Armed Forces observe Easter
Dawn services held throughout nation
…
Monahan: Phantom Lady at Fulton lively ‘who dun it?’
Ella Raines, Alan Curtis and Franchot Tone are principals
By Kaspar Monahan
…
Williams: Zurita easy for a Jack far from best
By Joe Williams
…
Real thing for a change –
Bucs play Chisox in first exhibition game of season
By Dick Fortune
…
Owen’s return reduces list of absentees
…
Roving Reporter
By Ernie Pyle
With 5th Army beachhead forces in Italy – (by wireless)
The American infantry fighters on the 5th Army beachhead were having a welcome breathing spell when I dropped around to leave my calling card.
There’s nothing that suits me better than a breathing spell, so I stayed and passed the time of day. My hosts were a company of the 179th Infantry. They had just come out of the lines that morning, and had dug in on a little slope three miles back of the perimeter. The sun shone for a change, and we lay around on the ground talking and soaking up the warmth.
Every few minutes a shell would smack a few hundred yards away. Our own heavy artillery made such a booming that once in a while we had to wait a few seconds in order to be heard. Planes were high overhead constantly, and now and then you could hear the ratta-ta-tat-tat of machine-gunning up there out of sight in the blue, and see thin white vapor trails from the planes.
That scene may sound very warlike to you, but so great is the contrast between the actual lines and even a little way back, that it was actually a setting of great calm.
Always in great danger
This company had been in the frontlines more than a week. They were back to rest for a few days. There hadn’t been any real attacks from either side during their latest stay in the lines, and yet there wasn’t a moment of the day or night when they were not in great danger.
Up there in the front our men lie in shallow foxholes. The Germans are a few hundred yards on beyond them, also dug into foxholes, and buttressed in every farmhouse with machine-gun nests. The ground on the perimeter line slopes slightly down toward us – just enough to give the Germans the advantage of observation.
There are no trees or hillocks or anything up there for protection. You just lie in your foxhole from dawn till dark. If you raise your head a few feet, you get a rain of machine-gun bullets.
During these periods of comparative quiet on the front, it’s mostly a matter of watchful waiting on both sides. That doesn’t mean that nothing happens, for at night we send out patrols to feel out the German positions, and the Germans try to get behind our lines. And day and night the men on both sides are splattered with artillery, although we splatter a great deal more of it nowadays than the Germans do.
Back on the lines, where the ground is a little higher, men can dig deep into the ground and make comfortable dugouts which also give protection from shell fragments. But on the perimeter line the ground is so marshy that water rises in the bottom of a hole only 18 inches deep. Hence there are many artillery wounds.
Wounded must stay to dark
When a man is wounded, he just has to lie there and suffer till dark. Occasionally, when one is wounded badly, he’ll call out and the word is passed back and the medics will make a dash for him. But usually he just has to treat himself and wait till dark.
For more than a week, these boys lay in water in their foxholes, able to move or stretch themselves only at night. In addition to water seeping up from below, it rained from above all the time. It was cold, too, and of a morning new snow would glisten on the hills instead.
Dry socks were sent up about every other day, but that didn’t mean much. Dry socks are wet in five minutes after you put them on.
Wet feet and cold feet together eventually result in that hideous wartime occupational disease known as trench foot. Both sides have it up here, as well as in the mountains around Cassino.
The boys have learned to change their socks very quickly, and get their shores back on, because once your feet are freed of shoes, they swell so much in five minutes you can’t get the shoes back on.
Extreme cases were evacuated at night. But only the worst ones. When the company came out of the lines, some of the men could barely walk, but they had stayed it out.
Almost impossible to sleep
Living like this, it is almost impossible to sleep. You finally get to the point where you can’t stay awake, and yet you can’t sleep lying in cold water. It’s like the irresistible force meeting the immovable object.
I heard of one boy who tried to sleep sitting up in his foxhole, but kept falling over into the water and waking up. He finally solved his dilemma. There was a fallen tree alongside his foxhole, so he tied some rope around his chest and tied the other end to the tree trunk, so that it held him up while he slept.
Living as these boys do, it seems to me they should all be down with pneumonia inside of a week. But cases of serious illness are fairly rare.
Maybe the answer lies in mind over matter. I asked one sergeant if a lot of men didn’t get sick from exposure up there and have to be sent back. I’ll always remember his answer.
He said:
No, not many. You just don’t get sick – that’s all.
Stokes: Willkie handicap
By Thomas L. Stokes
Lincoln, Nebraska –
Wendell L. Willkie entered this state for a five-day campaign for national convention delegates and here he faces the same kind of uphill battle that challenged him when he began his house-to-house canvass in Wisconsin two weeks ago.
