America at war! (1941– ) (Part 1)

331

Pearl Harbor probers ask civilian testimony

Honolulu, Hawaii (UP) –
Supreme Court Justice Owen J. Roberts and his committee investigating responsibility for the Pearl Harbor attack held sessions today in a heavily-guarded room of the swank Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

All citizens with “personal knowledge of the facts” were ordered to appear tomorrow.

The commission has already conferred with high Army and Navy officials, and is now seeking testimony from civilians on possible dereliction of duty or errors of judgment.

War cost will total $427 per person

Washington (UP) –
War cost estimates by President Roosevelt for the fiscal year 1943 will amount to $427.48 for every man, woman and child in the United States.

Mr. Roosevelt projected expenditures of $56 billion for the fiscal year which starts this July 1, as against U.S. gold reserves of $22,700,000,000.

The per capital cost of the program is based on 1940 population figures of 131,000,000.

Stowe: Here’s how U.S. ‘tourists’ got into Chinese Air Force

High-paid volunteers from U.S. forces went to the Far East as ‘acrobats, artists,’ Stowe reveals
By Leland Stowe

Rangoon, Burma –
Flying and fighting alongside their comrades of the Royal Air Force here, pilots of the American Volunteer Group in the Chinese Air Force played a very considerable, perhaps historically important, role on Christmas Day in dealing the Japanese Air Force its first great defeat, knocking out at least one of every four Nipponese planes.

Since this is an established fact and since they are still holding the first joint Anglo-American serial front formed in World War II, the folks at home may wonder just how the flying Yanks happened to be here and in China at the moment the Jap blitz was launched.

Burma was the one place where British and U.S. aviation together first met Jap aerial attacks. The American pilots who shared this accomplishment were virtually smuggled across the Pacific and into the Chinese Air Force months ago.

Came as mercenaries

The word “volunteer” is a misnomer in a sense since the Americans came to the Far East as mercenary pilots assured of incomes of approximately $600 a month and promised a bonus of $500 for every Jap plane they shot down. This arrangement still holds despite the United States’ involvement in the war because they are under contract to the Chinese government.

These volunteers had resigned their commissions as pilots or enlistments as mechanics and other ground personnel in the U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps late last spring when offered privately an opportunity to earn big money by joining the Chinese Air Force.

The original idea of the volunteers was hatched by two Americans who had long cooperated in supplying the Chinese with fighting planes. They were William Pawley, of Miami, Florida, president of the Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company, and its Chinese subsidiary, the Intercontinental Corporation, and his associate, Cdr. B. G. Leighton.

Has plant in China

Intercontinental already had an airplane plant in China so Pawley, in answer to Chinese requests, worked out a plan to obtain experienced American pilots from our defense forces and bring them to China.

This probably never would have been worked out had not the U.S. government committed itself to the greatest possible aid to China.

Accordingly, Mr. Pawley’s Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company assumed private responsibility for recruiting aviators and transporting them to China.

For its professional military direction, Col. C. L. Chennault, retired U.S. Army Air Force officer, was already available since he had trained and directed the Chinese Air Force for the past four years. Officers who have long served with Col. Chennault – now a Chinese general – call him the “Old Fox” because Chinese pilots following his directions have often punished the Japanese surprisingly against heavy odds.

Traveled as ‘tourists’

How long these fliers may continue to serve as a unit of the Chinese Air Force is not yet clear, but it may be taken for granted – despite the fact that these fliers are now grossly overpaid compared with any other airmen involved in the war against the Axis – that the Chinese government will do its utmost to hold onto them as long as possible.

These volunteers traveled as “tourists” en route to the Far East. When they reached Singapore, one registered at a hotel as a retired acrobat, another as an artist. Noticing the bold signature “MacGarrow – artist,” a British correspondent accosted one of the Yankees and asked for MacGarrow saying he wanted him to do some sketches of Singapore. The youngster acted very surprised and said:

Sorry, brother, afraid he can’t do it.

“Why?” asked the British correspondent. The smuggled American “tourist” leaned forward and replied:

Confidentially, he can’t draw a line.

332

U.S. War Department (January 7, 1942)

Communiqué No. 48

Philippine Theater.
Additional information received relative to the successful attack by U.S. bombing planes on units of the Japanese Navy near Davao indicates that the damage inflicted on enemy vessels was probably greater than was at first reported. The Japanese fleet consisted of one battleship, five cruisers, six destroyers, 12 submarines, and 12 transports. As previously reported, three direct hits were scored on the battleship and it now seems probable that more than one destroyer was sunk. Numerous hits on other vessels are believed to have caused extensive damage.

The Commanding General, USAFFE, reports that occupying Japanese troops in Manila are circulating large quantities of paper money in various denominations. These bills are clever imitations in color and texture of Philippine currency, substituting the Japanese government for the commonwealth’s government. Large amounts of these bills have apparently been issued to Japanese soldiers. The nature of the currency indicates that it was prepared a long time in advance of the invasion and is further proof of the long-range preparation of the Japanese for the attack on the Philippines.

There is nothing to report from other areas.

Communiqué No. 49

Philippine Theater.
Heavy fighting has been resumed along the entire front with the enemy increasing pressure at all points. Frontlines of U.S. and Philippine troops are being continuously bombed and machine-gunned by enemy aircraft. Defending troops are continuing their steady and valiant resistance.

The fortifications on Corregidor Island and installations on Bataan Peninsula were again bombed for several hours yesterday. The extent of damage and casualties has not yet been determined. It is estimated that at least 45 bombers participated in this attack. Several hostile planes were hit by our anti-aircraft fire.

There is nothing to report from other areas.

333

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (January 7, 1942)

New demands put on aliens

Enemy nationals must give up arms

Washington (AP) – (Jan. 6)
The Justice Department has announced further limitations on the articles which German, Italian and Japanese nationals may possess.

Already required to surrender radio transmitters, shortwave receivers and hand cameras, these enemy aliens have now been given until 11:00 a.m. Thursday (local time) to turn over to local police departments any of the following articles in their possession:

  • Weapons of implements of war, or component parts thereof;
  • Ammunitions of all kinds;
  • Bombs, explosives or materials used in the manufacture of explosives;
  • Signal devices;
  • Codes or ciphers;
  • Papers, documents or books in which there may be invisible writing;
  • Photographs, sketches, pictures, drawings, maps or graphical representation of any military or naval installations or equipment or of any arms or ammunition.

Will be done, industrialists reply quickly

Plane, tank, shipbuilders undaunted by Roosevelt call

New York (AP) – (Jan. 6)
Industrial leaders from coast to coast responded to President Roosevelt’s call for clouds of planes, swarms of tanks, armadas of shops with resounding pledges that “it will be done.”

Aircraft manufacturers were undaunted by the lifting of the quota for 1942 to 60,000 planes, and 125,000 for 1943 – more than any other country ever dreamed of producing.

Guy W. Vaughan, president of Curtiss-Wright Corporation, the largest American manufacturer of aeronautical products, declared:

I see no reason why, with the coordinated effort Americans are displaying today, the new program he has just called for should not be met.

Al halfway mark

Donald W. Douglas, president of Douglas Aircraft (Santa Monica, California), said:

I am confident that with a united nation, hard work, clear thinking and unselfish devotion by all groups to the country’s welfare in the hour of national peril, the job can be done.

Other businessmen said that while figures on actual plane production are no longer being made public for military reasons, current output was believed to be running not far from half of the 1942 goal set, and with new plants coming into production, materials and manpower being made available, the figure would be met.

