Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 16 December 1942 — Page 17
HAS FRONT SEAT) EEE | AT NAVY BATILE
EM OUT AND BUY WAR SAV-" INGS STAMPS, INCIDENTALLY,
r 3 INA BUST ED," | ¢ IS VIGTORY CRY
1) Yankees March Into Key VE THE “Base and Collect Stray | EAL CO, Tors, ~~ Japs and Souvenirs.
. By FRANK HEWLETT f "United Press Staff Correspondent
WITH AMERICAN FORCES AT BUNA, Dec. 14—(Delayed —Eager| young American soldiers, bayonets
Marine Sergeant on Cliff Watches U. S. Force Rout Jap Fleet.
Here is an eyewitness account | ‘of a battleship action in the Solo- | mons on the night of Nov. 15, when American forces won one of the greatest naval victories of
glistening in early morning sunlight, stormed and captured Buna
village, a key Japanese base, today
in the first all-American show of
the New Guinea campaign.
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"The attack was opened at 7 a. m. with an artillery and mortar barrage only 100 yards ahead of the advancing infantrymen. Its climgx came at 9 a. m. when the colonel in command received this’ message from the unit commander which stormed the village: “Buna busted.” In face of direct enemy fire which, surprisingly, caused only a small number of casualties, the Americans fought through pill boxes and machine gun nests to attack the main enemy force from two sides. They joined in the village. The firing dwindled gradually until there were only spasmodic machine gun bursts and single rifie shots. The pall of smoke over the front lifted, © Hunt Jap Snipers
- A few hours later the colonel had to tell his soldiers in ‘the village to stop hunting ¢souvenirs and start hunting Japanese stragglers and snipers in the surrounding ccuntry. Now, at 8 p. m,, some Yanks are wearing Japanese shirts and trougers, Others have Japanese leather belts and :ness kits. Most popular are the rubber-soled tabis, the Japanese canvas shoes with a special big-toe section, designed especially for tree climbing. The colonel has suggested’ that we had better lzave the village beCause we are in plain view of Japanese mortar observers. across the bay at Buna Mission. The victory today was no pushover. It was possible only because it was well-planned and executed. Particularly outstanding in the days before the assault was" the counter-sniping of the Americans. Our marksmen shot down many Japanese from the banyan trees. The Americans have little respect for Japanese snipers’ markmanship and are not falling for the enemy booby traps and other tricks.
Important in Strategy
The capture of Buna means much more than the half dozen native huts and the score of cocoa palms which are the principal features of the village proper. Strategically it means that the Americans now hold a substantial beachhead at the river mouth, the best landing for boats in this area. Moreover a substantial number of troops have been freed for a new drive on nearby Buna Mission and the final cleaning out of the enemy in this area. The victory came after three weeks of fighting in which both sides suffered substantial casualties and nine days after a small American party punched through to the sea isolated the village from the Japanese forces at the mission. I accompanied the main storming force after living in the front for three days awaiting the kill. The only other correspondent to witness the attack was George Strock, photographer for Life magazine, who kept his camera clicking throughout despite malaria which hag since sent him to hospital.
GARE URGED IN USING FUEL OIL COUPONS
The weekly report on fuel oil consumption for the Indianapolis area issued today by the OPA, shows that homeowners should not have used —as8 of yesterday—more than 38 per cent of their ration for period 2.
A week from today, Dec. 22, not more than 60 per cent should have been consumed. The ration for the second heating period is designated by the coupons numbered 2 on the fuel oil coupon ‘sheets. The fuel oil allotment for each heating period, of which there are a total of five, should be carefully budgeted. Consumers who exhaust their allotment before the period ends will be unable to replenish their supply until the next period coupons become valid. Period 2 extends from Nov. 30 to Jan. 6 in zone A; from Dec. 3 to Jan. § in zone B; from Dec. 4 to Jan. 4 in zone C, and from Dec. 6 to Jan. 2 in zone D. Coupons for the current period (period 2) remain valid for purchases during the initial weeks of period 3.
9 T0 BE QUIZZED
Spend 7 Hours in Cold Near Wreckage Where 17 Were Killed. -
FAIRFIELD, Utah, Dec. 16 (U. P.).—Investigators hoped to question at least one of the two survivors today in an effort to de-
IN PLANE CRASH
the war.
By SERGT, JAMES W. HURLBUT
Marine Corps Combat Correspondent Distributed hy United Press
115 (Delayed). —From a cliff overlooking the ocean, I watched an
American task force last night engage Japanese in one phase of what may be the greatest naval victory of the war. : Early yesterday we heard that a sizable ‘Jap force was heading our way—25 war vessels and 12 transports. Until 7 o'clock we had no word of the location of our ships. Then we heard: “U. 8S. battleships are headed this way and will be in time to intercept the enemy.” I climbed to an outpost on top
termine the cause of a Western Air Lines plane crash in Cedar Valley | which killed four women and 13 men. : Lieut. A. F. Gardner, 23, Moline, | Ill, a marine, and Robert V. Mallett, Springfield, Ark,, the survivors who spent; almost seven hours of a cold night beside the wreckage on the sagebrush-covered valley floor waiting for help, were both in a hospital at Lehi, Utah.