In his pursuit of the Republican presidential nomination, he encountered here the same undertone of skepticism and hostility, from the regular Republican organization that he found in Wisconsin and elsewhere. Part of it comes from doubt about his basic Republicanism which he, himself, feeds unblushingly by his criticism of the party/s Old Guard element.
Here, too, as in Wisconsin and elsewhere, rises before him the specter of the young man in New York, Governor Dewey, who has substantial support among the regular organization which does not seem to be discouraged by the Governor’s refusal to announce himself a candidate.
Governor Dewey is not an open issue in the presidential primary here April 11. No delegates are entered under his banner as in Wisconsin. Four years ago, he was a factor here, and then after personal appearances here he ran away with Nebraska’s 15 convention delegates in a contest with Senator Vandenberg of Michigan, just as he won decisively against the Michigan Senator that year in Wisconsin.
Result may be paradoxical
The primary situation here is just as complicated, in its way, as the four-cornered race in Wisconsin, and may end in a somewhat paradoxical result.
Three slates of delegates are entered – for Mr. Willkie, for LtCdr. Harold Stassen, and one known as the Griswold slate, entered in the name of Governor Dwight Griswold ostensibly an uninstructed slate which, if elected, would be controlled at the convention by the Governor.
Also, Willkie and Stassen are pitted against each other in the presidential primary which, is a straight-out popular vote of preference.
While the popular vote will go to one of these two, the Griswold slate of delegates may be elected to represent the state at the convention. This result is regarded as probably by some political experts here. The slate is headed by Sam McKelvie, veteran political figure, and other well-known persons.
So, while either Willkie or Stassen will win the preference vote, the end result may favor Governor Dewey. It is reported that he has considerable support among the delegates on the Griswold slate.
Governor plays cagey hand
Governor Griswold has played a very cagey hand. He has maintained friendly relations with all of the presidential candidates. He has become, likewise, one of the leading figures among governors, who will be very influential at the Chicago convention. The governors showed their power at the Republican Post-War Advisory Council meeting at Mackinac last September when they revolted against the U.S. Senate oligarchy of the party and forced more progressive domestic and international commitments.
Governor Griswold has a place on the list of possible vice-presidential nominees. His critics say he is also looking toward a place in the Cabinet if the Republicans win. He is a candidate for a third term in the November election.
Consequently, if his slate wins here, he will be in a favorable trading position at the convention.
The election April 11 might be inconclusive with a delegation divided among the three contestants.
Mr. Willkie is facing a handicap here. The Stassen candidacy offers an opportunity for all the anti-Willkie forces to concentrate behind him the supporters of the other candidates as well as those of the ex-Minnesota Governor, and it is apparent that this is happening.
Poll: Texans want reelection of Roosevelt
10% favor Dewey, most popular GOP
By George Gallup, Director, American Institute of Public Opinion
…
Völkischer Beobachter (April 2, 1944)
Vor Englands Hauptverteidigungslinie –
Der japanische Vormarsch nach Indien
Von unserem Berichterstatter in der Schweiz
…
US-Bomben auf Schweizer Stadt
dnb. Bern, 1. April –
Amtlich wird mitgeteilt: Am 1. April 1944 von vormittags 10,30 Uhr an wurden die Kantone Thurgau und Schaffhausen durch amerikanische Bombenflugzeuge in Formationen bis zu 30 Flugzeugen überflogen. Etwa um 11 Uhr wurden Bomben über der Stadt Schaffhausen abgeworfen. Nach den bis jetzt vorliegenden Meldungen sind mehrere Brände ausgebrochen.
U.S. Navy Department (April 2, 1944)
CINCPAC Press Release No. 334
For Immediate Release
April 2, 1944
The Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, has received the report of a board of investigation convened to investigate the accidental shelling of three landing craft by one of our destroyers at Parry Island, Eniwetok Atoll, on February 22, 1944 (West Longitude Date). As a result of this tragic episode 13 men were killed and 46 wounded.
At the time the destroyer was providing fire support to the first landing wave of assault troops approaching Parry Island in landing craft through heavy smoke and dust caused by the preparatory bombardment. The primary source of error was that under difficult conditions of navigation both destroyer and landing craft were slightly out of scheduled positions, with restricted visibility as a contributing factor.
The board was instructed to conduct a thorough investigation and to make recommendations to prevent a recurrence. It is recognized, however, that in any landing operation on a hostile shore close fire support is essential to prevent heavy losses during the landing and assault, and that this involves a calculated risk that must be accepted.
CINCPAC Press Release No. 335
For Immediate Release
April 2, 1944
Dublon in the Truk Atoll was bombed by Liberator bombers of the 7th Army Air Force before dawn on March 31 (West Longitude Date). Two enemy fighters were in the air but did not press home their attack. Medium anti-aircraft fire was encountered which did no damage to our planes. Our attack started large fires.