A leading tank maker, Duncan W. Fraser, president of American Locomotive – also making gun carriages, shells and other arms equipment – declared:

We have been asked greatly to increase our output and are now adding to our facilities to enable us to meet this request.

He said his company had only one answer: “All-out production.”

Pledge from shipbuilders

The National Council of American Shipbuilders said the industry, given a “constant flow of materials, equipment and uninterrupted service of labor,” could and would meet the huge ship construction objective.

William P. Witherow, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, said the “stupendous” program would be accomplished “if it is within the realm of possibility,” but added it had apparently been arrived at “with careful consideration of industry’s capacity.”

Walter S. Tower, president of the American Iron and Steel Institute, said the mighty plan meant diversion of steel from civilian uses, but this would make available equipment and labor for millions of tons for war needs.

Ford is confident

Henry Ford said in Detroit “industry can and will” meet the production quotas. This veteran mass producer said:

If we can make one tank, or none plane, we can make thousands of them. All that is necessary in mass production is to get the first unit right. The rest follow very easily and quickly.

With that greater program underway, the war should come to a speedy end, perhaps in 1943.

Wendell L. Willkie recommended that the President revamp his administrative organization and declared flatly that the goals could not be realized under the present setup.

The 1940 Republican presidential nominee in New York said:

It is a magnificent program. It is to be hoped that he immediately reorganizes his government and policies to the end that these accomplishments may be made possible. They cannot be brought about by his present organization and administrative methods.

Alvan Macauley, president of the Automobile Manufacturers Association and chairman of its recently-created Automotive Council for War Production, said:

We certainly can do it. The defense work in the main is swinging into production. I think the public is going to be surprised at the amount of war production that will come out of the automobile industry this year.

Albert W. Hawkes, president of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, said:

Business accepts the call to patriotic duty.

Comment by others

John L. Collyer, president of the B.F. Goodrich Company:

The President’s message to Congress was a powerful searchlight turned on the long road ahead. Our united and unselfish efforts will assure the President’s forecast of victory.

Eugene E. Wilson, president of the United Aircraft Corporation:

We have been rapidly increasing our production and we’ll continue to expand our output to whatever limits may be necessary to win the war.

Hugh Fenwick, vice president of Vultee Aircraft:

To help meet President Roosevelt’s new request, every man and woman at Vultee will roll their sleeves a little higher and work a little harder, ands we will fulfill the part pf the production assigned to us.

President Robert E. Gross of Lockheed:

We accept unqualifiedly President Roosevelt’s airplane goal; but we’re too busy working at it to talk about it.

P. G. Johnson, president of the Boeing Aircraft Company at Seattle:

We will use every conceivable means to build the greatest possible number of planes in the shortest possible time.

Work for small plants

Labor shortages will grow more acute, almost all but most essential consumer goods made of metals and other scarce materials will gradually disappear from the markets. Food, however, experts said, will be plentiful, and clothing will be adequate, although making millions of uniforms will cut into some supplies.

Business analysts urged small businessmen to go after war business with all their energies, or face shutdowns. Efforts to spread the war work, some explained, have been severely hampered by the time factor. Recent figures issued by OPM showed that 63 big companies were still holding 77% of total orders.

It was noted President Roosevelt stressed two points:

  • Full utilization of existing plants.
  • Conversion of civilian plants to war work.

There is immediate opportunity to increase production of existing plant, some experts said, by finding methods of running more machines 24 hours a day, seven days a week. On top of that, there is much to be done in conversion.

334

Jap fleet hard hit by U.S. bombs

Extensive damage, sinking of two vessels at Davao revealed by Army

Washington (AP) – (Jan. 6)
The Army’s aerial slash at Japanese naval forces in southern Philippine waters took on the proportions of a major victory today when the War Department announced that more than one destroyer was probably sunk and that other vessels appeared to have suffered “extensive damage.”

The victory list for the raid has already included a destroyer certainly sunk, and three direct hits on a battleship, so today’s supplementary report emphasized that a heavy blow had been dealt the Japanese.

The communiqué disclosed for the first time that the target of Army bombers near Davao, on the southeastern island of Mindanao yesterday, was a squadron consisting of a battleship, five cruisers, six destroyers, 12 submarines and 12 transports.

MacArthur army holding

Further details on the sea-air fight were announced less than eight hours after a report that the defenders of the island of Luzon, squeezed but still hitting back on all sides, had fought through a four-hour air attack by a half-hundred bombers and hit at least seven of the invaders’ planes. The Japanese air raid was concentrated on the fortifications of Mariveles, across Manila Bay from the capital city, and Corregidor Island, guarding the entrance to the bay.

In the same communiqué in which it recorded the new Japanese naval loss, the War Department said that Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Far East commander, reported that the Japanese occupying Manila brought with them clever imitations of the paper money of the Philippine Commonwealth.

Japanese troops in the capital, the War Department said, “are circulating large quantities of paper money in various denominations,” citing the influx of money as “further proof of the long-range preparation of the Japanese.”

Corregidor gunners score

In the fight against planes attacking Mariveles and Corregidor, anti-aircraft gunners kept up a notable record of accuracy. The raiders, kept high by the bursts, caused only “light” damage and few casualties, the morning communiqué said.

On the ground, with the tough U.S. regulars and Philippine Constabulary fighting every inch of withdrawal, there was “considerably less” activity, the War Department said, but “enemy pressure is continuing.”

With U.S. forces drawing into the tongue of land constituting Bataan Province on the western side of Manila Bay – across from the capital – the Japanese objectives thus were concentrated, but so were the accurate anti-aircraft batteries of the defenders.

And they have scored well in the four successive days of bomb battering they have withstood. The seven Jap planes listed as “hit” – obviously damaged but not destroyed – brought to 26 the aircraft put out of action since the enemy concentrated his bombs on Corregidor Island.

335

Message brings joy to Chinese

Chungking, China (AP) –
The Chinese listened with joy and amazement early today to President Roosevelt’s message to Congress and then commented, “It’s as gratifying as it is staggering.”

Chinese pride swelled at his praise of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek’s armies and hope soared that the arsenal of democracy would soon provide the tools China has needed so badly for a knockout blow against her better-equipped foe.

Capital hears Straus resigns

Washington (AP) – (Jan. 6)
Repots circulated on Capitol Hill today that Nathan Straus, U.S. Housing Administrator, has submitted his resignation to President Roosevelt.

The resignation was said to have resulted from a controversy between Straus and other officials over the defense housing program.

337

U.S. advances Reds $20 million

Washington (AP) – (Jan. 6)
The Treasury advanced $20 million more to the Russian government today for Russian gold to be delivered later.

The Russians promised to deliver the gold within 180 days of Jan. 3. Previously, the Treasury has advanced $40 million for Russian gold, of which $30 million worth has already been delivered.

Hawaii evacuees arrive on coast

San Diego, California (AP) – (Jan. 6)
The Navy announced tonight a number of evacuees had arrived in San Diego.

The Navy said the arrival was from Hawaii, and emphasized the passengers were evacuees, not casualties.

339

WAR BULLETINS

Stockholm, Sweden (AP) –
A Berlin dispatch to the newspaper Dagens Nyheter last night said the Russians had recaptured the island of Hogland, in the Gulf of Finland, from Finnish forces which seized it two weeks ago.

London, England (AP) –
The Free French radio at Brazzaville, French Equatorial Africa, reported last night that five German officers were killed in Paris and 14 seriously wounded by a delayed action bomb in the Salle Wagram, a concert hall in the Étoile District.

