Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 43, Number 120, Decatur, Adams County, 21 May 1945 — Page 1

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fxuil. No. 120.

AMERICANS VIRTUALLY ENCIRCLE SHURI

ftrshal Tito ■ilhdrawing lorn Austria - ■ — ■Trieste Situation M $ Described As B&emaining Tense IB—- May 21—(UP)—Marwithdrew all 20,000 ■K. hv from Austrian today and expressed to come to an agreewith the western Allies on of disputed Veniprovince in northeast the same time, however,.Tito , Pl i his ‘■indignation and 'nKrisi'." over Marshal Sir Har- " ■ :LG. Alexander’s allegation ■ Yugoslavia's attitude in the IMzia Giulia dispute was “all ■■reminiscent of Hitler, Musand Japan.' declare that Yugoslavia is to cooperate and come Jo nt on a basis it hich iMuut lie insulting or humiliatg&jl to Yugoslavia as an Ally,” said. reply to Alexander, suAllied commander 'in the was carried by Bl Soviet Tass agency from as the United States ||M Britain engaged in new disSKimis looking toward a soluof the deadlock. ■Hie next step may be an Angloattempt to gain Mossupport for the western insistence that the Yugoquit northeast Italy. L. Roper, United Press reported from that the situation in that center of iiie Venizia Giulia remained ‘‘extremely 3Bn American battalion which UHI been sent to Trieste to nrea united Allied front with||Kv and rejoined the remainder Hist division in the Gorizia to avoid supply problems event of hostilities. Roper and New Zealand forces in Trieste, along with ■■even greater number of Yugotroops. Some 1,300 of Tito’s ■ paraded through Trieste 13 American-made light throe British-made armored a German-made light tank, ■■German guns and two light guns in. a show of yesterday. Igßoine 20,000 other Yugoslav were withdrawing from Carinthia, though Yugosources cautioned that this not mean they were giving claim to the territory at ■■peace table. The withdrawal to he completed tonight. withdrawal followed close Alexander's statement Satur,llat Tito was refusing to live 'SS* 1 ' his agreement to permit of the western Allies to disputed territory in both jjy an( ' Austria pending the n^H Tur " To Page 2, Column G) ~~ dm ~ jB Infant Dies At Hospital arry ' six-day-old son of Gerald ScherryUeok, of near died at 10 o’clock this ggßMgat the (Adams county memSurviving are the ■ ■*nts. a twin (brother, Terry, and Cook of Monroe. services will be held at Tuesday morning at the IH? fun - ral home, with burial in cemetery. — 0 « °' RAT thermometer iIIMnI MPERATURE reading ■X’' m 62 M 0 0" 7 5 si K 3 LEATHER ■L, y cl,)uc, y south. Cloudy ULnZ ttereil lowers and >K n t t ? rms in north porjH^nonnT 1 ’ nd Tuesda y iwlr,. ‘ Fair Tuesday afterBL ' Conti nued warm to|K xtf o s° aler Tuesday. Rath Bi;ht , B * out herly winds to’m!n» w 'sterly jKoo n , y> diminishing in after-

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER IN ADAMS COUNTY

Japanese Reiterate Peace Feeler Denial 'Ry United Press Japan reiterated its denial of peace feelers today and mobilized 20,0(10,000 students for the defense of the Homeland. 'Sadao Iguohi, spokesman for the Japanese board of information, was quoted by the Tokyo radio as staying that Japanese “at no time, at no place and through no channel whatsoever has ever proposed peace to the United States and Britain.” —o —— Big Five In Agreement On Security Plan Regional Security Solution Is Reached By Leading Nations San Francisco, May 21 —(UP) —The big five powers submitted to the United Nations conference today a plan for linking the inter-American and world security systems without jeopardizing a nation’s right of self defense or the historic principles of the Monroe doctrine.

The big five agreement ended two weeks of controversy and raised official hope of adjournment early in June. ' The regional solution specifically recognizes the right of a state or group of states to act in self defense without prior approval of the world organization. Untjer the Yalta voting formula for the new league, the United States would always have a veto over any “outside” interference in this hemisphere by the world security council. The agreement acknowledges the world organization as the ultimate paramount authority in all enforcement action. But in case an attack occurs on a member state, it acknowledges “the inherent right of individual or collective self defense . . . until the security council has taken the measures necessary to maintain international peace and security.” The Latin American nations originated the regional dispute with their demands that the interAmerican security system, as ■formalized in the act of chapultepec, be given complete autonomy from the world organization. The big five plan was the best obtainable compromise and was understood to have the backing of major Latin American countries, thereby assuring the approval by the council . In. the speedup campaign the (Turn To Pagie 2. Column 4) 0 Two Arrests Made Here Over Weekend Window Peeper And Drunk Driver Held Two arrests were made by city police officers over the week-end, one case being placed in the Adams circuit court and the other in mayor’s court. James Summers of this city was arraigned before Mayor John StUlts in mayor’s court this morning on a charge of window peeping. The affidavit was signed by Ed Miller, chief of police. Summers was charged with peeping into a window at the Charles Lehrman residence, 727 North Third street, at about 1 a. m. last Saturday. More evidence is to be presented to the court and Summers was remanded to the county jail, a second arraignment of the defendant being scheduled for 3 o’clock Tuesday afternoon in mayor’s court. Floyd Hullinger will be arraigned in Adams circuit court today on a charge of driving an automobile while under the influence of intoxicating liquor. The affidavit was signed by Robert Hill, city police- officer, who arrested Hullinger on Winchester street, near the Hite grocery at about 1 o’clock Sunday morning. He was placed in the county jail over Sunday.

