Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 43, Number 78, Decatur, Adams County, 2 April 1945 — Page 1

l„ s( win the War. gs Use Is Chores'

XLIU. No. 78.

ILLIES BID FOR LIBERATION OF HOLLAND Americans halfway across Okinawa

twist Advance bn Island Near tips' Homeland

lens Os Thousands If American Troops [warm Ashore, Early Resistance Is Light Im, Apr. 2—(UP)—■ American Eon troops smashed forward ■ than half way across OklI today in a swift advance ■st scattered Japanese sniper ■ pillbox resistance. Front Itches said an announcement ■ Okinawa had been split in Las expected hourly. ■rd fighting flared on the Kern flank of the American ■ marine front where tank■nfantrymen were driving to- ■ Naha, the island's burning ■al. less than seven miles Kit. Eyo radio reported without E confirmation that ArneriI completed a new landing I on the island of Kune, 52 | west of Okinawa, and 340 | northeast of Formosa. Ins of .thousands of troops of ■new American 10th army ■med ashore along a wide Ehead. Two air fields and ■ than a dozen villages werelied. Dispatches indicated I. planes soon would be using last one of the two captured Komes. Kited Press war correspond|E. G. Valens, accompanying lard elements of two army K driving across Okinawa K the captured Kadena air I, said resistance continues to lomparatively light. This colI was heading downhill toward K and the Nagusuku Bay navInchorage on the east side of ■ island. ■he only enemy resistance,” Ins said, "is rrom a few scatid pillboxes, snipers, and 100fcd land mines.” Ke hardest fighting raged in I “badlands" north of Naha, ■ prime objective of this invaslonly 362 miles from the south- ■ approaches of Japan. Ibero, the troops under Lt. I Simon Bolivar Buckner col|d with Japanese prepared poll's and machine gun nests.' Ids were heavily mined. But |n the mines were neutralized, liers moved in on bulldozers piden the road* larrier planes from the vast bsion armada lying offshore pointed enemy targets ahead Advancing troops. hlens saw one dauntless dive fiber make an emergency land|on Kadena airstrip. It was I first large American plane to f 1 there. U Kadena attackers found gun placements were little more r pigstyes. The f c ’age of Japanese planes lay ptcred across the captured F eWs ’ Indicating the effectiveU of the Pro-invasion hombardPt and carrier strikes, I-orman Paige, Blue network respondent, reported from P a *a that Japanese civilians L.. g ““ surren <lering “in L', The y seemed glad to Pai h ® msel ’ es up ” said.) L „ said the “general imL main t” Okinawa w aa that ved ? panese garrison had hilll Pormosa - waa hiding in tn Mni°a under g r °und, or had Ling would “ t 0 belleving the HP oTnv. CUF at the 80uth - L 1 Okinawa instead of the tTur 2_ T< > ***« «■ Column 73 £m!S ture re *o«ng B: DO°?i T ther mometer Noon 50 pioo - «> L mi weather r to "ißh» U<l and'’ d T ir,Ueh C °°'‘ r ,,h tertr»2 d Tue,da yTue, day 8 W nd *’ dim,n -