The report gave no date, but it was presumed the explosion occurred Saturday.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (UP) – (Jan. 6)
The Brazilian government today seized the German-controlled Condor Airlines, according to a thoroughly-reliable source.

London, England (AP) – (Jan. 6)
The main German radio stations including those at Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Leipzig and Stuttgart closed down tonight after the 7:00 p.m. (CET) news bulletin.

London, England (UP) – (Jan. 6)
Soviet Foreign Commissar V. M. Molotov formally charged today, Radio Moscow announced, that German authorities had perpetrated massacres, villainy and bestial outrages in Soviet territories they have occupied and he warned the war can only end with the complete annihilation of the Nazi armies. He said:

The Soviet Union will never forget, never forgive.

London, England (AP) –
The Air Ministry announced today that Sunday night’s RAF raid on the Castelvetrano Airfield in western Sicily was a “devastating” eight-hour assault which burned “a large number” of German troop-carrying planes and wrought chaos among the forces seeking to bolster the Nazi Afrika Korps of Gen. Erwin Rommel.

340

Taft blocks daylight bill

Objects to prompt action by Senate

Washington (AP) – (Jan. 6)
Senator Robert Taft (R-OH) blocked Senate action today on legislation granting the President authority to establish Daylight Savings Time during the war, asserting that Congress should fix any time changes.

The Ohio Republican Senator said, “Congress is just as competent as the President in this,” as he objected to a request by Senator Wheeler (D-MT) for immediate consideration and passage of the Daylight Savings legislation approved earlier in the day by the Senate Interstate Commerce Committee.

341

U.S. War Department (January 8, 1942)

Communiqué No. 50

Philippine Theater.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Commanding General USAFFE, has received reports of widespread damage to defenseless towns in Luzon by Japanese air raids. These attacks took place at various times during the invasion and were without military value to the enemy.

Among the towns mercilessly bombed were Baler, Santa Rosa, Calamba and Tarlac, all of which were completely razed.

Many natives were killed in these attacks. None of these towns contained any military installations. During the last few days, civilians in Arayat, Camiling, San Fernando and other towns were machine-gunned in the streets by low-flying enemy planes.

The Japanese apparently deliberately chose Sundays and religious holidays for these attacks knowing that on such days a large number of civilians would be attending church or on the streets. The first attack was made on Sunday, December 7, 1941, and on each subsequent Sunday and on Christmas and New Year’s Day, enemy air attacks have been particularly heavy.

As was the case in Manila, the churches in the towns and villages were made the special objects of attacks. Each church is an outstanding landmark and its distinctive character is readily apparent, hence the destruction of places of worship was obviously premeditated.

There is nothing to report from other areas.

Communiqué No. 51

Philippine Theater.
Fighting of varying intensity is reported from all sections of the front. These operations are probably preparatory to a large-scale general attack by the enemy.

Japanese reinforcements are being brought up to the front and indications point to a renewal of the offensive by the enemy. Gen. MacArthur reports that the morale and determination of U.S. and Philippine troops are high and that they may be counted on to continue their resistance with skill and courage.

For the first time in several days, there were no enemy air attacks on the fortifications of Manila Bay. Enemy air activity was confined to reconnaissance.

There is nothing to report from other areas.

U.S. Navy Department (January 8, 1942)

Communiqué No. 25

Far East.
The commanding officer of a U.S. submarine of the Asiatic Fleet has reported the sinking of an enemy transport. In addition, this vessel succeeded in sinking three enemy cargo vessels, each estimated to be of 10,000 tons displacement.

Central Pacific.
The defense of Wake Island by U.S. Marines has been cited by the President of the United States as follows:

 THE WHITE HOUSE,
 Washington, January 5, 1942

Citation by
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
of
The Wake detachment of the First Defense Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps, under command of Maj. James P. S. Devereux, U.S. Marines
AND
Marine Fighting Squadron 211 Of Marine Aircraft Group 21, under command of Maj. Paul A. Putnam, U.S. Marines

The courageous conduct of the officers and men of these units, who defended Wake Island against an overwhelming superiority of enemy air, sea, and land attacks from December 8 to 22, 1941, has been noted with admiration by their fellow countrymen and the civilized world, and will not be forgotten so long as gallantry and heroism are respected and honored. These units are commended for their devotion to duty and splendid conduct at their battle stations under most adverse conditions.

With limited defensive means against attacks in great force, they manned their shore installations and flew their aircraft so well that five enemy warships were either sunk or severely damaged, many hostile planes shot down, and an unknown number of land troops destroyed.

Wake.
An increase of two Japanese warships – a destroyer and a gunboat – over the originally reported cruiser, submarine, and three destroyers that the Japs lost in the attack on Wake Island, was indicated in two reports to Marine Corps HQ, received from the Pacific area.

These reports were sent from Wake Island by a patrol plane. One, written on December 20, is from Maj. Paul A. Putnam, commanding aviation on Wake. The other is a day-by-day account of marine aviation’s participation in the battle of Wake Island up to December 20 by Maj. W. Bayler.

The day-by-day record of the battle, though not an official report, is Maj. Bayler’s account of what marine aviation and Maj. Devereux’s men did.

Maj. Bayler’s report has but little reference to the Marines on the isle besides the aviation group, but one brief note, “Japs closed into 4,700 yards before 5- and 3-inch guns opened up at point blank range,” indicates a cool courage on the part of Devereux’s men that ranks with the classic it “whites of their eyes” line of Bunker Hill, in the opinion of ranking officers at Marine Corps HQ.

Added to the two Japanese destroyers which were lost in the final phase of the battle of December 22, the new information received brings Japanese losses in taking the island of Wake up to a total of seven warships – one cruiser, four destroyers, one submarine, and one gunboat.

Maj. Bayler was on temporary duty in Wake in connection with the establishment of a base of operations for the Marine Corps Aviation unit. This unit, composed of 12 planes, with pilots, 49 ground personnel, arrived shortly before the outbreak of hostilities. Following is a copy of the penciled notes the major made from the records kept by him and sent to CINCPACFLT. He was present at Wake until December 20.

Synopsis of events (Wake local time), December 8-20

December 8, 7:00 a.m. – 11:58 a.m.
Received word bombing Oahu.
General quarters station. 24 Jap bombers on a northern course hit airdrome in close column of division “V’s” from 3,000 feet. 100-pound fragmentation bombs and simultaneous strafing.
Casualties 25 dead, 7 wounded, 7 airplanes burned, destroyed.

December 9, 11:45 a.m.
27 Japs. Bombed hospital, Camp No. 2. Killed several patients, 3 dead. Got one Jap plane.

December 10, 10:45 a.m.
27 Jap bombers. No casualties.

December 11, 5:00 a.m.
Landing attempt by 12 Jap ships, including light cruisers, destroyers, gunboats, 2 troop or supply ships. Jap casualties: 1 light cruiser, 2 destroyers, 1 gunboat, 2 bombers.

NOTE: That Japs closed in to 4,700 yards before 5- and 3-inch guns opened up at point blank range.

December 12
27 Jap planes bombed Peale and Wake from 22,000 feet. No casualties.

December 13
All quiet.

December 14
32 Jap planes hit airdrome. Two killed, 1 plane down (own destroyed by bombs).

December 15, 11:00 a.m.
Dawn raid by 3 four-engine seaplanes. 27 Jap bombers. Shot down 2 Japs.

December 16, 5:45 p.m.
41 Jap bombers hit Camp 2 and airdrome. Jap four-motor plane raid. One Jap shot down.

December 17
32 Jap bombers at 1317 hit Camp 1, Peale Island, diesel oil supply, mess hall, and pumps of evaporators, Camp 1.