Marines Blast Japs From Okinawa Cave Hideouts I I ’ j tvl BggOjHg& » ± WITH TRIGGER FINGERS TENSE, a group of Leathernecks cover the entrance of a cave on Okinawa where they had just exploded a charge to drive out Japs holed up in it. Such enemy positions as this formed a “Little Siegfried Line” before Naha and slowed the American advance on the capital city. The fight for that' objective is now being waged with the utmost savagery. Marine Corps photo.

Baccalaureate Rites Held Sunday Night Rev. Wm. C. Feller Speaks To Graduates Baccalaureate services for the 79 graduates of the Decatur Jun-ior-senior high school were held at the school auditorium Sunday evening, with the Rev. William C. Feller, pastor of the Zion Evangelical and Reformed church, delivering the baccalaureate sermon. Special music for the service was presented by the school glee club, under the direction of Miss Helen Haubold, supervisor of music in the Decatur public schools. The invocation and scripture lesson were read by the Rev. John W. McPheeters, Jr., pastor of the First Presbyterian church, and the paryer and benediction by the Rev. Glen Marshall, pastor of the Church of God. Excerpts from the Rev. Feller’s baccalaureate sermon, “Facing the Mystery and Adventure of Tomorrow,” follow: “It has fallen to your lot to live in a day of great changes. One world-shaking event has followed hard upon the heels of another, during the past few years. As to what is to take place tomorrow, no one. knows. Whether the future holds for you laughter or tears, pain or pleasure, we cannot tell. Tomorrow with its mystery and uncertainty lias before you. How will you face it? Face it you must. “Face the mysterious adventure of tomorrow with a clearer vision, a clearer vision of God’s way for the world, which is away of brotherhood, and then get a vision of your own place and task in His great plan. “Face tomorrow with a larger, deeper faith. That faith is a living, yet quiet faith. It is trustfulness. “Face tomorrow with a broader sympathy. The world becomes rich through the ministry of overflowing hearts. “Lastly, face tomorrow with a nobler enthusiasm. Wherever you are, be wholly there. The cause of many of our failures is not lack of talents but lack of enthusiasm and zeal. "It is not enough, to have seen a vision, you must live up to it, seek to bring it to fulfillment. It is not enough to profess a faith, you must live it out. It is not enough to declare your sympathy for humanity, you must stoop and reach out to help. It is not enough to play the game today and then rest on your laurels tomorrow, you must ever go out to meet the great adventure of the morrow.” Commencement exercises for (Turn To Page 2, Column 1)

Decatur, Indiana, Monday, May 21,1945.

Unidentified Man Found Dead Today Fort Wayne, Ind., May 20 —(UP) An unidentified man, between 65 and 70 years bld was found dead beside the tracks of the Pennsylvania railroad, three-fourths of a mile east of the Hadley road crossing yesterday. ‘An autopsy revealed that the man had suffered a skull fracture. o— Awarded Trips To Leader Conference 4-H Club Leaders To State Conference Announcement was made today by Anna K. Williams, county 4-H club leader, that Gloria Rieseii of the Berne Jolly Workers club and Melvin overling of the Preble CFV FFF club, have been awarded a trip to the Indiana junior leadership*training conference to be held at Indiana Central college June 4,5, 6 and 7. Melvin Werling is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Werling, living just north of Preble. This is the third year he has been the junior leader in charge of his club. Last year under his leadership, the club received its charter and 91 (Turn To Page 2. Column 8)