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Spearheads Os Russian Army Nearing Vienna Report Disorders Breaking Out In Austrian Capital BULLETIN London, Apr. 2 — (UP) — The Red army today captured the Hungarian transport hub of Nagykanizsa, and Berlin said it had irreparably flanked Vienna in a lightning thrust on Semmering, key mountain pass on the trunk railway 42 miles southwest of the Austrian capital. London, April 2. — (UP) — Red army spearheads were reported only about a dozen miles from the greater Vienna outskirts today and Russian reports said disorders had broken out in the Austrian capital and elsewhere in Austria. Forward columns of Marshal Feodor Tolbukhin’s forces were reported fighting in the Leitha mountains. only about a dozen miles from greater Vienna. The Russians were reported sending armored columns ahead of their main body of troops to knife through the well-organized German , defense system and turn it before the Nazis could brace themselves . for a stand. The Red army advance continued to be aided by heavy bombardments of the U. S. 15th air force t carried out against Vienna’s rail communications. The Moscow radio reported that increasing disorders wore spreading in Carinthia and Styria and also in Vienna itself. Moscow dispatches said other • Russian forces were storming ■ Wiener Neustadt, Austria’s most important industrial center, and . had pushed to within sight of > Bratislava, capital of the German puppet state of Slovakia. The London Daily Mail quoted ‘ unconfirmed German reports that 1 30 Russian divisions, possibly 450,000 men, had begun a massive asI (Turn To Page 6. Column 6) I 0 April Court Term 1 : Juries Are Drawn ! I • New Circuit Court Term Opens Monday 1 Members of the grand and petit 1 juries for the April term of the Ad--1 ams circuit court were drawn today ’ by jury commissioners Albert Har--1 low and James L. Kocher. The ■ new court term opens next Mon- - day. 1 The grand jurors are: Dee Fry--1 back, Decatur; John W. Blakey. 1 Union; Mrs. Lula Lawson, Blue ’ Creek; Orlen Fortney. St. Mary’s: ‘ Chester Haines, Jefferson; Albert ’ Burke, Monroe township. The members of the petit jury are: James Barr, Geneva; Jess J. Hurst, Mrs. Charles Lose, William P. Lose, Mrs. Rufus Stucky, Decatur; William Vance, French; W. E. Faurote, Washington; Esaias St. Mary’s; William C. Auman, Root; Charles Brown, Geneva; William Ray, Wabash; Carl Nuerge, Preble township. No call has been issued for the grand jury and several terms of court have passed without a jury * trial being held.

79 Listed As Graduates Os Decatur High Dickmeyer Speaker At Commencement Exercises May 24 Seventy-nine members of the senior class of the Decatur juniorsenior high school are candidates for diplomas at the annual commencement exercises of the school, which will be held at the school auditorium Thursday evening, May 24, at 8 o’clock. The list of prospective graduates was announced today by W. Guy Brown, high school principal. Speakers for both the commencement exercises and the baccalaureate service were announced by Walter J. Krick, superintendent of the Decatur public schools. W. C. Dickmeyer, of Fort Wayne, will deliver the commencement address. Mr. Dickmeyer, president of Wayne Candies, inc., has been chairman of the board of directors of Valparaiso universily for the past 14 years. For many years he has traveled throughout the United States as a speaker in the interests of the university, and has appeared on programs in many states of the Union at Lutheran laymen’s seminaries. Mr. Dickmeyer has long been a leader in civic affairs in Fort Wayne, having been the organizer and first president of the Fort Wayne Civic symphony, a mem-' her of the Civic association and the Chamber of Commerce. The Rev. William C. Feller, pastor of the Zion Evangelical and Reformed church of this city, will deliver the sermon at the baccalaureate exercises, to be held in the school auditorium Sunday evening, May 20, at 7:30 o’clock. Complete programs for the commencement and baccalaureate exercises will be announced later, school officials stated. The list of prospective graduates follows; Clarice R. Anspaugh, Everett Joel Arthur, Jr., Robert Lewis August, Virginia Badders, Margaret Ellen Baker, Norma Marceline Baker, Kathryn Louise Baxter, Gloa M. Bleeke, Edgar Leo Borne, Lynford G. Bracey, William Wallis Bromer, Bernard Gene Brooks, Billy Max Butler, Marilyn June Carroll, Robert Joe Christen, Van Thomas Colter, Donn Eugene Eichar. James Carroll Eichhorn, Troy Lee Fennig, Helen Catherine Frank, 110 Joanne Frank, Juanita Jane Fruchte, Lenore Fuelling, Richard Paul Gehrig, Douglas Keith Gilpen, Rosamond Graham, Gaynell Joan Hamma, Carl William Hawkins, Leona M. Hoile, Bill E. Howell, Virginia M. Hutker, Mary Eloise Jackson, James Carl King, Eldora F. Kirchner. Patricia Kitson, Anita M. Koenemann, Roger Thomas Knapp, Mary Jo Krick, Margery Kay Linn, Thomas Kellum Lutes. Morris E. .McClure, Kathleen Louise McConnell, Jane Maddox, William Marbaugh, Bonnie Lou Melchi, Colleen Lee Miller, Ruth Joann Miller, Lois Jean Mitchell. Mary Louise Moore, Paul Edward Morgan, Marjorie Ruth Myers, Helen Jean Owens, Mary Rebecca Pollock, William Porter, Ralph Warren Ross. Jr., Dcnnabelle F. Roop, Elizabeth Jean Roop, Joyce Phlona Roop, Clarice Philomena Sauer, Marcia May Schnepp. Waunetta Ann Schnepp, Clover Charleen Shackley, Richard Earl Sheets, Mary Rita Smith, Robert Leilan Smitley, Roger Paul Staley, Russell Thompson Stanley, Edna Mae Schultz, Viola Irene Steele, Vera Jane Steury, Jean Madeline Strahm, Gloria Striker, Ronald Leon Stucky, Phyllis Ann Venis, Wilma B. Wilson, Ruth Irene Yost, Frank Young. Jr., Cletus Alfred McManama, Donald Fifer.

ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Decatur, Indiana, Monday, April 2, 1945.

. Jap Ships Under Aerial Attack ’E*!' Jo Uh. jh L - • If' fli I IN THE ABOVE PHOTO several damaging near misses are scored on a large Jap aircraft carrier caught by the Pacific fleet carrier planes in their daring raid on the Japanese fleet units in the Inland sea. A large Nip submarine is underway at the bottom of the picture, as. it attempts to escape a bomb (circle) that is heading its way. This is an official U. S. Navy photo.

BULLETIN Washington, Apr. 2—(UP) — Maj. Gen. Maurice Rose was killed while leading the third armored division in spearheading the advance of U. S. troops into Germany, the war department announced today. o Red Cross Secretary To Training School To Extend Service To Returning Vets Mrs. Ruth Hollingsworth, who has been in charge of the Red Cros.< home service office in this city since last February, will leave tomorrow' for Alexandria, Va., to attend the Red Cross training school for executive secretaries, C. E. Bell, chapter chairman, announced today. The training conference opens Thursday and extends to April 26. Mrs. Hollingsw’orth is being sent to the school by the local chapter to receive special training which will enable the county chapter to extend its services to the community and to members of the armed forces and returning veterans. An accelerated program'is given the enrollees in connection with the services which the Red Cross chapters are rendering to servicemen through the provisions of the G. I. bill. The three weeks conference school is conducted by the national office of the Ret Cross. Mrs. Harold Grant of North Fifth street, who recently moved here from Pine Hill, Pa., where she was trained in Red Cross services, will be in charge of the local office during the afternoons until Mrs. Hol(Turn To Page 6. Column 6) o « Superforts Blast Plant Near Tokyo Guam, (April 2 —(UP)— More than 200 'B-29 superfortresses started (big fires in the Nakajima-Mus-ashino aircraft engine plant in the outskirts ,of Tokyo just before dawn today. tA Tokyo (broadcast acknowledged that fires raged out of control in the target area for more than an hour after the hour-long attack.

Japs' Casualties In Philippines 300,000 Americans Continue Gains In Campaign Manila, April 2.—(UP) — American troops illed or captured 308,180 Japanese in seizing control of 32 islands in the Philippines during the last six months, it was announced today. Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s communique, in disclosing the Japanese casualties, also announced continued gain by U. S. forces on Luzon, Negros, Cebu and Mindanao. In the last five days throughout the Philippines the Japanese casualties amounted to 10,971 killed and 185’ captured, while the American losses for the same period were 340 killed, 48 missing and 919 wounded. The heavy casualties on the Japanese w'ere inflated by the U. S. sixth and eighth armies which reconquered the main portion of the Philippines, including the capital of Manila, and left only one major island —Bohol — still under Japanese control. Ou Luzon, ground forces continued to compress the Japanese pockets while fifth air force bombers again hit the shattered port of Legaspi, on the southeastern tip of the island, with 200 more tons of explosives. Two columns of American troops were moving slowly over the rugged terrain in northern Luzon against Baguio, former summer capital and Japanese headquarters in the Philippines. One force was less than three miles south of the (Turn To Page 6, Column 6) 0 Mrs. Bertha Huey Dies At Hospital IMrs. Bertha Gertrude Huey, 68, of near New Corydon, died Sunday at the Adams county memorial hospital. iSunviving are the husiband, Troy; three daughters, seven sons, one brother, one sister and 40 grandchildren. » Funeral services will be held at 2 p. m. Thursday at the Yager funeral home in Berne, with the Rev. W. F. Johnston officiating. Burial will be in the Daugherty cemetery in Jay county.