December 18, 11:40 a.m.
One Jap high rec. plane (2 engine) [photo?].

December 19, 10:30 a.m.
Jap bombers hit airport and camp.

December 20
All quiet – first day of bad weather.

TOTAL CASUALTIES:
28 dead, 6 wounded as of Decembe 20 from VMF-211.

NOTES:

  • Jap bombers of Dornier type, two-engine, twin-tail, 160 knots.
  • Attack formations always in form of line of division V’s in close formation. Excellent air discipline.
  • Nine sure Jap bombers shot down; three more possibly. One four-engine boat. 1 CL, 2 DD, 1 gunboat.

Maj. Putnam’s report of operations to his commanding officer in Pearl Harbor goes into more detail on the efforts of the tiny aviation complement to keep the planes that were left after the first attack in the air against each new attack.

Of the original aviation force of 12 officers and 49 enlisted men, 19 enlisted men and 8 officers were still on duty by December 20. Of these, 4 enlisted men and 2 officers were wounded but still on duty. One officer and 6 enlisted men were in the hospital and “doing nicely.” The remainder, 3 officers and 24 men, were dead.

The letter relates that four planes were in the air against the Japs at the time of the first raid. The other eight were on the ground being serviced between flights, and of these seven were destroyed and one was slightly damaged. One of the planes that was in the air later taxied into debris on the field – the wreckage of the first raid – and bent its propeller.

The Marine fighters, up to December 20, had made contact with the enemy seven times, had shot down five Japs in flames, four more had:

…been claimed by pilots but not verified and several are known to have been damaged. Of the four claimed, one was a four-engined seaplane.

Discussing the surface attack of December 11, Putnam reported:

4 airplanes [Marine planes] made a total of 10 attacks, operating in a greatly overloaded condition and performing splendidly… We claim the sinking of 1 ship and serious damage to another.

The guns of Devereux’s force evidently accounted for the remainder of the ships reported destroyed in Maj. Bayler’s synopsis. In the attack on December 11, 1 plane was lost, “a washout on the rocky beach.”

After the attack on December 14, which saw two Marine planes destroyed, “one plane on the ground by enemy action and one crashed on the take-off” the Marines had:

…only two operating airplanes, one of which gives constant trouble so that two planes in the air at one time is the exception rather than the rule.

At one time, only one serviceable plane was left to Maj. Putnam’s squadron, but the mechanics and ground crews evidently made an additional plane, or even planes out of the wreckage of the remainder.

Lauding the work of the ground crews at Wake, Maj. Putnam wrote since that time (the first raid), parts and assemblies have been traded back and forth so that no airplane can be identified. Engines have been traded from plane to plane, have been junked, stripped, rebuilt, and all but created.

Continuing his praise for the men under him, Maj. Putnam wrote:

All hands have behaved splendidly and held up in a manner of which the Marine Corps may well tell. I have no report to make regarding any officer or man being outstanding in bravery or fortitude; they have all acquitted themselves with equal distinction. On the other hand, I particularly wish to comment on the indefatigable labor, and ingenuity, skill, and technical knowledge of Lt. Kinney and Tech. Sgt. Hamilton. It is solely due to their efforts that the squadron is still operating.

Discussing the living conditions on the airdrome as they were on December 11, Maj. Putnam said:

Personnel are living in dugouts made by the contractor’s men and equipment. Not comfortable but adequate against all but direct bomb hits. Feeding is from the contractor’s galley, a truck making the rounds with hot food twice daily. Sanitation is only fair, but so far have had only a mild flurry of diarrhea. Fresh water is adequate for drinking, but salt water is used for all other purposes.

The tone of the entire report indicates no particular anxiety on the part of the air group at Wake. They were there under orders with a job to do. They were doing the job and would continue to do it until circumstances beyond their control forced them to discontinue their efforts. They had kept these circumstances under control for almost 2 weeks and they would continue to do so.

At no time during the siege were more than four Marine planes in operation, Putnam reported, but the verified total that these planes took of the Japanese was one ship, one submarine, and five Jap planes.

There is nothing to report from other areas.

342

The Pittsburgh Press (January 8, 1942)

U.S. FIGHTS OFF JAPS AT LUZON
Finish fight is promised by MacArthur

Morale high, troops ready to meet new attack, general says
By Harrison Salisbury, United Press staff writer

Washington –
Gen. Douglas MacArthur reported today that his forces stand ready to meet “with skill and courage” a final grand Japanese assault which appears about to be launched with the aid of strong enemy reinforcements.

Gen. MacArthur, coolly awaiting the massive Japanese blow which may fall at any time, reported that morale of his U.S. and Philippine forces is high.

He indicated plainly that he and his men are ready to fight to the last to hold off the attacking enemy.

Already they have exacted a fearful cost in casualties and war material upon the Japanese. A War Department spokesman said today that U.S. casualties, in contrast, have been comparatively light.

Outnumbered 4–1

This indicated that Gen. MacArthur, employing all the tactical skill for which he is famed, has marshalled his small troops virtually intact into their strong final positions in Bataan Province and the Corregidor Fortress awaiting all-out Japanese attack.

The official communiqué today reported that the Japanese, who probably outnumbered Gen. MacArthur’s command at least four or five to one, are rushing heavy reinforcements up to the front “probably preparatory to a large-scale general attack.”

As each side jockeyed for position preparatory to the decisive battle, there was a momentary lull in the Japanese air attack of rocky Corregidor and the strong positions in which Gen. MacArthur has emplaced his troops on Bataan Peninsula.

Japs seek weak spots

The Japanese instead sent over reconnaissance planes, the communiqué revealed, apparently to determine the extent of damage inflicted upon the powerful gun positions and rock-protected positions of Corregidor.

But the communiqué made plain that the lull in the air was not accompanied by any cessation of ground pressure.

“Fighting of varying intensity” was reported along the Luzon land front, presumably consisting of punches by Japanese forces at Gen. MacArthur’s short, tight defensive line in an attempt to locate weak spots at which the final assault may be directed.

General with troops

Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCoy reported that the War Department has had no complete report on casualties on either side.

Gen. MacArthur, he indicated, has been too busy fighting to furnish the Department with detailed bulletins on the progress of the battle. However, Mr. McCoy said that indications were the American casualties have not been “unduly heavy” and that Japan has lost “considerably more” troops than has Gen. MacArthur.

The general himself, Mr. McCoy said, is in the field at the side of his troops directing their operations in person. He naturally declined to indicate whether Gen. MacArthur’s headquarters were on the Bataan Peninsula or deep within Corregidor which probably will be the citadel of the final U.S. stand on the islands.

Selling lives dearly

The tone of the U.S. communiqué was in striking contrast to Japanese propaganda claims on the progress of the Philippine campaign. The Tokyo radio took the line that the task of the U.S. forces was “hopeless” and that they were being driven from position after position.

Gen. MacArthur, however, reported that:

…the morale and determination of the U.S. and Philippine troops are high and that they may be counted on to continue their resistance with skill and courage.

It was apparent that he and his men were selling their lives as dearly as any American fighting men since the Alamo.

Some indications of the progress of the Philippine battle were given by sources abroad.

Dutch can hold on

From British, Dutch, Australian and Chinese sources came indications of U.S. air and sea reinforcements flowing toward the battle area.

London understood that the small naval forces at the disposal of U.S. Adm. Thomas C. Hart will shortly be reinforced and Batavia reported Dutch confidence that the Dutch East Indies can maintain their fighting front until American air aid reaches the Dutch island bases.