Mitchell medium bombers of the 7th Army Air Force accompanied by Corsair fighters of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing bombed Ponape. In a separate strike a single Liberator also bombed the island. Anti-aircraft fire was ineffective.
Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing Dauntless bombers and Corsair fighters and 7th Army Air Force Mitchells bombed three enemy positions in the Marshalls. In these raids, anti-aircraft positions were strafed, gasoline storage facilities hit, and an explosion observed in an ammunition dump.
All of our planes returned.
The Pittsburgh Press (April 2, 1944)
U.S. BOMBS KILL 50 SWISS
Yank fliers hit city on wrong side of border
Air Force admits navigation mistake
By Ludwig Popper, United Press staff writer
Schaffhausen. Switzerland – (April 1)
The people of Schaffhausen grieved for their dead and tended their wounded tonight, but with stoic calm.
They knew they had been victims of a tragic miscalculation by American airmen and blamed it on the fact that their ancient industrial city lies on the north bank of the Rhine, only three miles from Germany.
At least 50 killed
At least 50 persons were killed and more than 100 wounded, according to an official announcement, but fire brigades and rescue workers were still digging in the ruins of buildings tonight and it was feared the casualties would mount.
Liberators attacking Southwest Germany Saturday mistakenly dropped some bombs on Swiss territory because of the difficulties of navigation in bad weather, the U.S. Air Force headquarters in London announced.
Several Swiss of this battered city told me that the bombardiers undoubtedly had believed the Rhine River formed the Swiss border. Schaffhausen is situated in a small strip of Swiss territory which projects past the river’s northern shore and is surrounded on three sides by Germany.
No hard feelings
My main impression of the hard-hit city was of remarkable order. And there are no hard feelings toward the United States. Americans were being treated with the utmost politeness and friendliness by police, military authorities and the population.
Material damage plus compensation for the dead and wounded is unofficially estimated by the Swiss at $10-15 million.
Strict discipline and organization are visible everywhere. The air-raid defenses were at work soon after the last bomb exploded.
Fires still smoldering
When I entered the town tonight, I found it permeated with blue smoke. Fires still smoldered in a dozen places. Streets were covered with broken glass from thousands of smashed windows and other debris.
Schaffhausen, with a population of 15,000, is 23 miles northeast of Zürich and is the capital of the canton of the same name. The official Swiss announcement of the bombing took pains to note that the U.S. planes “went into action over southern Germany in the Rhine area,” implying that the Swiss were convinced the bombing was accidental.
Hundreds were wandering the streets or standing guard over household possessions, piled up before wrecked homes.
The city teemed with troops and volunteer rescue workers, including Boy Scouts and women auxiliaries.
Flames were occasionally breaking out anew.
U.S. officials investigate
U.S. Military Attaché Brig. Gen. Barnwell Legge, Consul General Samuel Woods and Consul Philip Hubbard reached Schaffhausen from Zürich tonight to make an official inspection of the damage.
Eyewitnesses said everyone dived for the air-raid cellars when the first bomb exploded. The planes were gone within five minutes.
The alarm sounded at 10:30 a.m. (CET) and a few seconds later, watchers in the streets saw a formation of 24 bombers coming in from the east at a considerable height, followed by a second formation of the same size. The second group was attacked by an unidentified fighter plane and machine-gun fire could be heard.
Scores of fires
Immediately afterward, a heavy explosion shook the town, followed by several smaller blasts. A few minutes later, scores of fires were blazing.
A number of bomb craters were visible in the streets, but I saw none more than a yard wide and a foot or so deep. Railroad traffic in and out of Schaffhausen was being restored but there was no service.
This dispatch was telephoned to the United Press office in Zürich from a neighboring village.
Schools were opened to accommodate the homeless. Soup kitchens had been established on some street corners, and the military authorities arranged to provide bedding for the homeless.
Numerous incendiaries
The bombers sowed numerous incendiaries and many small high explosives. Among rows of intact buildings stood single houses that were burst by small bombs.
In a few places were groups of small medieval houses, characteristic of this ancient city, which were fired by incendiaries and partly burned out.
As near as I could estimate, about 30 buildings were totally destroyed. Those that were partly burned out were estimated by the Swiss to number about 100. The town museum was partially destroyed and the Swiss said many valuable art treasures were lost.
One church bombed
One church was bombed and the priest’s house was still burning. A new, five-story textile factory was a mass of flaming ruins. A silverware factory had been burned out, and a string factory was partly leveled.
The cantonal government building was struck by a direct hit that killed eight persons, including Cantonal Councilor Schoch and two policemen. The railway station suffered a direct hit that killed many, including the stationmaster, and the building partly collapsed. Several bombs damaged tracks nearby.