CAPS Find Wreckage
The wreckage of the plane, en route from Salt Lake City. to Los Angeles, was discovered by Merrill Christopher and Casper Wolf, octh of the Provo, Utah, civil air pa*rol fliers and among the 20 CAP pilots called to search ror the plane after it was reported missing. Wolf landed near the wreckage, made the survivors as comfortable as he could, then took off to bring back aid. Capt. Sherman Falkenrath, executive officer of the Utah CAP, said the pilot ana co-pilot had been thrown through the nose of the plane, while most of the passengers and seats in the plane were wedged up in front ‘inside the cabin. Capt. Falkenrath believed the plane had plummeted almost straight down.
COUNTY TO RETAIN FIFTEEN EMPLOYEES
County commissioners today reappointed 15 county employees, including department heads.
attorney; Dr. G. P. Silvers, county dentist; Dr. A. M. Hetherington, county health director; Dr. John Briggs, county jail physician; Dr. John Pfaff, county infirmary physician; Mrs. ‘Fern E. Norris, clerk; Mrs. Dorothy Smith, stenographer; Senton Bluestein, courthouse chief custodian; Ray Delvin, maintenance chief. William Gray, chief county garage mechanic; Benton C. McMurtry, county garage mechanic; Clyde Pierce, in charge of landscapes; Neville Zumpfe, courthouse concessions; Mrs. Bertha Hayes, information clerk.
SCIENCE LECTURER HEARD AT MURAT
Communion with God is the most
They were: Victor Jose Jr., county flashes blazed from the southwest
| flash was further away.
of Tulagi's cliff. Three hours later four destroyers moved our way] around tige north end of Savo island. After several minutes battleships appeared. A navy signal man peered through binoculars. “They are ours all right,” he said. “There come the battle wagons.” The lookout shifted his glasses. !
The Japs Approach
“Wait a minute; Two more destroyers just came around Savo. A third is coming down from the tip of Florida, but they're not ours. They look like Jap destroyers. “They're moving out into the channel. Now" they're all in line. They must have seen something. They've all turned around and are going like hell for the west side of Savo.” At this point a tremendous burst of light slit the gloom near Lunga point. In a few minutes the whole sky was ablaze with mushrooms of flame from battleship turrets. A red glow suddenly stained the clouds above Savo. ; «“There’s a hit,” the navy signalman cried.
Another Ship Hit
More firing. The battleships were moving steadily north and west. Big flashes were coming from the tip of Cape Esperance (Guadalcanal). Now there was another eruption of red flame. This time it was right at the south edge of Savo. Apparently a Jap vessel had been hit, “She’s burning pretty good,” the lookout said. Ten minutes later two heavy
end of Savo. Then there were heavy yellow blasts from the north. It was not destroyer fire—much too heavy for that. Then the whole sky beyond the yellow flashes was lit up by scores of star shells.
Flares Silhouette Japs
“Those are our star shells. They're firing them beyond the Nips to silhouette the Nips.” The fighting was terrific. Every minute or so a red flash signalled a hit. The two forces stood toe-to-toe and slugged it out. Then the slugging mat#h turned into a chase. And it was a chase to the northwest. Each hright white
“Well,” -the lookout said, ‘“somebody’s running—and it ain't us.”
holy and sacred privilege we have, Harry C. Browne, C. S., of Boston,
ture last night at the Murat the-
ater. In his talk, entitled, “Christian!
Healing Presence,” Mr, Browne said, “Perfect prayer consists not in the multitude of words, but in the strength of the pure desire which raises the thought toward God.” The lecture was under the auspices of the Second Church of Christ, Scientist. Mr. Browne is a member of the board of lectureship of the -Mother Church, the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston. ’
WARDENS SPONSOR MOVIE
District 34 air raid wardens will sponsor a movie and lecture tonight at the World War Memorial. The Red Cross blood donor center will give a demonstration of procedure.
HOOSIER GETS MEDAL Harold O. Davies, seaman first class, of Dillsboro, Ind., was among the seven officers and 11 enlisted: men awarded the silver star medal by President Roosevelt today.