The Dutch breathed assurance that they had available ample manpower to operate as many tanks as U.S. ships can rush to those far off positions. From Canberra came word that the Dutch, in conference with the Australians, are declaring for tactics and strategy which will call for establishment of a firm Allied line beyond which no Japanese can penetrate.

Sea battle denied

Axis propagandists busied themselves in circulating a detailed yarn concerning a big “naval battle” which they alleged occurred some 600 miles west of Davao. In this alleged encounter, one U.S. battleship was said to have been sunk and another damaged.

The “sea battle” appeared to be an obvious Axis propagandas device, designed to extract, if possible, from the United States some indication as to the movements of its fleet. Some of the Axis dispatches identified the U.S. battleships engaged in the encounter as USS New Mexico and USS Mississippi.

Japs admit damage

To all these reports, the U.S. Navy Department merely retorted that it did not propose to many any comment on Japanese propaganda.

The Japanese did, however, make an admission of damage suffered at the hands of U.S. forces. They said that one cruiser was damaged and a submarine sunk off Davao, Jan. 4. This was apparently Tokyo’s version of the heavy bomber attack which the War Department reported scored three hits on a Japanese battleship and sunk one destroyer and probably another.

Japanese efforts to organize their victory at Manila were reported by the Axis radio. These reports said the cooperation of Jorge Vargas, President Manuel Quezon’s secretary, had been won to a plan for temporary administration of Manila.

The Japanese characterized Vargas as having been chosen “Mayor of Manila.” Apparently, his post is to be that of liaison agent between the Japanese occupation forces and the Philippine populace.

Japs complain of air attacks

Tokyo, Japan (UP) – (broadcast recorded in U.S.)
The Japanese complained today of “airship attacks and attacks on Japanese shipping by remnants of the U.S. Air Force” still in the Philippines. There was no attempt, however, to deprecate them as “useless militarily.”

The Japanese had boasted that all but four U.S. planes in the Philippines were destroyed, and since, that another U.S. fighter plane had been shot down.

The Americans still fought a “hopeless battle,” according to military reports, despite continuous air attacks and assaults by mechanized forces which inflicted “heavy casualties.”

The first reports of life in occupied Manila were received yesterday from a correspondent of the Japanese official new agency. He was imprisoned by the U.S. Army when the war started and occupation forces freed him.

He said life was again normal and the city looked as it always had, except for “gaps in some streets where U.S. troops had fired buildings.”

343

WAR BULLETINS!

Dutch sub sinks Nazi U-boat

London, England –
A German submarine has been torpedoed and sunk by a Dutch submarine in the Mediterranean, the Dutch Admiralty said today.

Italy fears invasion, masses troops

London, England –
Italy is returning troops to the Italian mainland in fear of an imminent British invasion from North Africa, the anti-Nazi newspaper Die Zeitung, published in London, will say tomorrow. Adolf Hitler is arranging to turn over responsibility for Balkan occupation to Hungary to free German troops for dispatch to Italy, according to the paper.

RAF raids on Nazis increase

London, England –
Despite the worst weather in 15 years, the Royal Air Force in October, November and December dropped a 70% greater tonnage of bombs on Germany than during the same period for 1940, Air Minister Sir Archibald Sinclair said today. Last night, the RAF bombed Nazi naval bases at Brest and Saint-Nazaire, France.

Spain lashed by wind, snow

London, England –
Radio Rome reported today that Spain had been swept for two days by terrific winds and heavy snows, accompanied at some places by cold of record intensity, and Radio Berlin reported a triple train collision, involving an express, a local passenger train and a freight train, in the northern Pamplona area.

Italian newspapers’ size curbed

Berlin, Germany (UP) – (broadcast recorded in U.S.)
Official broadcast dispatches from Rome today confirmed that Italian newspapers had been limited to four pages.

Rome claims battleship damaged

Rome, Italy (UP) – (official broadcast recorded in London)
Italian naval units attacked two British warships off Alexandria, severely damaging one, the Italian High Command said today. The communiqué said:

It is now known that one warship of the VALIANT class was severely damaged. [The Valiant is a 1914 battleship of 30,6000 tons]

The communiqué claimed that the British cruiser Phoebe had been sunk by three aerial torpedoes in Tobruk Harbor.

Reds retake 1,130 localities in 6 days

Moscow, USSR (UP) – (broadcast recorded in London)
A communiqué said tonight that in the first six days of January, more than 1,130 localities were recaptured by Russian troops on the Southern Front and more than 8,000 Germans killed.

Saboteurs damage Norse power plant

Stockholm, Sweden –
Saboteurs have damaged severely a large power station at Sauda, in southeastern Norway, halting work at the German-controlled Nordag light metal plant, it was reported today. The power stoppage also blacked out Sauda. The reports said thousands of Norwegians were employed forcibly at the metal works.

344

Consumer may pay –
U.S. sales levy need stressed

Congress set to consider tax on purchases

Washington (UP) –
Congress appeared today to be in a mood to give careful consideration to a general sales tax as a means of increasing the federal government’s revenue this year by $9 billion.

One Congressional leader believed that such an increase, bringing total tax collections to $27 billion, was an impossibility without a sales tax. Chairman Robert L. Doughton (D-NC) of the House Ways and Means Committee and other committee members have shown increasing interest in sales tax proposals.

If a sales tax is proposed and defeated, that doesn’t mean the bill of the average taxpayer won’t be increased in 1942. It definitely will be increased, but the method to be used in boosting the revenue remains to be determined by Congress – and most Congressmen today were as confused by the colossal figures of the new budget as the man in the street.

One thing is certain. This year’s income tax on 1941 income, the largest ever which is due March 15, will not be increased further.

President Roosevelt, a consistent opponent of sales tax legislation in the past, said in his budget message to Congress yesterday:

All through the years of the depression I opposed general excise and sales taxes and I am as convinced as ever that they have no permanent place in the federal tax system. In the face of the present financial and economic situation, however, we may later be compelled to reconsider the temporary necessity of such measures.

Congressmen noted that Mr. Roosevelt said “later,” but they believed he might approve a sales tax program as a “temporary necessity.”

Two features of the tax program Mr. Roosevelt discussed were not as well received as the sales tax hint. They were:

  • An indirect endorsement, as interpreted by Congressional quarters, of the sliding scale income withholding tax, where the taxpayer pays-as-he-goes but never knows more than a month in advance what his tax will be.

  • Revision of the excess profits tax, the big issue of the 1941 tax program.

Drafted by educators

The sliding scale income withholding tax was drafted by a group of college and university economists headed by Albert G. Hart, associate professor of economics at Iowa State College, Ames.

Under that proposal, Congress would enact a bill providing that taxes in $1,000 net income, for example, may range from 10% to 20%, the final figure to be determined by the Treasury and collected weekly, monthly or quarterly from the employer after the deduction of personal exemptions. Self-employed would compute and pay their own taxes.

Statement cited

The statement made by Mr. Roosevelt and interpreted by many Congressmen as an endorsement of the sliding scale tax was:

A well-balanced tax program must include measures which combat inflation… A number of tax measures have been suggested for that purpose, such as income taxes collected at the source, payroll taxes, and excise taxes. I urge the Congress to give all these proposals careful consideration.

As for the proposed excess profits tax revision, the administration wants to go away with the so-called average earnings system of computation. Under that system, a corporation is permitted to deduct from its profits the average of its earnings from 1935 to 1939. The administration contends that such a system favors industries that made big profits during those years.

George comments

Commenting on Mr. Roosevelt’s profits tax proposal, Chairman Walter F. George (D-GA) of the Senate Committee said:

The basis of an equitable excess profits tax must remain prior earnings.

