WEATHER
Fair and warmer today and to
night. Sunday increasing cloudiness
and mild followed by showers in
fountains Sunday evening.
Tshe Ihrs-by anly Steu
- State Theatre Today -
“GIRL RUSH”
Frances Langford — Wally Brown
Also “THIS IS AMERICA**
CLEVELAND COUNTY’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1894
TELEPHONES 1100
I
VUL. XL11I—43
ASSUU1ATED t*KESS NEWS
SliiSJLiiY, N. U
SATURDAY, FEB. 24, 1945
TELEMAT PICTURES
SINGLE COPIES—6c
2,146 Civilian Internees
Rescued In Daring Foray
25 Miles Behind Jap Lines
MANILA, P. I., Feb. 24.—(/P)—American paratroops in
a daring airborne rescue 25 miles behind Japanese lines
rescued 2,146 civilian internees from the Los Banos intern
ment camp on Luzon Island, Gen. Douglas MacArthur an
nounced in a special communique today.
it, was me iourin Drimam, mas;
rescue of prisoners in the Luzoi
Island campaign and the seconc
sortie well behind Japanese lines t<
release interned Americans.
Selected paratroopers of the 511tl
regiment of the 11th airborne divi
sion leaped directly into the camp
The paratroop jump was the sig
nal for a three way attacK—by thi
parachuting column, guerillas, anc
other paratroopers who had crosset
a lake on which the camp sit:
during the night.
The Japanese commander, hi:
stall and the entire enemy garri
son of 243 were killed.
Two of the attacking force weri
killed and two wounded. Only tw(
internees were slightly injured.
A defense cordon was promptlj
thrown around the camp whlli
| motor vehicles rolled op to carrj
l out litter cases.
i The surprised Japanese were
taking morning setting up exercise*
i when the Americans billowed down
• out of the skies and the yelling
. guerrillas swarmed In from the
sides.
The majority of those rescued
1 were Americans. Others included
1 300 British, and small groups ol
; Australians, Canadians, Dutch,
Polish and Italians.
The carefully coordinated raid
was led by Col. Robert H. Soule.
For several nights the guerrillas
1 filtered into the hills around the
1 camp, deploying for the attack
Their movements were so cautions
See 3,148 Page >
Great Tank Battle
Rages Below Goerlitz
LONDON, Feb. 24.—(/P)—Marshal Ivan S. Konev’s First
Ukrainian army engaged the Germans in a large-scale tank
battle today in the no man’s land region of Goerlitz south
east of Berlin as the Russians assaulted in force the enemy’s
BUS LINE WOULD
SERVE GROVER
Shelby Assured New Bus
Station As Soon As Build
ing Restrictions Lift
The Greyhound Company, one
of four bus lines applying for
franchise from the State Utilities
Commission for expanded Shelby
service, has withdrawn Its appli
cation and will apply for permis
sion to establish a schedule be
tween Shelby and Grover where
schedules will connect with bus
service north and south on Fed
eral highway No. 29.
The hearings on the applica
tions by carriers to serve Bolling
Springs from Shelby continued for
two days in Raleigh this week and
a number of witnesses went from
Cleveland county in behalf of the
applicants, the Rutherford Transit
See BUS LINE Page 2
rseisse ana spree river lines.
Russian attempts to establish
bridgeheads on the west bank of
the Nelsse were beaten back, the
German communique said. A Mos
cow dispatch declared that Konevs
troops were bucking a defense sys
tem some eight to 12 miles deep in
trenches and anti-tank ditches.
While Soviet dispatches did not
put Konev's troops far beyond the
Nelsse it seemed they might be
holding several salients well on the
Berlin side.
The German war bulletin said
the Russians were thrown back
to the north at Goldberg, 13
miles southwest of Liegnits and
36 miles due west of the by
passed and surrounded Nazi
stronghold of Breslau. Konev’s
assault troops have broken into
the southern defenses of Bres
lau, and have rolled the Ger
mans back into the direction of
Hlrschberg, in the Katzbach
mountains on the road to Prague,
To the north Konev’s tanks and
tommygunners surged into the
streets of Ouben and Forst, 31 and
57 miles southeast of Berlin, against
German veterans and volksstrum
units. Associated Press correspon
See TANK BATTLE Page 2
MARINES INCH
FORWARD WITH
HEAVYATTACK
Backed By Bombardment
From Aircraft And
Naval Guns
suppliesImproving
U. S. PACIFIC FLEET
HEADQUARTERS, Guam,
Feb. 24.—(fP)—Backed by a
terrif bombardment from
heavy artillery, aircraft and
naval guns of fleet units
standing offshore, Marines on
Iwo island opened their most
concentrated attack of the six
day battle today but were
only inching forward against
virtually unyielding enemy
opposition.
