streets. Units that have reached or ex ceded their objectives thus far are: Raney Chevrolet company and employes; Pender Furniture company and employes; employes of the American Red Cross; em ployes of the Associated Chari-' ties; Union Cafe; Barrel Clean (Continned an Page Two; Col. 1) X Other Soviet Forces Seize Brandenburg Germans Throw Wounded Men Into Battle To Save Oder Line Anchor By RICHARD KASISCHKE LONDON, Sunday, March 18. — (fP) — Russian forces, backed by fire from 1,000 heavy guns and hundreds of dive bombers, yesterday knif ed three miles into the south ern defenses of Stettin, Ger many’s big Baltic seaport, while Soviet troops in East Prussia captured the key coastal stronghold of Bran denburg, nine miles southwest of Koenigsberg. While the Germans threw wounded soldiers into the blazing battle for the strategic northern anchor of Berlin's Oder river de fense line, Marshal Gregory K. Zhukov’s First White Russian Army troops extended their con trol of the river's east bank bar rier to a point four and a half miles south of the Pomeranian ca pital. A Moscow radio front report an nounced that the Red Army had killed more than 20,000 Germans and destroyed more than 600 tanks in repelling German counter-at tacks in a 13-day battle near Lake Balaton, southwest of Budapest, capital of Hungary. Threaten Southern Germany In the Balaton sector, Berlin re ported that the Russians had open ed an offensive of their own, and the Moscow radio .said that with the collapse of German attacks, So viet forces now threaten southern Germany with the added danger of a link-up between the Red Army and Allied forces in Italy.” Smashing toward Stettin from the south, Zhukov’s troops captur ed the Oder river villages of Frau enhof, four and a half miles from the city, Retzowsfelde and Ferdin andstein. Their capture extended the Russian control along the eas tern channel of the Oder to six and a half miles north of captured Griefenhagen for a possible smash across mile-wide island marshes in mid-river. The advances narrowed the Nazi bridgehead across the Oder’s mouth southeast of Stettin and the Germans slowly were being squeezed out of their positions in the Kluetzer forest between Frau (Continued on Page Ten; Col. 3) TT CLASHES RENEWED ON ITALIAN FRONT American Tanks Make Un successful Effort To Capture Salvaro ROME, March 17—OP)—Patrols of the Allied Fifth and EighthAr mies engaged in sharp clashes with German units all along the rapidly-drying Italian front today after forces of the U. S. First Armored Divison made an unsuc cessful effort to capture Salvaro, a small town just east of the Bo logna-Pistonia highway. The First Armored, which took part in 1he break-out at Anzio and the swift pursuit of the Germans through Rome, gained temporary control of a number of buildings in Salvaro, which is only a few hun dred yards from the highway at a point well behind the stubborn ly defended German positions at Vergato. Heavy German mortar and small arms fire from the town and adjacent hill positions forced the withdrawal later. The main fight centered around a thick-walled church, to which the Germans clung stubbornly al though the Americans at one time held a portion of the building. Today's mention of the First Ar mored Divison was the first offi cial word in months of the famed tank outfit, which has been im mobilized by the weather and ter rain. 1 - i 11 «■ ■■ ■ i ■ Pacific War Freak Believe it or not! This unusual freak-of-war picture was made pos sible when a propeller blade broke loose from the motor shaft and was driven through the trunk of a cocoanut palm tree at a South Paci fic base. The plane lost the blade when it swerved off the runway in a crash. Fleet Blasts Matsuwa Isle Japs On Iwo, Attempting To Form For Banzai Charge, Dispersed U. S. PACIFIC FLEET HEAD QUARTERS, Guam, Sunday, March 13.