It is expected that these proposals will be placed before the Ways and Means Committee when hearings on a new tax bill start next week:

  • Federal taxes on virtually all consumers’ goods, levied either on the manufacturer and to be passed on to the consumer, or on the consumer directly. The former would be an excise tax, the latter the sales tax. The tax is expected to be 4% or 5% of the retail value of the taxable commodity, yielding $2-2.5 billion.

  • Increases in income taxes paid by individuals and in income and excess profits taxes paid by corporations. Such taxes would be expected to yield between $3 and $4 billion.

  • Reduction of estate and gift tax deductions and miscellaneous taxes to yield around $500 million.

  • Increases in old-age annuity and unemployment compensation payroll taxes, to yield $2 billion.

It was not expected that the Treasury recommendations on the new tax bill would be ready by the scheduled date, Jan. 15. The Ways and Means Committee met informally yesterday and decided to give the Treasury as much time as needed to get its recommendations ready.

New postal record set

Washington –
Postal receipts last month, bolstered by unprecedented Christmas mailing, slightly exceeded $100 million, a new all-time high, Postmaster General Frank C. Walker announced yesterday. The previous all-time high, set in December 1940, was $5 million less.

346

Two daylight time measures differ

Washington (UP) –
Congress today apparently agreed that the nation should have some form of daylight savings time, but there was still dispute between the House and the Senate on how it should be put into effect.

The controversial point was whether discretionary power to proclaim “fast” time should be lodged with the President. The Senate late yesterday passed and sent to the House a measure giving him power to shift clocks ahead as much as two hours in a single time zone.

The issue is scheduled to come up today or tomorrow in the House where the Interstate Commerce Committee has recommended a bill calling for mandatory daylight time the country over for the duration of the war. The House measure limits the change to one hour.

America First head named

Chicago, Illinois –
Gen. Robert E. Wood, former national chairman of the America First Committee, today was appointed a civilian adviser to the Chicago Ordnance District of the U.S. Army.

347

Dies agents uncover Michigan Nazi ring

Detroit, Michigan (UP) –
Agents of the Dies Committee investigating subversive activity revealed today they had uncovered a Nazi propaganda organization operating on a large scale out of Michigan.

Dies Committee agents and Detroit police seized six large boxes containing records of the National Workers League – including literature in which the defeat of the United States and Great Britain was accepted as a foregone conclusion and in which President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill were described as “Jew warmongers.”

Agents subpoenaed Parker Sage, treasurer of the organization, to appear before the Dies Committee either in Detroit or in Washington.

They sought to learn from him the source of the organization’s income, large enough to permit printing bills of over $7,000 a month.

Lists of the members of the organization were also seized and found to contain names of individuals prominent in the Silver Shirt organization, the Christian Front and the German-American Bund.

349

Your health –
Teach youth defense aid

Little folks can be of honest help
By Dr. Mary MacFadyen

How will the children take the war and the possibility of air raids? Mothers are asking.

Most authorities believe that children should follow their usual program of school, games and diversions, care being taken, of course, to provide adequate shelter for possible air raids.

The dangers of war cannot be hidden from children – they hear it everywhere. You can, however, by your own calm, confident attitude, do much to calm their fears and direct their activities into constructive, helpful channels.

Children can be “soldiers,” collecting wastepaper, old newspapers, needed for defense. Jobs of this kind give the child something to do, and give him confidence, making him feel that he’s helping to “lick the enemy.”

Children can even help at home as “junior” air-raid wardens, with their own little tasks to do. It will give them something to do, and take their minds off actual danger and they’ll be less likely to become panicky. Children copy adult reactions at such times, so be calm and set a good example.

When there is an actual air-raid alarm, it may be possible to divert the child’s mind with interesting games.

350

‘Made in Japan’ tag cannot be removed

Merchants who seek to avoid public aversion to buying goods imported from enemy nations by obliterating the “Made in Japan,” or similar labels, face stiff penalties, according to a warning issued by the U.S. District Attorney’s office here.

Federal officials said removal of the origin marking from imported goods was in violation of the Federal Tariff Act. Maximum penalties of a year’s imprisonment and a $5,000 fine are prosecuted for each offense.

Government lawyers said they received complaints against several merchants who had attempted to fool customers.

351

U.S. War Department (January 9, 1942)

Communiqué No. 52

Philippine Theater.
Combat operations have swindled to desultory skirmishes in various sections of the front.

The enemy continues to move troops into the forward areas, apparently in preparation for a renewed attack in force.

Hostile air activity yesterday was limited to reconnaissance flights.

There is nothing to report from other areas.

U.S. Navy Department (January 9, 1942)

Communiqué No. 26

Far East.
The SS RUTH ALEXANDER, attacked by an enemy plane in Dutch East Indies waters has been abandoned and declared a total loss. One of the crew was killed and four were injured. The balance of the survivors are safe in a friendly port. The RUTH ALEXANDER of the American President Lines was a vessel of 8,000 gross tons.

Central Pacific.
Operations continue against enemy submarines. The Hawaiian Area is quiet.

Eastern Pacific.
Coastal defense plans have resulted in a narrowing of enemy submarine operations off the West Coast.

Atlantic Area.
A report that an enemy submarine was operating in New England waters has been thoroughly investigated. The area has been searched without tangible results. Otherwise, Atlantic operations have been without incident.

352

The Pittsburgh Press (January 9, 1942)

Taxes mapped to take 25% of U.S. income

General sales levy seen as fiscal experts confer

Washington (UP) –
The government’s highest tax officials conferred today on a tax program that will require the taxpayer to hand over to the government almost one-fourth of the national income.

Congress may have to levy nearly all the forms of new war taxes that have been proposed thus far, including a general sales tax to raise the $9-billion additional needed revenue asked by President Roosevelt in his budget message, Congressional fiscal leaders indicated.

Chairman Walter F. George (D-GA) of the Senate Finance Committee said that in order to meet Mr. Roosevelt’s budget plans, it would be necessary to levy taxes that would bring in new revenue at a rate of $10 billion a year.

Meet with Morgenthau

After a tax conference at the Treasury with Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr. and other Congressional leaders, Mr. George said that additional taxes would be needed at the $10-billion annual rate, if $7 billion in new revenues is to be produced in the fiscal year which begins next July 1, as proposed by Mr. Roosevelt.

The reason, he explained, is that some taxes will not begin to yield revenue immediately and that the increased national income subject to taxes contemplated under the war production program will not take full effect until late in the year.

Mr. George said that if Mr. Roosevelt’s proposal for a $2-billion annual boost in Social Security collections is taken into consideration, the annual rate of new revenue would have to be $12 billion instead of $10 billion.

Includes 3% sales tax

Suggested levies include a withholding tax on incomes, lower exemptions in gift and inheritance taxes and 3% sales tax.

Chairman Robert L. Doughton (D-NC) of the House Ways and Means Committee said the conferees considered how best we can raise as much money as possible to meet war demands.

Conferring with Mr. Morgenthau were Mr. Doughton, Senator George, Rep. Allen T. Treadway (R-MA) of the House Ways and Means Committee, Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg (R-MI) of the Senate Finance Committee and tax experts of the Treasury and the Joint Congressional Committee on Taxation.

Mr. Vandenberg said that he agreed “partially” with the tax proposals discussed at this morning’s conference.

Mr. Doughton said, “It looks like we are going to get a good start on our tax bill,” explaining that Treasury and Congressional fiscal experts are cooperating on drafting a program to raise war taxes.