Today's War Moves
By LOUIS F. KEEMLE United Press ‘War Analyst ~The North African campaign appears to have ‘developed into a race for Tunisia, where the Germans are preparing to make their last stand on the southern shores of the Mediterranean. Because of allied pressure from the west, it seems probable that Marshal Erwin Rommel will not fight even a delaying action in Libya, but will get his troops
and equipment into southeastern
form a line which will protect the rear of vital Bizerte and Tunis. The contest is esseritially for the eastern coastal strip of Tunisia,
covering Bizerfe, Tunis, Sousse, Sfax| and Gabes, spread from north to south along the coast to the Libyan
border. Rommel is reported by Spanish sources to be already in Tripoli to organize a defense line across the border.’ According to these reports, he may be preparing to stand on a line Yunning from below Gabes, on the coast, about 100 miles inland to the Dahar mountains, “This position would be close to the Ab, er. Rommel would have rear the Mareth line, which
‘by the French to re-
Tunisia as quickly as possible to
is a formidable defense system and much stronger than anything Rommel could improvise in Libya under pressure of time. Rommel, although beaten in Egypt and Libya, is thus still a formidable factor in the struggle for Tunisia. He has perhaps about 40,000 men, which would raise the axis strength in Tunisia to between 75,000 and 100,000. His tanks and mechanized equipment are not intact, but they have been moved ahead of the pursuing British Eighth army so fast that only the allied air force has
declared in a Christian Science lec- | M AN AGERS CH AN GED
Science: The Revelation of God's|Managership
5 AUTO TAG BRANCH
Five more auto license branch changes were announced today by Secretary of State Rue Alexander. At Noblesville, Mrs, Edward Nance, Hamilton county G. O. P. vice chairman, was named branch manager, succeeding Warren Day, newly appointed state securities commissioner. R. Ray Banker was named branch manager at Shelbyville, succeeding Mrs. Ruby Bassett; Harry C. Miller was appointed at North Judson, replacing Alvin Kubik; James Skammerhorn, former eighth district Republican chairman, was named at Rockport, succeding Miss Jamie L. Billingsly, and Frank Hayworth replaced Virgil Vaught at Rockville.
PILGRIM SHRINE TO MEET
Pilgrim shrine will hold a Christmas ceremonial at 8 p. m. tomorrow in Castle Hall. Members will contribute gifts for Christmas baskets.
Communiques
MacARTHUR COMMUNIQUE (Issuvd Wednesday, Dec. 16)
NORTHEASTERN BECTOR:
NEW GUINEA, Buna Area—Our troops maintained heavy pressure on the enemy in all sectors. Our air force continued incessant bombing and strafing attacks throughout the day on remnants of the enemy landing force at the mouth of the Mambare river. The entire area was strewn with derelict barges, wreckage and enemy dead. Port Moresby—An enemy plane, under the cover of darkness, dropped bombs harmlessly.
Lae—An allied heavy unit bombed the airdrome, NEW BRITAIN — Gasmata — An allied heavy unit attacked by 12 enemy fighters, downed three of them and damaged two others in -aerfal combat. An allied heavy unit, under the ‘cover of night, raided the airdrome dispersal area. NORTHWESTERN SECTOR: Reconnaissance activity only.
NAVY COMMUNIQUE 221
(Issued Wednesday, Dec. 16) (All Dates East Longitude) SOUTH PACIFIC:
1. On Dec. 13, U. 8. patrols on Guadalcanal island destroyed two Japanese maichine gun positions and killed both gun crews. \ 2. On Dec. 14, U. 8. bombers" attacked the enemy field at Buin on the island of Bougainville, No enemy aircraft were encountered and no anti-aircraft Shpoeision was met. Results were not repo . 3, On Dec, 15, at noon, a SiHking force
of cana
been able to put much of it out of | Munda on
marine corps dive bom! attacked Japanese
TULAGI, Solomon Islands, Nov.|
rs ¥ adel} No enemy
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BALBRIGGAN GOWNS
Nice and warm for chilly nights — but light and comfortable for sleeping. Easy to wash and never need ironing.
Tea rose and blue, piped in white, 34-40,
1.65
Knit Underwear—Street Floor
Ayresheer Rayon Hose
Afternoon weight that she'll love. Sheer, silk-like and with "won't show" cotton foot reinforcements that greatly increase their durability. ‘
1.19 pair
Hosiery—Street Floor
FINE WHITE SCARFS
Any woman will like one of these because all women like the freshness of a white scarf against dark coats. In jacquard patterns on rayon satin.
1.00
Scarf Shop—Street Floor
DEBON-AYRE GLOVES
Suede finished washable lambskin in a 4-button style that pleases any woman;
~ goes with svery type of costume. Very I
rich-looking in black or brown,
2.50
Gloves—Street Floor
= p= =
BROADCLOTH BAGS
Soft styles with handsome frames in black broadcloth that she'll carry with every- . thing. Rich-looking—and won't rub off on her light gloves. Variety of styles.
2.00
Handbags—Street Floor
Lovely Sheer SCARFS
Long styles that look beautiful over the head as well as around the throat. Of ‘rayon chiffon in exquisite ''rainbow" colorings.
1.00
Scarf Shop—Street Floor
SMOOTH-FITTING
«Strydefree” PANTIES
Band panties, step-ins, trunks, briefs, tights and vests—in Dutchess "Star-Glo™ rayon undies. Easy to, wash:and no iron-
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69 Knit Underwear—Street Floor
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“JUST LIKE DADS”
Boys’ Boxed HANKIES
Good-looking and sturdy with colored
‘woven borders so he can mix or match
with his shirt and tie. Gift packed, 3 to a box, in various color combinations.
59
Handkerchief Shop—Street Floor
IF SHE MUST TRAVEL GIVE HER THIS SET!
Washable matched set, “leather bound and covered in brown canvas with 2-tone stripes. The 21-inch wardrobe. Choice of 18-inch or 21-inch week-end .case.
Both for 15.95
Luggage—Eighth Floor