—W—Pacific fleet units bombarded Matsuwa island in the Kuriles Friday, causing a large explosion ashore and starting sev eral fires, Adm. Chester W. Nim itz reported in today’s commun ique. Meantime, 150 Japanese surviv ors of the bloody conquest of Iwo Jima attempted to organize, pre sumably for a banzai charge, but were dispersed with mortar fire, the fleet admiral added. The Jap anese were discovered on the northern end of the island, where organized resistance ended two days ago with the Fifth and Third Marine Divisions meeting. Nimitz also said Iwo Japanese attempted to booby trap American installations. As is customry while he awaits details of any naval action Nim itz gave only the meagerest in formation regarding the strike at Matsuwa by warships. The ships engaged in the action probably were destroyers, although cruisers may have participated. Japanese shore batteries fired at the U. S. Task Force off Matsu wa. but failed to damage any American ships. Matsuwa is an oyster-shaped is land 200 miles southwest of Para mushior in the center of the Ku riles chain of islands. It is about 10 miles long and five wide and its rugged terrain rises steeply to a peak of nearly 5000 feet. It is 1110 miles north of Tokyo. (Continued on Page Two; Col. 3) Approaching Merger With Seventh Army • - Nazis Believed To Have Waited Too Long To Carry Out Withdrawal By JACK FLEISHER PARIS, Sunday, March 18. — (UP)—Lt. Gen. George S. Patton’s Third army captured the major Rhineland city of Coblenz yesterday while three of his tank divisions were en veloping the rich Saar basin and approaching a juncture with t le U. S. Seventh army, less than 50 miles away. Three Third Army tank divi sions, plus other tank battalJBhs attached to infantry, already were 40 miles south of Coblenz in the swiftest power drive of the war. They reached the Nahe river and were threatening the 11-way road and rail junction of Bad Kreuz nach, the transportation key to the Saar Basin. Authoritative source* at Gen. Omar N. Bradley’s 12th Army group headquarters said the Ger mans had waited too long to ef fect a successful withdrawal from the Saar to the east bank, of the Rhine and would elect to stand and fight with the remnants of their first and seventh armies rather than attempt a last-minute helter-skelter retreat. But Allied airmen spotted large scale withdrawals from the clos ing Saar trap, and it seemed evi dent that the Germans were at tempting to salvage what they could to fight another day on the east bank of the Rhine. Spot Vehicles They spotted many columns of trucks and horse drawn vehicles fleeing south and southeast before Patton’s armored columns, trying to reach the railroads running east to the Rhine through Kaiser slautern, and thence to safety across the Rhine at Mainz, Worms, Ludwigshaven, and other crossing points while the last ditch fighters tried to hold back the Americans. Allied aerial activitiy was se verely limited by poor weather but the planes that did take the air descended upon about 400 ene my vehicles around St. Qendel, 18 miles northeast of Saarbruecken. They destroyed 175 and damaged 197 along a 15-mile stretch of the road. Third Army spokesmen said the speed of the drive—33 miles in less than 48 hours—caught the Ger mans flat-footed and prevented them offering coherent, resistance. The drives of the tank columns were cloaked in a security black out, but German dispatches said massed tank formations of the 4th Armored Division had reach ed the area of Bad Kreuznach, major transit hub 40 miles south of Coblenz and pine miles sdUU* of the big bend of the Rhine at Bingen. At Bad Kreuznach they were only 50 miles from a junction with the Seventh Army’s 63rd di vision at Ommersheim and 55 miles from the 100th Division at Bitche. To the east and southeast it is 22 miles to Oppenheim oft the (Continued on Page Seven: Col. 5) Arkansas Taxi Operator Confesses Six Slayings LITTLE ROCK, Ark., March 17. —(TP)—James W. Hall, confessed slayer of six persons, led offi cers today to the spot where he had told them he beat his wife to death last August and a body iden tified as that of his bride of a year, 19 year old Faye Clements Hall, was found. O. N. Martin, chief of Little Rock detectives, and State Police Captain J. Earl Scroggin said the woman’s skeleton was discovered in a ravine along the banks of the Arkansas river, Martin said the skeleton had been turned over to Pulaski coun ty sheriff Gus Caple. The amazing story of the 14 1 ' -7 year old taxi driver’s hitch-hiking jaunts, meanwhile, took a new turn. Hall had admitted, State Police Captain J. Earl Scroggin laid, that while hitching rides around Arkansas he robbed and killed J. D. Newcomb, Jr., chief state boiler inspector and three other persons during the last two months. In addition, Chief O. N. Martin of the Little Rock detective force, announced he was checking into Hall’s activities during a recent absence from the state. Martin said he had learned from Hall's friends that the taxi (Continued on Page Ten; Col.
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March 18, 1945, edition 1
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