Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 43, Number 44, Decatur, Adams County, 21 February 1945 — Page 1

lust Win the Wai Else Is Chores!

Uli. No. 44.

TORN SECOND AIR FIELD ON IWO ISLAND

ikees Crush Section Os jfried Line port Wholesale rman Surrenders Western Front Feb. 21— (UP) —Reports lesale German surrenders in from Lt. Gen. George S. i U. S. tith'd army front to ;he Americans collapsed anig section of the Siegfried I advanced as much as 5% 1 a broad 'front. I’s armored and infantry were swinging out in front (Hied western offensive at ening pace along a 50-mile line extending down from em sector to the Moselleangle. I m resistance was strangely ill across the third army At some points the Nazis savagely and skillfully for iird of ground. At others, roopers were surrendering undreds, quitting strong deisitions without a fight, dispatches said the third id rounded up almost 7,000 s in the past four days, mt to more ithan the full strength of one of the tht’s thinned divisions. »ass surrenders were made jzzling by the fact that mud ;h were hindering Patton’s sufficiently to permit tnott iermans <to escape eastward wished. i the north, tough German ipers were putting up a diL tind of battle against the a first army in the 17-mile las-Rhine corridor leading ,uhr valley. red by fresh reinforcements elements of nine German i across the path of the atCanadian army, the Nazis towing strong tank and inforces into a series es tracks (that slowed and at lilts reversed the Allied adBt fighting raged along the i of the Canadian drive in tar area, where the. Nazis ding fast to Calcar and the itwork leading down the > the Ruhr, 24 miles away, dispatches reported, howat Scottish, English and units fighting under the i banner had rallied and To Page 3, Column 6) O i Heiser Dies na Hospital* Heiser, 52, of Lima, O. hospital in that city Moniwing an operation. He is Iby two sons, Pfc. William n Europe, and T/5 Robert t Camp Grulber, Okla, and r, John of Lima. Robert t wife and small daughter Ing their home with Mrs. parents, Mr. and Mrs. M. ger in this city. 1 services wijl be held at ; Friday afternoon at the lliam funeral home in iks Rescue Over merican Fliers tgiton, Feb. 21. — (UP) — in Fotitch, former Yugobassador to the United lid today that Gen. Draja ch’s Chetniks had rescued m 600 American aviators bail out over Yugoslavia, vich’s forces built a specfl with “itheir bare hands litive equipment” so that planes could land to ■ the 600 Americans and of other Allied fliers, id in a letter to the Unito 'ERATURE READING :rat thermometer ( m. .... 30 m 31 ■ wi 35 WEATHER till change into snow and end late tonight omorrow morning; ng cloudiness and r tomorrow; strong

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Interamerican Confab Will Open Tonight Mexico City, Feb. 21.—(UP)--The interamerican conference on problems of war and peace opens today. Official emphasis wa® on postwar economic solidarity and reorganization of the Pan-American setup to fit into the new world security system. Unofficially the Agemtine problem overshadowed all others—despite efforts to defer any consideration of it until other issue® are settled. President Manuel Avila Camacho formally opens the con- , ference at 9 p. m. (CWT) tonight . with an address in (he chamber of deputies. o Hitler's Mountain Fortress Is Bombed Berchtesgaden Is Bombed First Time Rome, Fab. 21 —(UP) Allied warplanes bombed Adolf Hitler’s moun-- . tain foi'tree® at Berchtesgaden in daylight yesterday for the first time, a headquarters announcement said today. A force of Italian-baaed meditfm bomlbeife and fighter bombers of the Mediterranean Allied tactical air force carried out the surprise blow on the Fuehrer'® hideaway in the Bavarian Alps, 75 mile® southeast of Munich. The attack apparently was directed mainly against the railway yards in Berchtesgden village, tyit fiiist reports said rocket-firing thundenbol.® roared across the fortress itself at low-level. Hundreds of antiaircnrft batteries all around the Fuehrer’® hideout opened up with a terrific barrage. Nazi elite guards fired on the low flying raiders with rifle® and machine guns. 'There wae no immediate indication whether bomlb or rocket hits were scored on Hitler's mountaintop palace itself. (LA Rome dispatch to the exchange telegraph in Loudon said the fortress was hit directly by the (Turn To Page 3. Column 5) , 0 Lt Brandyberry, Army Nurse, Home From Overseas Duty Lt. Marcella Erandyberry, army nurse, who was stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaiian Islands, when the Japs attacked it on Dec. 7,1941, has ar.iVed in Decatur on a 30-day leave with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Brandberry of 315 North Tenth street. Lt. Bradybery was not injured in the Pearl Harbor attack. She ha® been on active duty for four years and was overseas for three and one-half years. She said she did not have a statement for publication, adding that everybody was trying to do all they could. Lt. Brandyberry will report to Seattle, Wash., following her leave. o City Street Repairs Planned By Council First Steps Taken On Repair Program The city council in session last night took first steps toward a spring street repair program by authorizing the board of public, works and safety to olbtain unit bid® on street materials and the rental of necessary equipment to do the work. The board will receive proposal® on 12'560 gallons of emulsified or liquid asphalt: 25 tons of bituminous coated aggregate and 550’ tons of crushed etone, all size. The proposals on repair equipment will be asked on an hourly basis. 'The petition of Luther Brokaw for a rural light line extension to his farm in Washington township was referred to the electric committee. The came committee approved the petition of Mrs. iMabel vM. Ludin for an electric line to her farm. The finance committee of the council reported that the First Stat® Ibank of this city had been designated as the depository for city fund®. The fmauci*! report)# of the electric light »8d water departments of the municipal utility were filed,