Byrnes Resigns As Director Os Mobilization Fred Vinson Named By Roosevelt To Succeed Byrnes Washington, April 2. — (UP) — Justice James F. Byrnes, predicting that “V-E day is not far distant,” resigned today as director of the office of war mobilization and reconversion. President Roosevelt, expressing “heartfelt regret,” accepted the resignation and immediately nominated Fred M. Vinson, head of the federal loan agencies, as Byrnes’ successor. , Vinson formerly was director of economic stabilization. He took over the loan job only a few weeks ago after Jesse H. Jones was ousted by the president. Byrnes had been mobilization director for a year and 10 months. He was charged with coordinating all home-front phases of the war effort and settling disputes among government agencies. .He issued the disputed orders closing race tracks and imposing a midnight curfew on entertainment places. He promised on Saturday that these bans would be revoked on V-E day. Byrnes asked that his resignation become effective today. But the president requested that he make it effective on the date that Vinson is confirmed. Byrnes agreed to stay in Washington intil his duties are transferred to Vinson and then will return to his home in Spartanburg, S. C., for a rest. ’ An exchange of correspondence between Byrnes and President Roosevelt recalled that as early as last June Byrnes had announced his desire not to remain in office to administer the reconversion program. After the election in November Byrnes again reminded the president of his desire to leave. The agreement then was that he would accept the war mobilization directorship only until V-E day. In addition to the exchange of (Turn To Page 5, Column 6) O Churches Crowded On Easter Sunday Attendance Largest In Four War Years The proverbial rain on Easter Sunday held off until evening, the morning and afternoon being ideal for churchgoers and the parade of women’s finery when the occasion presented itself. Attendance at the church services was the greatest of any of the four war years. The morning masses, services and programs were largely attended in all churches of the city. The sprinkle of rain late in the. afternoon and the heavier rain during the night, brought up the question of the old saying “If it rains on Easter it will rain on the following six Sundays.” That prediction was carried out last year and those who keep track of weather conditions say the same experience befell the community in 1943. Three couples in the county observed their golden wedding anniversaries on Easter and hundreds of friends called on the celebrants to wish them continued marital happiness, health and prosperity. No serious accidents or fires marred the day and as far as known no family received a message from the war department notifying them of the death of a son on the hattiefronts. Many servicemen and several college students were home for the holiday, enhancing the happiness in the home and adding to the family reunion observance, which also marked the day.