Fred Coffee Parachutes From Plane, Fired On By Japanese

While Fred Coffee, AMM 3/c, a gunner on a navy Torpedo plane was parachuting from his plane over the Pacific, the Japs shot at him, three bullets piercing his parachute, he has written to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Adrian Coffee of 503 N. Fifth street. The Japs had shot down the plane in which he was flying, killing the navy pilot. The plane had taken off from an aircraft carrier and was on a specified mission when the tragedy occurred. Gunner Coffee baled out and was sailing over the broad Pacific, when the unsportsman-like Japs fired on him. Gunner Coffee landed in the water and*was rescued after three hours by men in a small patrol boat. A patrol plane in the area of battle dropped a rubber raft to Fred, which, after considerable difficulty, he succeeded in inflating. Fred was severely burned on arms, legs and face by the exploding gasoline from the Torpedo plane. Following his rescue he was taken to a hospital somewhere in the Pacific war area. In his letter to his parents, which was approved by the censor, Fred stated the pilot of the plane was winging down to make

Fort Wayne Airman Hero In Philippines Saves Americans By Downing Transport Manila, May 21.—(UP)—One of the strangest stories to come out of the Philippines campaign is that of an army airforce captain who became a hero by deliberately shooting down an American transport plane filled with American personnel. He was Capt. Louis E. Curdes, Fort Wayne, Ind., Mustang fighter pilot who won the Distinguished Flying Cross and compiled a record of seven German planes and one Italian plane shot down in the Mediterranean. But his career was climaxed one day during the battle of the Philippines when he donned a Japanese reconnaissance plane over Formosa and on his return calmly shot down the American C-47 transport. Curdes and other members of his squadron were strafing Japanese airstrip on Bataan island. Halfway betvyeen Formosa and Luzon, when he saw the American transport coming in for a landing, apparently not knowing the strip was occupied by Japanese. Curdues tried to contact the C-47 pilot by radio but failed. Then he (Turn To Page 5, Column 1)

■Oil*'’ * 4H fl Fred Coffee, left, pictured with naval officer. an attack on an island target, when Jap fire struck their ship. The plane caught fire and his only alternative was to bail out, trusting to Providence that he would be rescued. Fred entered the navy in February 1943. and served six months in the Atlantic before going to the Pacific.

Marines Employ Flaming Oil To Drive Japanese Out Os Fortifications

Japs' Luzon Pocket Split By Americans Another Airfield Taken On Mindanao Manila, May 21—(UP)—American troops, killing almost a thousand Japanese daily in the Philippines, split open an enemy pocket on Luzon and seized another airfield on Mindanao, it was announced today. Gen. Douglas C. MacArthur announced 13,866 Japanese were I killed in the Philippines in the past two weeks. Only 602 prisoners were taken. These figures brought the total of Japanese killed or captured in the Philippines campaign since the Leyte landing seven months ago yesterday to 369,818. The 43rd division drove a wedge through a force of several thousand Jaanese on Luzon by opening the highway from Novaliches, five miles north of Manila, to Ipo dam. The dam itself* was taken two days ago. Doughboys broke through the heart of the enemy pocket after a blistering, 1,000-ton fire raid on Japanese positions by over 250 lightning, thunderbolt, and mustang fighter-bombers as jellied gasoline bombs poured fire on them, the Japanese tried desperately to bring down the attacking planes with mortar shells. On the east coast of Luzon, in a leapfrogging shore-to-shore operation. Filipino guerrilas landed at Dinachican Point, 48 miles east of Manila and six miles below the port town of Infanta. On Mindanao island the 24 th division seized Sasa airdrome north of Davao and advanced two miles beyond it to enter the village of Panacan. o War Heroes Honored By President Truman

Highest Military Honor To Sergeant Washington, May 21 — (UP) — President Truman today personally presented the medal of honor to T/ Sgt. James W. Lindsey in a ceremony of tribute (before congress to t he growing list of heroes who have served their country beyond the call of duty.” iThe 24-yoar-old soldier from LuMiss., was the 223rd serviceman snd 100th infantry man in this war to he awarded the. nation's highest military honor. He w<as tihe first, however, to receive 44 ’directly from the President in the presence of both houses of congress and the country's highest military and civil leaders. Mr. Truman, seeing in the ceremony a symbol of %he nation’s power and courage, noted that “it finds us striking devastating blows in the Pacific” where “<we are preparing to strike them later in overwhelming force." 'Lindseys’ grelat deeds, performed against superior forces in Germany last November, stemmed straight from his own, personal courage, the 'President said. “Those decisions came from his own heart; they were a flash of the ndbility which we like to think is a part of every American,” Mr. Truman said. The ceremony took place in a hushed house chamber. Seated on the front row to the left of the speaker’s rostrum were the rero's eflosest relatives—his father and mother, 'Mr. and Mrs, Jake L. Lindsey, and his sister, Mrs. Pauline Smith, all of Lucedale. Lindsey whs accompanied to the Chamber, where the cabinet and a host of foreign diplomats gathered, by Gen. George C. Marshall, army chief of staff. Marshall solemnly read the cita(Turn To Page 5, Column 2)