Air Force: Weather to blame
London, England (UP) –
Liberator bombers of the 8th Air Force attacking industrial targets and communications in Southwest Germany yesterday, mistakenly dropped some bombs on Swiss territory because of difficulties of navigation in bad weather, U.S. Air Force headquarters said today.
The U.S. communiqué did not identify the Swiss territory.
There was no mention of the targets in the communiqué other than a reference to a “deep penetration” of Germany. Thunderbolt and Lightning fighters escorting the Liberator formations, which were believed to number about 250 planes, shot down five enemy fighters.
Two high-priority industrial targets lie across Lake Constance from Schaffhausen, where the Swiss announced at least 50 were killed by U.S. bombs. They are Friedrichshafen, 40 airline miles to the southeast of Ludwigshafen, 20 miles to the east.
Thirteen bombers and four fighters were missing, the communiqué said. Enemy planes which fell before the Liberators’ guns, in addition to the five shot down by fighters, are not yet tabulated.
The Thunderbolts and Mustangs also destroyed a number of planes on the ground, and other Thunderbolt fighters attacked airfields in the Bremen and Hanover areas as well as shooting up 16 locomotives and damaging tugs and barges, the announcement said.
Yesterday’s raid, opening a new month in the air war against the Reich that is confidently expected to exceed March’s all-time record of 25 attacks in 31 days, marked the first deep penetration of Germany yet made by Liberators without an accompanying force of Flying Fortresses.
The commander of one of the groups of Liberator bombers that accidentally bombed Swiss territory said today that, “We are terribly sorry that it happened.”
He said:
We were blown off our course by a wind of higher velocity than anticipated.
The boys did not know that they were dropping bombs on Switzerland – and a lot of them do not know it yet. They will all know later today and they are all going to feel badly about it.
Allies attacking Cassino’s flank
Drive ahead a mile capture mountain
By Reynolds Packard, United Press staff writer
…
Big bombers hammer Truk on third successive night
Assault backstops daring U.S. task force attack on Palau, near Philippines
By William F. Tyree, United Press staff writer
…
Poll: Single women prefer draft for WACs to taking fathers
By George Gallup, Director, American Institute of Public Opinion
One proposal to help solve the problem of finding more than a million persons for the military services by July 1 is that single women be drafted for non-combat jobs.
Such a move would meet with the approval of the vast majority of American voters. This is indicated by a nationwide survey which reveals that not only the great majority of voters, but an almost equally large majority of the single women who would themselves be affected, are in favor of drafting single women between 21 and 35 for non-combat jobs in the WACs in preference to taking married men with families.
The survey reveals further that large majorities in favor of taking single women first prevail in nine of the more populous states as well as in every section of the United States.
In measuring sentiment, the Institute asked voters in every state to choose between calling up more fathers or drafting single women. The question is as follows:
The Army can either draft 300,000 single women aged 21-35 for the WACs for non-fighting jobs, or it can draft the same number of married men with families for the same work. Which plan would you prefer?
A comparison of today’s survey with earlier surveys on the same question shows that so far as the great majority of American voters go, a draft of women for non-fighting jobs with the WACs could have been instituted months ago:
| Today | December 1943 | October 1943 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Draft single women | 76% | 78% | 73% |
| Draft fathers | 16% | 15% | 19% |
| No opinion | 8% | 7% | 8% |
One of the most significant facts is that a large majority of single women themselves think women from their group should be drafted for non-combat jobs in preference to calling up more married men with families.
Here is the vote of the single women from 21 to 35 years of age:
| Draft single women | 75% |
| Draft fathers | 18% |
| No opinion | 7% |
Seventy-two percent of married men with families (37 years old or under) think the single women should be called up first, 18% think fathers should be called in preference to drafting the women, 10% are undecided.
Similar high majorities are found in favor of drafting the single women first in intensive surveys in nine of the more populous states.
Michigan leads the list, with 83% of the voting population there in favor of having its single women drafted for non-fighting jobs instead of calling up more married men with families. New Jersey is second, with 82%, California third, with 81%.
Listed below is the actual vote in the nine states, on the basis of cross-section surveys in each of the states:
| Single women | Fathers | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 83% | 12% | 5% |
| New Jersey | 82% | 10% | 8% |
| California | 81% | 13% | 6% |
| Massachusetts | 80% | 14% | 6% |
| Ohio | 79% | 13% | 8% |
| New York | 79% | 14% | 7% |
| Pennsylvania | 76% | 15% | 9% |
| Indiana | 75% | 16% | 9% |
| Illinois | 74% | 18% | 8% |
Whipping of critic urged by Vivian
Miss Kellems replies to ‘Nazi’ charge
…
New Deal Senator named U.S. judge
…