The tank-supported attack was
launched from the southwestern
tip of the airdrome in the morn
ing and-JaL noon was making slow
progress, Admiral Chester W. Ni
mitz reported.
Terrific resistance from Japa
nese artillery, small arms and
automatic weapons made every
inch of ground gained a bitter,
costly all air
The Marines appeared, how
ever, to have reached the
turning point in their con
quest of the island, having
taken Mt. Suribachi at the
southern end of the island and
now being engaged in mop
ping up operations against
remnants of the garrison at
that one-time enemy strong
See MARINES Page 2
WARREN REFUSES
N. C. JUDGESHIP
WASHINGTON. Feb. 24 —(A*)—
Declaring he cannot leave his po
sition which carries ‘‘increased
responsibilities by reason of war,”
Comptroller General Lindsay War
ren declined yesterday to consid
er appointment to a North Caro
lina federal Judgeship.
His statement was made public
by Senators Bailey and Hoey, who
had endorsed him as a successor to
Judge Isaac M. Meekins as district
judge for eastern North Carolina.
The senators declared ‘‘the at
torney general of the United Stat
es was prepared to recommend Mr.
Meekins to the President. There
was no question of his appoint
ment and confirmation.” They
said the vacancy would be filled
“within a reasonable time," but
not until after the return of the
President to this country. %
They added that they are giving
“the utmost consideration" to each
of the many letters and endorse
ments they are receiving.
Lt. Johnnie Bridges Gets His
Fourth And Fifth Jap Planes
ArnJAKU V rtiyuairwvu wiu
CAIN'S CARRIER TASK FORCE
FLAGSHIP, Off Formosa,—(Delay
ed)—Lieutenant Johnnie Bridges,
U.S.N.R., 26-year-old former school
teacher from Shelby, N. C., shot
down his fourth and fifth Jap air
craft today during the Initial
sweeps of the Navy’s two-day car
rier attack on Formosa and Okln
Lieutenant Bridges, who lives
with his brother and sister-in-law
Mr. and Mrs. Jesse B. Bridges,
Elizabeth Street, Shelby, is leader
of a division of four photo-fighter
planes, pilots of which have now
destroyed 13 airborne enemy planes
although their primary mission is
reconnaissance.
BAGS FIRST ONE
“We were snooping down the
western coast of Formosa,”
Lieutenant Bridges said in tell
ing of today’s exploit. “All of
a sudden a Jap twin-engine
transport pops up only 200
yards away, coming at us
abeam from the right. I had
just a second to turn and a
second to give him a burst.
“His starboard engine start
ed to burn right away. I curl
ed in behind him and sent in
i
LT. BRIDGES
two more burst* and he start
ed flaming all over. He went
down in a huge flame. I stuck
on his tail, taking pictures all
the way and darn near flew
right through him.”
After this action, the four photo
planes flew to the huge Heito air
field in southwestern Formosa and
began making level runs for ver
tical photographs of the installa
tion.
FIGHTERS
"All the time we were taking
pictures,” Lieutenant Bridges con
tinued, “we were playing with a
bunch of Jap fighters. They would
dive down on us one at a time
from the overcast. We tried to
knock them down but they would
dip back into the clouds and we
would level out and return to our
photo runs.
"We were at about 13,000 feet
when I spotted a fighter circling
100 feet below us and ahead of my
division. I had to pour on the coal
to beat the other guys to him.”
