America at war! (1941– ) (Part 1)

500,000 overseas

There are now more than 500,000 American troops overseas, reports John J. McCloy, Assistant Secretary of War. However slowly we seem to move, and however we wish more of our strength were already at grips with the enemy, that is not a bad showing at the end of nine months of war.

In World War I, when sending men overseas was simplicity itself compared to the job today, it was 15 months after we entered the war before we had 1,000,000 men overseas – and they were all going to one area and had nothing like the training our soldiers get today. And it might be well to remember that we are as far along as we are, and did not have to start from scratch last Dec. 7, because President Roosevelt had the foresight to prepare for trouble long before we were attacked.

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Will be missed

Dr. Hu Shih, whom the Chinese government is calling home from his post as Ambassador to the United States, will be missed here. Tireless in his activity for his country, an able lecturer and a brilliant scholar, it is no exaggeration to say that much of the American sympathy for China should be credited to the way he has presented his country’s case.

U.S. troops revealed in Belgian Congo

London, England (UP) –
Premier Hubert Pierlot of the Belgium government-in-exile announced today that the first United States troop detachments had arrived in the Belgian Congo, adjoining Fighting French Equatorial Africa on the West African coast.

He said the reason for the presence of American troops was a military secret.

Pierlot said:

We conceive the defense of our colonial empire in solidarity with our British allies, Fighting France and finally with American troops, whose first detachments have just landed in the Congo.

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Völkischer Beobachter (September 5, 1942)

Neuer Wein in alte Schläuche –
Der Narr vom Weißen Haus will auch die Jugend ködern

Schirach antwortet Roosevelt im Namen des jungen Europa

Unverminderte Schärfe der japanischen Luftwaffe –
Townsville muß evakuiert warden

Das USA.-Volk darf nichts Wissen –
Man verschweigt die Salomonenniederlage

Brooklyn Eagle (September 5, 1942)

Army plane crashes and burns in Garden City, killing two

FDR polishes final draft of price program

Cancels all dates to work on message with Judge Rosenman

‘Fortresses’ aim for Dieppe

Tourists flock into city as natives rush away

Records are broken at all terminals despite pleas by government officials

Boro officer piles up Pacific air record

Lt. Stanley Cottage, winner of Flying Cross, still guides bombers against the Japs

Congressman finds plenty of U.S. courage, Jap Zeros in Pacific

Washington (UP) –
Rep. Eugene Worley (D-TX), back in Congress after eight months of active duty with the Navy, said today that he had found two things plentiful in the Pacific war zone – American courage and Japanese fighters.

He said American troops were outnumbered, that the Navy invariably had to overcome odds in encounters with the enemy fleet and that U.S. fighter planes in many respects were “inferior” to Japanese Zeros.

He said:

But our men bow to no one when it comes to courage. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no one in the world who can match our soldiers, sailors and Marines in that.

What I’m determined to do now is to see that those boys get some equipment that will put them on even terms with the Japanese.

Serving his first term in Congress, Worley left for Hawaii early in January as a lieutenant commander. He later flew to Australia.

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Japs land in Sunda Islands off Timor

U.S. to curb ‘hoarding’ to steady inventories

Theodore Roosevelt’s widow surprised by son’s Alaskan flight

Midway battle films to boost war bond sales

Navy releases thrilling movies of sea fight to 500 theaters

With total sales of war bonds and stamps in the statewide drive of the motion picture industry having passed the $34,000,000 mark today, interest in the campaign to top a $160,000,000 quota for the month was heightened by a Navy announcement of the release of color motion pictures of the Battle of Midway Island.

The film, to be distributed in the next ten days, was shot by Cdr. John Ford of the Naval Reserve during the actual battle. Five hundred prints will be sent out to theaters.

Hedy steals the show

Hedy Lamarr stole the bond drive show yesterday with her appearance in Newark, where traffic was stopped, a woman fainted and several others lost bits of clothing in the rush to get near the actress. About $2,000,000 in sales were registered.

The “bondmobile,” which started from Times Square on Wednesday bearing effigies of Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito, reached Middletown yesterday after being pushed from Port Chester through Port Jervis. The motorless car is pushed one foot by each purchaser of a bond. When it reaches Niagara Falls, the last buyer will shove it over the falls.

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Eight American newsmen killed since start of war

The casualty list of American war correspondents has grown during the three years of the war to eight killed, three missing and 17 wounded or injured in line of duty, according to an Editor & Publisher compilation.

A total of 17 representatives of American news agencies, newspapers, radio companies and magazines were captured in action. This group included those seized when Manila fell.

Germany, Italy and Japan interned 57 newspapermen, but the majority of these have been repatriated in diplomatic exchanges. However, 17 correspondents are still held in prison or internment camps.

Editor & Publisher predicted still heavier casualties in 1942-43. It pointed out that reporters are risking their lives with greater frequency in combat action in the Pacific offensive.

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Forced savings seen alternative to spending tax

Treasury’s objections to compulsory plan believed withdrawn

Völkischer Beobachter (September 6, 1942)

Der Gummi lockt sie an –
USA.-Truppen in Belgisch-Kongo

Eigener Bericht des „Völkischen Beobachters“

rd. Bern. 5. September –
Der Chef der belgischen Emigrantenregierung in London, Pierlot, teilte nach USA. und Belgisch-Kongo mit, daß die ersten Truppenkontingente aus den USA. in Leopoldville, der Hauptstadt Belgisch-Kongos, eingetroffen seien. Die Amerikaner hätten die Aufgabe, im belgischen Kongo ein Flugplatznetz zur Unterstützung der „Quer-durch-Afrika“-Verbindung anzulegen.

Nachdem England erst vor kurzem Lord Swinton zum Kabinettsminister für Britisch-Afrika ernannte mit dem Auftrag, auch die wirtschaftlichen Quellen des von de Gaulle kontrollierten Gebietes Französisch-Afrikas und des Belgisch-Kongo mit zu organisieren‚ mag für London dieser expansionistische Eifer des Imperialismus Washingtons wohl äußerst peinlich sein. Die Rohstoffquellen, die London in dieser Gegend als Ersatz für die in Ostasien verlorengegangenen Reichtümer fester erschließen wollte, geraten so mehr und mehr unter die amerikanische Oboraufsicht.

Daran dachte wahrscheinlich auch Pierlot‚ als er ganz unvermittelt an die obige Erklärung die Bemerkung anschloß‚ daß der Kongo besonders gut geeignet für Gummiproduktion sei, und daß vder dortige Anbau bedeutend vermehrt werde. Dieser angeblich „belgische“ Politiker scheint sich auch noch darüber zu freuen, daß Roosevelt das frühere Kolonialreich Belgiens schluckt.

Vormarsch auf Neuguinea

dnb. Berlin, 5. September –
Die Japaner machen auf Neuguinea weitere Fortschritte. So gelang es ihnen, den Widerstand der Australier im Kampfgebiet der Milne bucht zu brechen und den Gegner 30 Kilometer zurückzutreiben. Über 180 Gefangene fielen in japanische Hand, darunter der australische Abschnittskommandeur. 14 Geschütze, 21 Maschinengewehre‚ 7 Minenwerfer und 2 Flakgeschütze wurden von den Japanern erbeutet.

In Luftkämpfen über Neuguinea und Nordaustralien schossen japanische Jäger neun feindliche Flugzeuge ab, ohne eigene Verluste zu erleiden. Die schweren Luftangriffe auf nordaustralische Hafenstädte wurden auch am Freitag von der japanischen Marineluftwaffe fortgesetzt.