Jap Casualties On Luzon Near 100,000 Mark Japanese Reported Fighting Savagely In Manila Pocket Manila, Feb. 21. — (UP) —Japanese forces, with their casualtie® in the Luzon campaign nearing he 100,000 mark, fought back savagely from a shrinking pocket in southern Manila today against American flame-throwers and heavy artillery. Gen. Douglas MacArthur said the "bitterest fighting” had developed as the American infantrymen slowly compressed the enemy line® and big guns maintained a steady bombardment of the ancient wail around the Intramuro® sector. The last-stand death battles waged by the Japanese was taking a heavy toll of the enemy forces. A communique reported that the Japanese casualties in the first six weeks of the Luzon campaign exceeded 92,000. In that same period, the American casualties totaled 2,676 dead, 10,008 wounded and 245 missing—a ratio of seven-to-one over the enemy. As the trapped Japan? . faced almost certain death in their holdout positions below the Pasig river, they let loose an orgy of sadism and destruction on Filipino civilians and property. The community officially disclosed that the Japanese were "acting with the greatest savagery in the treatment of non-combatants and private property”. In the battle around Intramuros, the Japanese were reported increaeing automatic and heavy weapon fire .in a desperate attempt to halt the Americans who lopped off another block from the southern side of the pocket. Pushing behind flame-throwers, the Americans knocked ou[ several machine-gun positions at the university medical school and routed the Japanese from two other buildings on the campus. Despite the advantage of good defenses behind strong fortifications, the Japanese were losing heavily. One report showed that the 11th airborne units alone since the Batangas landing had seized or destroyed 1,227 enemy pillboxes or bunker defences and counted 4,053 enemy dead in their sector. On Corregidor, bombers and fighters joined with infantrymen and paratroopers in cleaning out the Japanese from the island’s rocky recesses. Demolition squads and flamethrower units were searching the top of Malinta Hill for ventilating holes leading to the famed Malinta (Turn To Page 5, Column 5) O All County Offices Close For Holiday No Mail Delivery Here On Thursday The 213th anniversary of the birth of George Washington, commander of the Continental army and first president of the United States will be observed as a holiday here with the closing of county offices and the curtailment of regular mail deliveries. As a state holiday, the First State bank will be closed. Schools will continue and special programs celebrating the birthday anniversary of the “Father of Our Country” will be given. All offices in the court house will close, the county officials announced. Judge J. Fruchte stated that no cases were set on the calendar for tomorrow. Industrial plants and retail stores will continue business as usual. Postmaster Leo Kirsch said there would not be any delivery of mail, except to those producing war • materials. Office windows will be closed but the lobby will be open. The public library will be closed all day, the librarian announced. President Washington was born Feb. 22. 1732 and died on Dec. 14, 1799, after be retired .from public office and had gone into retirement at his ML Vernon estate

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Wednesday, February 21,1945

You Can’t Beat Home Cooking , K ft t CHICKEN FIT FOR A KING is the piece de resistance on the menu as Soldier Sammie Eastton, Modesto, Cal., enjoys his first meal since his return from the European battlefields. Sammie and some brother vets are dining at Camp Shanks hospital. Sammie is lucky to be dining anywhere for he had to play possum for six hours with a wounded buddy while a German sentry passed between them. The bandage on Sammie’s head covers but one of four wounds he received while fighting in Germany.