The chairman of the House Committee said he would not be surprised if President Roosevelt later sends a special tax message to Congress.

Oppose excessive taxes

Mr. George and Mr. Doughton have committed themselves against a tax policy that will “uproot the fruit trees,” meaning that they will not support a program which they believe involves excessive taxation of business and industry. President Roosevelt in his budget message to Congress recommended that Congress consider a stiffer excess profits tax, which is a tax paid by business and industry on profits greater than those made in the years 1936-39.

Under the tax program enacted last fall, a 10% income tax is called for in the lower income bracket. Exempt from paying this tax are single men who earn $750 a year or less and married couples who earn $1,500 a year or less.

That the tax paid by those in the lower brackets next year will be increased, there is no doubt. The question is how much.

The Treasury has suggested as withholding tax and an increased Social Security tax. Under the withholding plan, the employer would deduct part of the employee’s salary and give it directly to the government.

There have been suggestions in Congress that the tax bill include some form of enforced saving, such as a provision requiring that a specified amount be spent for government bonds. Mr. Morgenthau, in an appearance yesterday before a House subcommittee handling Treasury Department appropriations, opposed that proposal.

Outline proposed bill

Rep. Wesley Disney (D-OK), a member of the Ways and Means Committee, believed the tax bill finally approved might be something like this:

  • A 3% sales tax.
  • A 3% withholding tax on individual incomes.
  • Stiff increases in present individual and corporation income tax rates.
  • Reduction of the $40,000 exemptions in estate and gift taxes.
  • A requirement that husbands and wives must pool their income and file a joint return.

He did not include the President’s Social Security tax proposals which the budget message said would raise $2 billion. He predicted that the administration’s plan to eliminate the system by which average corporate earnings from 1936-39 may be deducted from excess profits liability will not get Congressional approval.

For men!

Your future clothes may hearken back to 1900s

Fullscreen capture 1102021 113547 AM.bmp

Washington (UP) –
The government believes it is more important to have the Armed Forces properly clothed than to have the men and boys at home to have two-trouser suits, vests, double-breasted coats and bell-bottomed pants.

Before the war is over – if OPM suggestions are adopted by the clothing industry – clothing styles of the male population may hark back to the early 1900s.

At an informal OPM meeting with men’s and boys clothing manufacturers, the consensus was that wool would be conserved by simplifying styles. New wool restrictions this year are in store for all civilian production.

Other possible changes discussed at the meeting were elimination of patch pockets, pleats and cuffs. All coats would be made shorter, trousers would be narrower at the bottom and at the knee and lapels would be narrowed.

354

OCD shaken up but La Guardia stays on job

Landis is appointed civil defense ‘executive’ in new setup

Landis2
Mr. Landis

Washington (UP) –
Administration of the Office of Civilian Defense was divided today between Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia of New York and Dean James M. Landis of Harvard University Law School. Mr. Landis will be the agency’s $10,000-a-year “executive,” while Mr. La Guardia continues as the unpaid “director.”

The “partial reorganization” of the controverted OCD setup was announced by White House Secretary Stephen Early. He said it had been worked out by President Roosevelt, Mr. La Guardia and Mr. Landis. The latter will take a leave of absence from his Harvard post.

Mr. La Guardia, who had been criticized in Congress and in his own city for seeking to attempt to run the OCD as director while retaining his post as mayor, said that the reorganization would leave him free for organizational work throughout the country.

Cites New York situation

But he added in a statement:

Frankly, it does not meet the New York City situation because it will take more of my time. I must be realistic about this.

He declined to elaborate this point, but previously he has said he expected to continue as mayor.

It was not known to what extent the new move would soften Congressional criticism of Mr. La Guardia’s efforts to hold down two jobs at once. Administration leaders hoped it would help them in their efforts to nullify House action yesterday to place the OCD under the War Department instead of Mr. La Guardia.

The House passed and sent to conference with the Senate legislation authorizing appropriation of $100 million for the OCD and transferring its functions to the Army. The move followed House faultfinding with Mr. La Guardia’s twofold activities and overrode the objections of the administration and the War Department itself.

See restoration

Administration leaders in the Senate believed they could restore the OCD to its purely civilian status in the conference, particularly in view of the change in its organization.

In his new post, which he will take over Monday, Mr. Landis will be in charge of OCD personnel and will carry out, Mr. Early said, details of administration stemming from “broad matters of policy” decided upon by Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. La Guardia. The latter will continue to sit in at Cabinet meetings as an ex-officio member of the President’s official family.

Mr. Landis has been a troubleshooter for the administration on frequent occasions. His early New Deal service was climaxed with his appointment to the post of Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission prior to his taking over the Harvard deanship in 1937.

First Lady may stay

Mr. Early said he had heard nothing about the status of Mrs. Roosevelt, an assistant director of OCD, in connection with the reorganization. This was regarded as indicating that Mrs. Roosevelt would continue in her present OCD capacity.

Senator John A. Danaher (R-CT) said Congressional action on the OCD issue “makes little difference” under any circumstances. One of the first legislative enactments following the war, he said, was the Overman Act which empowers the President to assign the functions of any department to any other department he desires.

Mr. Danaher said:

It seems to me that the Congress, in the War Powers Bill, has given the President complete authority to transfer the functions of any agency to any other agency he sees fit. Moreover, since this very agency was created by executive order, the President has ample power to remedy any defects, if any there be, in the administration of OCD.

355

Tokyo loses seven warships –
Major’s diary tells dramatic story of Wake Island heroes

Officer reports American guns fired point blank at Nipponese fleet from 4,700 yards – like Bunker Hill Revolutionary War battle
By Sandor S. Klein, United Press staff writer

Washington –
TIME: 5:00 a.m. local time.
DATE: December 11, 1941.
PLACE: Wake Island.

Maj. W. Bayler, USMC, made another lead pencil notation in his battered notebook. It said:

Landing attempt by 12 Jap ships, including light cruisers, destroyers, gunboats, 2 troop or supply ships. Jap casualties: 1 light cruiser, 2 destroyers, 1 gunboat, 2 bombers.

Today, Maj. Bayler’s prosaic words were inscribed in the annals of American heroism beside the classic command of Col. William Prescott at Bunker Hill:

Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.

The new account of the heroes of Wake Island was made public by the U.S. Navy with a revelation that seven Japanese warships – not five as previously announced – were sunk before Wake succumbed after 14 days of fighting.

It was accompanied by President Roosevelt’s official citation of the Wake Marines for “the courageous conduct… gallantry and heroism… devotion to duty and splendid conduct.”

Citation lists two

The citation listed Maj. James P. S. Devereux, commander of the 1st Defense Battalion (USMC), and Maj. Paul A. Putnam, commander of Marine Fighting Squadron 211 of Marine Air Group 21.

The new information on the Battle of Wake made clear for the first time the manner in which Wake’s Marines managed to take so heavy a toll of the Japanese attackers.

Their coolness in withholding fire by their six 5-inch guns and twelve 3-inch guns was compared officially by the Navy to the feat of the men of Bunker Hill. By the standards of modern armament, 4,700 yards – a fraction more than 2½ miles – is as close or closer than “the white of their eyes” was to Prescott’s musketmen.

Reveal two accounts

By holding back their fire, the men of Wake literally blew a major portion of the Japanese attack force out of the water.

Two accounts were made public by the Navy of Wake’s fight. One was Maj. Bayler’s day-by-day record of the fight by the Marine garrison of 13 officers and 365 men – plus a seven-man medical detachment. The other was a brief report by Maj. Putnam.