“He didn’t even see me until I
was within range, on his port
beam. Then he dipped his nose and
tried to turn into me. It was too
late. My first burst started his en
gine burning and the second «et
the whole plane afire. He managed
See LT. BRIDGES Page •
V
Hitler Proclaims
Reich Unshakable*
LONDON, Feb. 24.—(IP)—Adolf Hitler told the Nazi
old guard today, on the 25th anniversary of tire formation
of his national socialism program, that Germany was an
“unshakable community of people,” Berlin radio announced.
ocuu a iiitooagc any uig nc
could not be with the party stal
warts as "my sense of duty and
work prevent my leaving head
quarters even for a moment.”
The German news agency DNB
said Hitler’s message was read by
Secretary of State Hermann Esser
at the "festive hour held at Mun
ich.”
“Providence shows no mercy
to weak nations but only rec
ognizes the right of existence
of sound and strong nations,”
the message sold. It declared
that without the “National
Socialist Reconstruction there
would neither be a German
reich nor a German people to
day.”
"Not at a talking shop in Ge
neva nor by any other convention
will Bolshevism be beaten back,
but solely by our determination to
win victory and by the strength of
our arms,” the massage said.
THREATENED
In a harangue against capital
ism, Bolshevism and the Jews, Hit
ler said that the "enemy whom we
(the Nationalist Socialist party)
declared war against on Feb. 24,
1920. because he wanted to Dre
serve our nation” Was the same
one threatening to engulf the world
today. He said “the same coalition
of irreconcilable enemies was fight
ing against the German people at
that time, just as they are fighting
Germany now.”
It was just a quarter of a cen
tury ago that Hitler began draft
ing the Nazi program in a prison
cell, to overthrow the German re
public which the allies had sanc
tioned in the hope of keeping
world peace.
“If the Germany of 1920 had
only a fraction of the resist
ance of the Germany of today
it would never have collaps
ed,” he asserted.
The Nazi assumption of power
after a 13-year fight, Hitler de
clared, “Was the result of a tough
fanatical battle which often seem
ed completely hopeless.”
"I recently read in British pap
ers that the allies intend to de
stroy my berghof (Hitler’s moun
tain house),” he said. “I almost re
gret that this did not happen so
far, since my personal property is
of no greater value than that of
See HITLER Page 2
Enemy In Manila
Still Holding Out
Street-By-Street Battle Rages Inside Intramuros;
Many Civilians Killed
MANILA, Feb. 24.—(A1)—Three regiments of 37th Div
ision infantrymen fought from building to building inside
the ancient Intramuros today, clearing the last Japanese
from Manila amid tragic scenes of Nipponese brutality.
.Tierce ugnung in um uiuomi
phase of the three-week battle fo
the Philippine capital was announc
ed by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, wh
also disclosed American troops ha<
Invaded a second small Island, Biri
to complete control of San Bernar
dino straits between Luzon am
Samar.
Half - starred, bayonetted,
beaten and raped civilians, held
by the doomed Japanese gar
rison inside the centuries-old
Intramuros during the two
week American siege, were
treated at field hospitals, but
many non-combatant dead re
mained among the rubble.
The Japanese commander of th
city had not replied to an Ameri
can offer that he and his mei
would be permitted honorable sur
render if the civilians, held as vir
tual hostages, were released.
The enemy appeared determine!
to fight and die there.
The wall was breached in twi
places after this most concentrate!
ground shelling of the Pacific wai
Once inside, veteran Yank stree
fighters began the job of building
by-building cleanout.
Two-man tommygun teams coul<
be seen darting into a rubble-fillec
building entrances, spraying thi
hallways and firing bursts as the;
See ENEMY Page 2
J. C. M’NEELY
SHOOTSSELF
Well Known Merchant
Rushed To Hospital In
Serious Condition
J. C. McNeely, a well known
, merchant, was rushed to Shel
by hospital in a serious condi
tion early (his afternoon from
two gunshot wounds self-in
flicted in his chest at his home,
407 South LaFayette St.
Suffering ill health for some
while, Mr. McNeely had accom
panied his family to lunch but
professing no desire for food
he went into his bedroom
from which shortly were heard
the two shots. Members of the
family rushed to the room to
find him in serious condition
and arranged for his immediate
removal to the hospital.
At 2 p.m. no word had come
from the hospital as to Mr.
McNeely’s condition.