Cut Sugar Ration For Home Canning Big Curtailment In Rations Announced Washington, Feb. 21 —(UP) — Rations of sugar for home canning this year will be smaller and will be harder to get, the office of price administration revealed today. Under a drastically curtailed rationing program. 20 pounds will be the limit of the canning allowance for one person. Any one family will be held to 160 pounds of canning sugar. No ration stamps will be validated for canning sugar. All allotments will be made directly by local ration boards. Rations will be determined according to an OPA scale of estimates, with a limit of one pound of sugar for each four quarts of fruit or fruit juices. Major reason for curtailing this year's program, price administrator Chester Bowies said, is that sugar stocks are the lowest they have been for any February since the war began. The loose rationing system which prevailed last year resulted in an overusage of 300,000 tons, OPA said. The total 1945 home-canning ration will be 700,000 tons, the same amount allocated in 1944. Stamps and certificates for 1,000,000 tops actually were issued last year, Bowles sajd. The 1944 system, “made it too easy” for people to get sugar, Bowles said, so “we simply had to tighten up.” Otherwise, he said, all .requirements might not be met. He noted that sugar production in Cuba, chief U. S. source, is down from last year while military needs continue high. Even so. the total amount to be rationed this year will allow for as much home canning as was actually done during the peak years of 1943 and 1944 “if only (Turn To Pagie 4, Column 6)

Lenten Meditation (Rev. R. R. Wilson, First United Brethren Church) PILGRIMS OF HOPE Zeph. 9:l2—“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon the colt the foal of an ass.” Israel, the daughter of Zion, although back from her captivity, still was enduring plenty of trouble, and looked toward deliverance. Zachariah in his writings brought his people a great message of hope for better things. Gentiles, who believe in this One who later came riding into Jerusalem upon the foal of an ass are included among the daughters of Zion; for Paul said: “He is not a Jew which is one outwardly—but he is a Jew which is one inwardly.” (Ro. 2;28A-29A) Like Israel of Zachariah’s day, we too are enduring much trouble; but we may also consider ourselves ‘pilgrims of hope.’ “Behold, thy King cometh.” Some day, in His own good time, He will come; and He will set the disorder of this sinful world aright. He will gather to Himself His ‘pilgrims of hope.’ Let us rejoice In this hope.

Rockford Man Killed In Traffic Accident Walter McCoy, 69, a sugar wholesaler of Rockford, Ohio, wae killed yesterday when his car collided with a coal trunk driven by George Stover of Celina. McCoy was enroute to Berne when the accident occurred. He was well known in thi® community and had called on groceries here for many years. The widow and a brother survive. oSix Sentenced For Tragic Circus Fire Blamed For Tragedy Taking Lives Os 168 Hartford, Conn., Feb. 21—(UP) —Six men charged with responsibility for the circus fire which claimed 168 lives, last July were sentenced to prison and jail terms today by superior court judge William J. Shea. The defendants, officers and employes of Ringling BrothersBarnum & Bailey Combined Shows, Inc., had pleaded nolo contendere, along with the. corporation itself, to 10 counts of manslaughter. The corporation was fined SIO,OOO. Vice president James A. Haley was sentenced to one to five years in prison on each of the counts, the sentences to run concurrently. The others sentenced were: General manager George W. Smith, two to seven years on each count, concurrent. Chief canvassman Leonard S. Aylesworth, two to seven years on "each count, concurrent. Rolling stock superintendent David W. Blanchfield, six months in jail on each count, concurrent. Chief electrician Edward R. Versteeg, one year in jail on each count, concurrent. William Caley, a seatman, one year in jail on each count, con(Turn To Page 3, Column aj