Maj. Bayler, like Maj. Putnam, was a Marine Corps Aviation officer, and both accounts deal chiefly with the actions of the tiny Marine air squadron. The reports were flown out from Wake by a patrol plane. They cover action through Dec. 20 – two days before the Wake garrison was overwhelmed. The Navy communiqué indicated, but did not state specifically, that Maj. Bayler left Wake with the reports.

Planes take toll

The reports of the Marine officers revealed that in the initial Japanese air attack delivered four hours and 58 minutes after the garrison had received word of the Japanese bombing of Oahu, the bulk of Wake’s air force was lost.

Yet despite the odds which mounted as each day passed, the Marine planes accounted for a verified total of one Japanese ship, one submarine and five planes, plus another probably destroyed and others damaged.

The Navy released this synopsis of Maj. Bayler’s day-by-day account:

December 8, 7:00 a.m. – 11:58 a.m.
Received word bombing Oahu.
General quarters station. 24 Jap bombers on a northern course hit airdrome in close column of division “V’s” from 3,000 feet. 100-pound fragmentation bombs and simultaneous strafing.
Casualties 25 dead, 7 wounded, 7 airplanes burned, destroyed.

December 9, 11:45 a.m.
27 Japs. Bombed hospital, Camp No. 2. Killed several patients, 3 dead. Got one Jap plane.

December 10, 10:45 a.m.
27 Jap bombers. No casualties.

December 11, 5:00 a.m.
Landing attempt by 12 Jap ships, including light cruisers, destroyers, gunboats, 2 troop or supply ships. Jap casualties: 1 light cruiser, 2 destroyers, 1 gunboat, 2 bombers.

NOTE: That Japs closed in to 4,700 yards before 5- and 3-inch guns opened up at point blank range.

December 12
27 Jap planes bombed Peale and Wake from 22,000 feet. No casualties.

December 13
All quiet.

December 14
32 Jap planes hit airdrome. Two killed, 1 plane down (own destroyed by bombs).

December 15, 11:00 a.m.
Dawn raid by 3 four-engine seaplanes. 27 Jap bombers. Shot down 2 Japs.

December 16, 5:45 p.m.
41 Jap bombers hit Camp 2 and airdrome. Jap four-motor plane raid. One Jap shot down.

December 17
32 Jap bombers at 1317 hit Camp 1, Peale Island, diesel oil supply, mess hall, and pumps of evaporators, Camp 1.

December 18, 11:40 a.m.
One Jap high rec. plane (2 engine) [photo?].

December 19, 10:30 a.m.
Jap bombers hit airport and camp.

December 20
All quiet – first day of bad weather.

TOTAL CASUALTIES: 28 dead, 6 wounded as of December 20 from VMF-211.

NOTES:

  1. Jap bombers of Dornier type, two-engine, twin-tail, 160 knots.
  2. Attack formations always in form of line of division V’s in close formation. Excellent air discipline.
  3. Nine sure Jap bombers shot down; three more possibly. One four-engine boat. 1 CL, 2 DD, 1 gunboat.

Planes hit on ground

Maj. Putnam’s report dealt largely with the efforts of the Americans to keep what planes they had eft after the first attack. Of the original aviation force of 12 officers and 49 enlisted men, 19 enlisted men and eight officers were still on duty by Dec. 20. Four enlisted men and two of the officers were on duty despite wounds.

By Dec. 14, the Marines only had two planes, and one of these was in poor condition. Mechanics and ground crews relieved the situation somewhat by making at least one serviceable craft, and perhaps others out of the wreckage. Maj. Putnam paid particular tribute to the ground crews, saying:

…parts and assemblies have been traded back and forth so that no airplane can be identified. Engines have been traded from plane to plane, have been junked, stripped, rebuilt, and all but created.

Maj. Putnam said he had no desire to single an individual out for bravery or fortitude since they all “acquitted themselves with equal distinction,” but he added:

On the other hand, I particularly wish to comment on the indefatigable labor, and ingenuity, skill, and technical knowledge of Lt. Kinney and Tech. Sgt. Hamilton. It is solely due to their efforts that the squadron is still operating.

Marine Maj. James P. S. Devereux

Commander of the Marine detachment

devereux

Born: Feb. 20, 1903, in Cabana, Cuba.

Devereux is a resident of Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Devereux studied in Washington and Lucerne, Switzerland, before entering the Marine Corps in February 1925, as a second lieutenant. He was promoted in 1930 and 1935, and reached present rank in April 1940.

Service record: Devereux served in Norfolk and Quantico, Virginia; Philadelphia; Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Nicaragua; aboard the USS Utah; Shanghai and Peking, China, and San Francisco and San Diego, California. He holds the Second Nicaraguan Campaign, Yangtze Service and Expeditionary Medals.

Devereux is married and a father of one child.

Marine Maj. Paul A. Putnam

Commander of the Marine air unit

putnam

Born: June 16, 1903, in Milan, Michigan.

Putnam is a resident of San Diego, California.

Putnam entered Marine Corps as an enlisted man in 1923. He became a second lieutenant in 1926.

Service record: Most of Putnam’s early service was in Nicaragua, where he served from 1927 to 1933, except for one year during which he received training as an aviator. Since then, he has served in Pensacola, Florida; Quantico, Virginia; on the West Coast; in the Virgin Islands, and in various Pacific outposts. He holds the Nicaraguan Cross of Valor and a letter of commendation from the Secretary of the Navy in 1931 for “valuable assistance in the suppression of banditry in Nicaragua.”

Putnam is married and a father of three children.

Marine Maj. Walter J. L. Bayler

On temporary duty at Wake

Born: April 8, 1905, in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

Bayler maintains a home in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

Bayler graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1927.

Service record: Bayler served a year in Nicaragua as a Marine second lieutenant before returning to this country for aviation training. An expert in aviation communications, he has served in Quantico, San Diego and Hawaii, and at sea. After service at Quantico, he was sent to graduate school at Annapolis and Harvard to study communication engineering. He was made a first lieutenant in 1934, a captain in 1936 and a major in 1941.

He is married and had one child.

Marine 1st Lt. John Franklin Kinney

Born: Nov. 1, 1914, in Endicott, Washington.

Kinney maintains his home in Endicott, Washington, his birthplace.

Kinney is a graduate of Washington State College.

Service record: Kinney’s comparatively short career in the Marines began in July 1938, when he was appointed an aviation cadet in the Marine Corps Reserve. He was discharged after service at Pensacola to accept a commission as second lieutenant in the Regular Marine Corps. He was assigned to serve at San Diego in May 1940, following his study at the Marine Corps Basic School in Philadelphia. He was shifted to the USS Saratoga, then to USS Lexington, and then to stations at Pearl Harbor and Oahu, in the Hawaiian Islands. He was made a first lieutenant last week.

Marine Tech. Sgt. William James Hamilton

Born: June 3, 1912, in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Hamilton enlisted in the Marines March 4, 1935 and saw duty with the Fleet Marine Force. He was appointed a student naval aviation pilot in April 1936. He completed training at Pensacola and was designated a pilot in June 1937.

Hamilton studied aircraft mechanics and radio at the Navy Radio Material School (Bellevue, DC), the Air Corps Technical School (Rantoul, Illinois), the U.S. Navy Link Trainer, Maintenance and Instrument Flying Instructor School (San Diego).

Hamilton was promoted to corporal (June 1937), sergeant (October 1937), staff sergeant (September 1940), technical sergeant (May 1941), and is now being considered for promotion to first lieutenant.

Hamilton is married (his wife lives in San Diego). His mother lives in South Larchmont, Pennsylvania.