BRIEF SESSIONS
OF LEGISLATURE
This Week Has Been One
Of Busiest; Appropria
tions Bill Passed
RALEIGH, Feb. 24 — (£>)— Con
cluding the eighth legislative week,
> a small number of lawmakers re
■ mained in the capital today as
i house and senate convened for
- brief sessions to consider local
■ bills.
The current week goes down
^ as one of the busiest of the
session, witnessing the passage
* in record time by both branch
es of the legislature of the
big appropriations bill, and the
' approval by the joint commit
tee of the budget revenue
I measure which will likely pass
the legislature next week. The
finance measure requires three
readings on different days in
both houses, a procedure not
necessary in connection with
the appropriations bill.
Some new business hit the hon
pers yesterday and several pre
viously introduced measures re
ceived action. The senate passed
on second reading a bill to place
all loan agencies and brokers un
der the supervision of the state
banking commission and to require
them to pay fees based on total
See BRIEF Page 2
Superforts From
India Hit Singapore
WASHINGTON, Feb. 24—(JPh
Superfortresses from Ondia struck
in force again today at Singapore,
huge naval base the Japanese seiz
ed from the British three years
ago.
Results of the bombing by the
upwards of 150 B-29s were not dis
closed immediately by headquar
ters of the 20th air force here,
which announced the raid.
The raid by Brig. Gen. Roger M.
Ramey’s 20th bomber command
was the second of the month. On
Feb. 1, the India-based fleet de
stroyed a floating dry-dock ca
pable of handling the world’s larg
est warship.
HOUSE SCUFFLERS—Shown here
are (top) Rep. John E. Rankin (D
Miss) and Rep. Frank E. Hook (D
Mich) who engaged in a one-minute
scuffle on the floor of the U. S.
House of Representatives after
Hook called Rankin a “liar.” The
legislators tangled when Rankin
termed Hook an associate of Com
munists. Republicans watched hap
pily from the sidelines.
HVE SURVIVE
LINER CRASH
Wreckage Of American
Airlines Plane Found In
Mountain Area
CEDAR SPRINGS. VA„ Feb. 24
—(JP)—Five injured persons, in
cluding a courageous woman who
walked barefooted for help, sur
vived today in the crash of an
American Airlines plane in which
17 were killed in a desolate moun
tain area of Southern Virginia.
The survivors, taken to a hos
pital at Marion, were .Mrs. Fran
ces Ulen, of Washington; Sally
Padgett, stewardess, Nashville,
Tenn.; Ensign Leonard J. Ricci of
Meriden, Conn., and Washington;
Marine Lt. Erwin Schwartz, Syra
cuse, N. Y., and Ensign F. L. Mid
daugh, Los Angeles. ,
Discovery of the wrecked plane
on the side of Glade mountain
late yesterday afternoon ended a
See FIVE Page 2
Yanks 4 Miles
Beyond Roer,
Nearing Cologne
PARIS, Feb. 24.—(/P)—American troops smashed more
than four miles beyond the Roer river today, and there still
were no signs of a German stand against the huge offens
ive now within 19 miles of Cologne and 12 of Munechen
Gladbach.
General Eisenhower asserted the goal of this two-army
push was to destroy the German army west of the Rhine on
this northern end of the western front, and that he expected
to be able to do it. He termed progress of the First and
Ninth armies “certainly satisfactory.”
U. S. infantrymen overran 17 towns and the prisoner toll
soared above 1,400 as they fought forward across the Co
logne plain.
“All objectives are being taken ahead of schedule, par
ticularly north of Linnich on the Ninth Army front where
the speed of advance showed a marked increase,” AP cor
respondent Wes Gallagher wrote tonight from the front.
These men were a dozen miles more or less from industrial
Muenchen Gladbach, and 24 from Dusseldorf.
unageneads had been secure
along a 22-mile front, and hai
been pushed more than four mile
beyond the flood-muddied Roer.
Troops crossing between fallei
Juelich and besieged Dueren cap
tured Nieberzeir, 19 miles short o
bomb-rubbled Cologne. Farthe
north the U. S. Ninth Army’s deep
est surge toppled Baal, 12 mile:
from Muenchen Gladbach.
The American battle line was
being pressed forward over
the trench-slit Cologne plain
against an enemy who was
stunned by the first shock of
the assault.