3,650 Casualties Are

Suffered By Mannes In Terrific Struggle

Skip Election Bill Fails Os Majority Cost Assailed By Opponents Os Bill Indianapolis, Feb. 21 —(UP) — The controversial municipal "skip election” measure failed to receive a constitutional majority vote today in the Indiana senate, although 24 of the 47 senators present favored it. Backed by the influential Indiana municipal league, the bill proposed, in effect, to give present mayors an additional year in office. It would have postponed elections scheduled for November, 1946, until November. 1947. The bill was not lost, however, because it may be called to the floor again. Then a constitutional majority of 26 votes could pass it to the house. Sen. John W. Van Ness, R., Valparaiso, majority leader, led the losing fight for the bill at today's session. Van Ness said that the. measure should be supported because “no mayor or city council should ride into office on the coattails of the president and governor.” opponents attacked the skipelection proposal on the grounds of the tremendous expense of three elections every four years in Indiana. House members, too, faced an early showdown on a major measure. New liquor legislation problems, unsettled thus far in house GOP caucuses, were ironed out partially by the majority party's policy group yesterday. The GOP leaders agreed on a stiff state whiskey tax of $2.08 a gallon, more than twice the present levy of sl, and decided against an earlier proposal to place a five-cent tax on each gallon of Indiana-made and imported liquor. House members were scheduled to give final consideration today to a bill paving the way for construction of three buildings on the Indiana world war memorial plaza. They would house expanded offices of national veterans’ organizations, including the American Legion. Passage of the bill in its present form was expected, embrac(Turn To Page 5, Column 6) O Boy Seoul Banquet Held Last Evening 160 Men And Boys At Annual Banquet The annual Decatur Boy Scout banquet was held Tuesday evening at the K. of P. home, with 160 men and Boy Scouts in attendance. The Lions and Rotary club ineuiibers attended in lieu of their regular weekly meetings, and representatives of Adams post 43. American Legion, were also in attendance. These organization® sponsored the three Boy Scout troops in this city. The meeting was opened by Deane Dorwin, Lions club president, who introduced W. Guy/Brown, chairman Os the program. Dr. M. O. Lester, pastor of the First Methodist church, pronouced the invocation, followed by community singing. led by W. F. Beery. The Boy Scout® were led in the Scout oath by Roger Gentis. (Brief talks were given by Ed Ford, treasurer, and R. L. Van Horn, executive, both of the Anthony Wayne area council. Boh Heiman, of the Scout office at»Fort Wayne, was also present. The meeting closed with all present reciting the pledge of • allegiance to the flag, led by Lowell Smith. Scoutmaster of Lions troop 62. The great value of the Boy Scout movement to the welfare of the nation is ehown in the following data: One of every four men serving in (Turn To Pag® Column 5),