British Drive For Bremen And Dutch Seacoast

Immediate Threat 01 Coal Strike Averted Lewis Asks Miners To Stay On Jobs Washington. April 2. — (UP) —The nation was assured today of at least another month of strike-free production in the soft coal fields. The threat of an immediate strike was removed when president John L. Lewis sent Easter Day telegrams to his United Mine Workers, asking them to stay on the job another 30 days under their old contract while he and the mine operators continued efforts to work out a new one. The old contract expired at midnight Saturday. The government, aware of the miners’ policy of “no contract, no work,” appeared ready to seize the mines yesterday when Lewfe announced that he had requested UMW members to stay on the job. The burly mine chieftain said lie was doing so because he was “conscious of the imperative necessity of continuing the production of coal for war.” He and the operators arranged to continue discussions today with the war labor board ready to take a direct hand if there is no substantial progress within a week. The first 30 days of negotiations failed to bring agreement on a single issue. The WLB ordered the contract extension Saturday, • stipulating that any wage adjustments agreed upon should be retroactive to April 1. The operators agreed. But a final obstacle arose when Lewis demanded that they give bond or written guarantee that th.e miners would get any retroactive payment coming to them. That the operators refused to do. The WLB called an unusual Sunday session .yesterday. When it broke up, there was every indication that the government would have to seize the mines to keep soft coal production going. Soon afterward, however, came Lewis’ telegram an- - (Tu>rn To Page 6, Column 5) o Charles B. Niblick Is Taken By Death Funeral Services Tuesday Afternoon Charles Bruce Niblick. 89, retired Wells county farmer, died Saturday evening at the Grace hospital in Fort Wayne of complications following a fractured hip suffered in a fall four months ago. He was born in Wells county March IS, 1856. the son of Robert and Catherine Hartman-Niblick, and resided in that county until five years ago. when he moved to Fort Wayne. He was married to Ellen Clark in 1880 and she died in 1917. He was a member of the United Brethren church at Craigville. Surviving are four sone, Robert of Bluffton, Ross of Wells county, Charles of Fort Wayne and Vernon Nibliqk of Decatur; five daughters, Mrs. Ervin Breiner of Angola. Mrs. Merle Ogg of Fort Wayne, Mrs. Edward Shoe. Mrs. Joe Coffee and Mrs. James Garner, all of Decatur; a brother, George of Montpelier, and a sister, Mrs. Belle Friesner of Pasadena, Calif. Funeral services will he held at 2 o'clock Tuesday afternoon at the Thoma chapel in Bluffton, with the Rev. Virgil Snyder of Craigville officiating. Burial will be in Oaklawn cemetery near Craigville.

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German Resistance Is Reported Broken On British FrontClose Ring On Ruhr Paris. Apr. 2— (UP) —British armored divisions drove more than 15 miles beyond Muenster today and struck for Bremen and the Dutch North Sea ports in a bid to knock out the Nazi V-bomb bases and liberate Holland. Armored vanguards of the British second and Canadian first armies were 74 miles southwest of Bremen. Germany's second port, and about the same distance south of the Dutch seacoast. German resistance was broken all along the broad British front and a swift dash to the coast that would • complete the liberation of Holland appeared well under way. Official reports said the British anti supporting American units were in Muenster and 15 miles beyond at. an undisclosed point. Berlin spokesmen placed the Allies 6 miles farther east on both sides of Bielefeld, 189 miles from Berlin. Remnants of the German 25th army, possibly 50,000 strong, were racing eastward from the Dutch seacoast in disorderly flight to escape the British tank columns closing across their line of retreat. Simultaneously, the American first and ninth armies closed an armored ring around the Ruhr, and perhaps 150.000 crack Nazi troops were trapped in the industrial basin. At the center of the collapsed German battle screen. Lt. Gen. George S. Patton's third army tanks drove more than half-way across the Reich to within 152 miles of Berlin. Field Marshal Sir Bernard L. Montgomery's 21st army group headquarters lifted the security blackout on the British second army today to reveal that the Britons were in and beyond the Westphalian capital of Muenster. 227 miles west of Berlin. Scottish and English veterans of El Alamein and Montgomery's march across North Africa were out in front of the blazing tank drive that promised to clear the Nazis from all Holland in a matter of days and lay open the short road to Berlin. German resistance was reported melting away in the path of the British tanks. The armor rode down die-hard German gun(Turn T<? Page 6, Column 4) — 0 t Bids Are Received By Commissioners Truck And Grader Bids Are Received The county commissioners, in monthly session today, are receiving bids this afternoon on a new three ton truck and a power grader for the county highway department. The estimate on the grader, which is one of the largest pieces of equipment ever purchased by the department, is estimated at $9,100. The county council has appropriated the money for the gradey. The commissioners also announced that Perry Everett, of Root township, has been named supervisor of district one of the county highway system, succeeding Ernest Tumbleson, who was appointed foreman of the state highway crew in this city. The commissioners will give consideration to the wage scale for county highway employes before adjourning.