Berlin broadcasts declared thi
full force of Gen. Eisenhower';
push had yet to be reached, ant
that “40 Anglo-American division;
are thus far employed in the wes
tern offensive.”
The German high command re
ported bitter fighting, but assert
ed the Americans had been unabli
"to penetrate to our main battle
field in major depth.”
The Germans, staggered by tre
mendous shelling and hamperet
by the aerial seal-off of the bat
tlefield, struck back with six tank
led counterattacks which failed t
halt the American onrush.
U. S. First Army troops clearei
one-fourth of Dueren, on th
Roer’s east bank 20 miles fron
Cologne on the Rhine.
But thick and strong defense
lie ahead. German resistance wa
reported stiffening.
Through the night more mei
See YANKS Page 2
WHAT’S DOING
SUNDAY
10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m—U.S.
O. center open to service folk
visiting in the city.
MONDAY
7:00 p.m.—Chamber of Com
merce directors meet at Hotel
Charles.
7:00 pm.—Dutch oyster sup
per for men’s Bible class of
Presbyterian church at the
church.
' AIRMEN AGAIN
! BLAST GERMANY
1 Allied Planes Attack Na
tion's Railway Network
In Relays
LONDON, Feb. 24.— (fl*> —Allied
warplanes hammered in relays
again today at Germany’s vast net
work of railways, already reported
the chaos from incessant bombings
the last two days and nights in
support of the new ground offen
sive.
Pilots who made low-level in
spection flights over hundreds of
miles of the blitzed rail systems
reported traffic at a complete
standstill.
Wreckage is piled high in the
major yards. Hundreds of trains
) have been knocked out on tracks
^ or bittled up by rail cuts and
, blown bridges resulting from per
' haps the greatest sustained aerial
assault in historv.
, CARS SHOT UP
5 It was estimated by competent
observers that at least 5,000 loco
j motives and 7.000 freight cars have
| been shot up or stranded since
Thursday night.
I A force of 500 to 750 RAF bomb
ers last night attacked Pforzheim,
southeast of Karlshure and an im
portant junction on the main line
to the U. S. Third army front.
Crews reported dropping saturation
loads of high explosives on the
vital junction for Nazi supply
movement.
Berlin was hit for the fourth
successive night by RAF Mosqui
tos carrying 4,000 pound blockbust
ers.
Shortly before dusk two fleets of
British heavies hit the industrial
cities of Essen and Gelsinkirchen,
in the Ruhr.
JEWS PROPITIATED:
Swedish Newsman Says Hitler
‘Forgotten Man* In Germany
By JERGE GRANBERG
(Swedish Newspaper Correspondent
Who recently returned to Stockholm
from Berlin.)
Written for the Associated Press
Copyright, 1945, by the Associated
Press
STOCKHOLM, Feb. 24. — Hitler
can be dubbed “the forgotten man”
so far as the Germans are con
cerned. -
He is discussed more abroad
than in Germany. Of course,
the people some times wonder
where he is living and if he still
is deaf as a result of the last
July 20 bomb attempt, but on
the whole the people talk about
him very little.
Goering is as little discussed as
Hitler but reports that he is a
A
prisoner are untrue because he is
frequently seen.
More and more you begin to un
derstand that in these grim times
each German is being left more
and more to his own initiative and
resources. He is beginning to look
toward the future. In spite of short
rations and air raid losses, almost
every Berlin family is attempting
to scrape together a small store
of food and clothing as a reserve
for the bitter end.
GROTESQUE TURN
A more grotesque turn to this
thought for the future is the fact
that some Berliners are attempting
to obtain "a guardian Jew.”
In spite ’’f Nazi persecution of the
Jews it is estimated that between
1,000 and 2,000 Jews or persons
\
with Jewish blood remain in Ber
lin.
'•ersons with big bank ac
counts and good black market
connections are reported com
peting- with one another in
smothering these Jews with
food, wine and clothing so that
“when the moment comes” they
will be able to count on their
good will and friendly solicitude.
Persons of smaller means are said
lately to have offered bread ra
tion coupons to Russian workers
and prisoners of war iD the hope
they might be able to depend on
them as guardian patrons.
Although Berliners are visibly
frightened of the Russians, they
■See SWEDISH Page I