Soviet Troops Battle Through Guben Suburbs Shatter Last 20 Miles Os Nazis' Lower Bober Line London, Feb. 21.— (UP) — Red army tanks and infantry battled through the suburbs of Guben, one of the main strongholds guarding the southern approaches to Berlin, today after shattering the last 20 miles of the enemy's lower Bober river line. Far to the northeast, Marshal Konstantin K. Rokossovsky's second White Russian army pushed to within 40 mile® of the great Baltic port of Danzig in advances of up to seven miles along a 30-mile front in the Polish corridor. Marshal Ivan S. Konev’s first Ukrainian army plunged across the last enemy-held stretch of the lower Bober river yesterday just below its confluence with the Oder and passed on through 80 towns and villages toward Guben. Vanguards drove into ithe suburbs of Guben, a 12-way communications hub 51 miles southeast of Berlin, after capturing Schegeln, eight miles to 'he east at the center of the breakthrough front. Heavy fighting also was raging in forests east of Guben, which already was under artillery fire. Guben guards the 23-mile gap between the Spree and the Oder rivers on the southern approaches to Berlin. The advance carried six miles or more beyond the Ober river to within 13 miles of a junction with the first of the bridgeheads which the Nazis said the first White Russian army has thrown across the Oder east of Berlin. Thirty-two enemy tanks were knocked out in the Guben area and more titan 1,00(1 Germans killed. , Konev’s campaign gradually was strengthening the southern flank of the Berlin front for a frontal smash across the Oder toward the capital. Berlin reports said Marshal Gregory K. Zhukov ceaselessly was bringing up reinforcements and supplies for the climactic offensive by his first White Russian army. Farther south, Konav’s forces extended their positions beyond- the middle reaches of the Bober with the capture of Gurkau, 30 miles southeast of the stronghold of Cottbus, and Burau. 23 miles north of Goerlitz and 60 miles northeast of the Saxon capital of Dresden. (Turn To Page 5, Column 6) 0 Aneita Lengerich Dies This Morning Funeral Services Saturday Morning Aneita Marie (Lengerich, four-year-old daughter of M”. and Mr®. Bernard Lengeriejt of route five, died at 5:30 o'clock this morning at the Adam® county memorial hospital after a three weeks illness of influenza and complication®. She was born in Decatur April 4. 1940, the daughter of Bernard and Helen Faurote-flLengerieh. Surviving in addition to the parents are two sisters. Joan and Jane, both at home and the grandparents. .Mr. and Mrs. Henry Lengerich and Mr. and Mi®. William Faurote, all of Adam® county. Funeral services will he held at 9 o'clock Saturday morning at the S't. Mary’s Catholic church, with Rev. J. J. Seimetz officiating. Burial will he in the Catholic cemetery. The body will be removed from the Gillig & Doan funeral home to the residence Thursday noon, and friends may call after 6 p. m. Thursday. '

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Two Divisions Os Marines Slugging Forward; Toughest In Marine History Admiral Nimitz’s Hq. Guam, Feb. 21— (UP) —American marines stormed Iwo's second air field today, by passing the southern tip and driving toward its heart frrfm the south in a general advance averaging half a mile along the blazing island front. Fleet admiral Chester W. Nimitz announced on the third day of the invasion of the island springboard to Japan that the two marine divisions had suffered 3.650 casualties —killed, wounded, or missing — up to 8 a. m. today. One hundred fifty of the casualties were officers. A communique on the Iwo battle, the toughest in the long history of the marine corps, said the two divisions were slugging forward yard by yard against heavy machine gun, mortar, small arms, and rocket fire. Maj. Gen. Keller E. Rockey's fifth division hammered up the west coast of Iwo beyond the lower end of the runways of the last air field remaining in Japanese hands. The first and main base was firmly in American hands. At. the same time Maj. Gen. Clifton B. Cates’ fourth division launched a frontal assault against the field from the south and by noon was “pushing toward the center of the field.” Nimitz’s communique said. "The fifth amphibious corps, having secured the southern Iwo air field, made a general advance, toward the island's central airdrome today,” the communique said. “Gains were made along the whole line, and generally were about 500 to 1,000 yards in extent.” At the south end of Iwo, where part of the Japanese garrison was cut off by the marine drive across the island. American forces were driving slowly up the slopes of Mt. Suribachi, from which the enemy was plastering the marines. This morning the forces pushing up Mt. Suribachi gained more than 100 yards in the face of a murderous fire sweeping the slopes. Nimitz said that, of the 3,650 casualties .by 8 a. m. today, 3,063 of the wounded had been evacuated. In the dry language of the communique, “the numerous strong points which confront our forces in all areas thus far penetrated are being reduced by individual troop action." That meant that the marines were charging the Japanese strong points and dugouts witli flame throwers, small arms, and (Turn To Page 5, Column 6) o Late Bulletins Jersey City, Feb. 21—(UP) •—The exchange ship Gripsholm arrived today from Marseille, France, carrying 1,206 soldiers and civilians, among whom were a large number of seriously ill and wounded American and Canadian pris- . oners of war. Washington, Feb. 21—(UP) American submarines have sent a Japanese escort car- • rier, a. large converted cruiser, a destroyer, and 22 merchant vessels to the bottom in new operations, the navy announced today. London, Feb. 21 — (UP) — Axis broadcasts said today that an army of 30,000 American troops and 90 Chinese divisions had been massed in southwestern China to support an American landing on the east coast of China. Montevideo, Feb. 21—(UP) The Uruguayan house today approved, 62-19, a declaration of war against the Axis.