Army Discharge Age Reduced To 40 Years Army Enlisted Men 40 Or Older Made Eligible By Ruling Washington, May 21 — (UP) — Army enlisted men aged 40 or older were made eligible today for discharge on their own application. The ruling applies to all such men whose service record is honorable. This represents a lowering of the discharge age from 42 years, which became effective last April 17. The reduction of the age bracket affects about 30,000 enlisted men in the 40 and 41-year age groups. When the military situation permits, a further reduction will be made in the age limit, the war department disclosed. These discharges are separate from those made on the point system which applies to all ages. The new policy is also applicable to enlisted Wacs 40 and older who have served for one year or more. Eight thousand enlisted Wacs are eligible to apply under this policy. Commanders will be permitted to retain for 90 days any eligible man who applies for discharge under this policy for whom a replacement is not immediately available. The war department said the discharge age cannot be reduced below 40 “at this time without jeopardizing military operations (Turn To Page 5, Column 7) o British Labor Party To Force Election London. May 21 —(UP) — The Labor party decided today to break away from the coalition government and force a British election despite an urgent plea by Prime Minister Churchill to put off polities until Japan is defeated. Meeting at 'Blackpool, the labor ’ party rejected Churchill’s propos- ' al to continue the coalition government and offered to go to the polls 1 at any time. The step meant the death in a short time — possibly ■ next month —of the government ' Churchill formed five years ago to 1 guide ißritain to victory in Euiope.

Two Trucks Collide At Street Crossing Schafer Employes Injured In Crash -Dorphus Drum, driver, and L. R. ('Rudy) IMeyer of the Schafer Store, were injured this morning in a truck collision at the corner of Fifth and Monroe streets, when the Schafer truck was struck by an oil truck driven by Wendell Gerber of Bluffton. (Mr. Drum was backing into Monroe street from Fifth street. The oil truck was driving east on Monroe street when the two collided. Mr. Drum received cuts and bruises on his face and arms and was taken to the hospital, where medical treatment was given. He was released. Mr. Meyer (was standing in the truck, and enclosed body type, and was thrown into the street. He received cuts and bruises, but no broken bones. The driver of the oil truck was not injured. Serious damage was done to each truck. Local police investigated and made their report to the state.

l • ®0 Iffortf ■

Price Four Cents.

Bitter Close-Range Battle, Unequaled In Pacific War, Is Raging On Okinawa Guam, May 21 — (UP) — The tenth army on Okinawa sent strong patrols into Yonabaru on the east coast today, while marines used flaming oil to drive Japanese defenders from formidable fortifications guarding the virtually encircled stronghold town of Shuri. front dispatches reported. The Domei (Japanese) news agency said an American fleet again was “on the prowl” off southern Japan. It appeared to he approaching Kyushu for new attacks on the Japanese homeland. Close-range fighting of unsurpassed intensity in the Pacific war raged among the ridges and caves outside Shuri and Yonabaru. Army patrols, dispatched by Maj. Gen. John R. Hodge of the 24th corps, penetrated Yonabaru and found but few Japanese. The enemy apparently has been moving out of the town during daylight hours when American artillery spotters are overhead. The first marine • division—one of the three enveloping Shuri—blazed a fiery path toward the ancient stronghold which tho Japanese were defending with do-or-die desperation. Front dispatches said leathernecks poured fuel into coral cave? and hill-side fortifications, igniting it with exploding grenades. Sheets of flame shot skyward, casting a pinkish glow on Shuri, directly ahead, and killing or routing the defenders. Anti-tank gunners used their big weapons like rifles, firing them point-blank at slits in coral pillboxes. Savage ground fighting progressed under cover of the heaviest land, sea and air bombardment of the Pacific war. It appeared the heaviest ground assault was being directed at Shuri. Except for patrols, the 96th division has not yet entered Yonabaru in strength. Final attacks against. Naha, ruhble-heaped west coast port and capital Shuri campaign. The first marine division on the northwest plunged ahead 800 yards to within 200 yards of Shuri. The 77th army division battled within 900 yards northeast of the town ami the 96th army division on the east rushed 1,600 yards to the outskirts of Shuri. Field reports said all three divisions had broken through Shuri’s defense perimeter—loose--1 ly defined as the Shuri citadel—- • but had not penetrated the town itself. Maj. Gen. John R. Hodge, commander of the 24th army corps, said the Japanese appeared determined to defend Shuri at all costs. “They’ve chosen their holes and, like gophers, they don’t get more than 20 feet out of them,” he said. “Shuri, will be cracked, though. You can bet on that.” Hodge said the conquest of • Shuri might take another month, • although he believed it would t fall sooner. Other sources sugf , (Turn To Pag-e 4, Column 6) 1 (HUCKIES by Ken Reynolds Ki i ! lbw 'XI — -zZ? i : “Instead of selliix’ that pup with i a Democrat Want Ad, let’s put I him in the army—it will make a dog out of him!”