America at war! (1941–) – Part 5

1717

Führer HQ (April 15, 1945)

Kommuniqué des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht

Zwischen Drau und Donau halten die schweren wehrkämpfe an. Bei schwungvollen Gegenangriffen nordöstlich St. Pölten vernichteten unsere Truppen 20 Panzer. Westlich der March wurden starke feindliche Angriffe abgeschlagen, zum Teil auch nach anfänglichem Geländeverlust aufgefangen. Der in Manharts Brunn eingedrungene Gegner wurde durch ein Volkssturmbataillon der Hitler-Jugend wieder geworfen. Wiederholte bolschewistische Angriffe zwischen March und dem Quellgebiet der Neutra scheiterten. In Gegenangriffen gelang es, verschiedene Einbruchsstellen einzuengen. Die tapferen Verteidiger von Breslau wehrten auch gestern starke Angriffe des Feindes gegen die Westfront der Festung ab. Zwischen Neiße-Mündung und Oderbruch führte der Gegner zahlreiche Angriffe, die besonders westlich Küstrin von starkem Panzereinsatz unterstützt waren. Unsere Divisionen wehrten die Bolschewisten ab und vernichteten in harten Kämpfen 98 Panzer. Artillerie belegte Bereitstellungen und Aufmarschräume des Feindes wirkungsvoll mit schwerem Feuer. Aus der westlichen Weichselniederung werden wechselvolle Kämpfe bei Gottwalde gemeldet. An der Samlandfront wurden die Bolschewisten mehrere Kilometer nach Osten zurückgeworfen. Unseren Nordflügel dagegen konnte der Feind nach schweren Kämpfen geringfügig zurückdrängen.

In Holland kamen bei Arnheim und Deventer geführte Angriffe der Kanadier trotz starker Artillerie- und Fliegerunterstützung nicht über örtliche Erfolge hinaus. Nach Norden sind Aufklärungskräfte bis in den Raum von Groningen vorgestoßen. Zwischen Ems und unterer Elbe blieb die Lage im Wesentlichen unverändert Starke Angriffe gegen Aller und Aufklärungsvorstöße gegen Olsen wurden unter Abschuß zahlreicher Panzer zurückgeschlagen. Südöstlich Magdeburg warfen die Verteidiger über die Elbe vorgedrungene Amerikaner auf: ihre Übersetzstellen zurück und brachten zahlreiche Gefangene ein. Südlich davon sind Gegenangriffe gegen weitere örtliche Brückenköpfe im Gange.

An der Ruhr und im Bergischen Land setzte der Feind seine Durchbruchsversuche auch gestern unter starkem Materialeinsatz fort. Trotz tapferer Gegenwehr unserer Truppen konnten die Amerikaner ihren Einbruchsraum nordwestlich Lüdenscheid erweitern.

Im West- und Süd-Harz drängte der Gegner in schweren Wald-und Gebirgskämpfen unsere Sperrtruppen zurück. Die Abwehrschlacht in Mitteldeutschland nahm gestern an Ausdehnung und Heftigkeit zu. Südlich Bernburg erzwang eine starke amerikanische Kräftegruppe den Saale-Übergang und stieß nach Osten vor. Jagdkommandos griffen den Feind in den Flanken an und fügten ihm empfindliche Verluste zu, Die auf Leipzig und Chemnitz vordringenden Angriffsgruppen wurden durch Eingreifreserven und Flakkampftruppen im Vorfeld der Städte zum Stehen gebracht. Im Rücken des Feindes leisten noch zahlreiche Stützpunkte zähen Widerstand und binden starke Kräfte des Gegners. Im Verlauf der erbitterten Kämpfe wurde eine feindliche Panzerabteilung im Gegenangriff zersprengt. Der Gerner verlor 22 Panzerwagen. In der Fränkischen Schweiz entwickelten sich heftige Bewegungsgefechte mit überlegenen amerikanischen Panzerkräften. Durchgestoßene Panzerrudel drangen in Bayreuth ein Am linken Flügel der Westfront erzwang der Gegner unter hohen Menschen- und Materialverlusten erneut mehrere Einbrüche südwestlich Baden-Badens. Nach den bisherigen Meldungen verloren die Anglo-Amerikaner gestern an der Westfront 94 Panzer.

In Italien haben sich die Kämpfe südwestlich des Comacchio-Sees an den Sillaro verlagert. An einigen Stellen auf das Westufer des Flusses übergesetzte Kräfte wurden durch sofort angesetzte Gegenstöße wieder geworfen. Im Mittelabschnitt der Südfront nahm der Feind nach starker Artillerievorbereitung gestern seine Angriffe gegen unsere Bergstellungen südwestlich Vergato wieder auf. Er wurde bis auf geringfügige Einbrüche verlustreich abgeschlagen. Auch an der Ligurischen Küste gehen die Kämpfe mit gleicher Heftigkeit weiter. Während der Gerner beiderseits der Küstenstraße im Wesentlichen abgewiesen wurde, konnte er nördlich Carrara in unser Hauptkampffeld eindringen. In Syrmien haben unsere Truppen in tagelangen schweren Kämpfen mit scharf nachdrängenden Bandenkräften neue Stellungen bezogen und zahlreiche Umfassungs- und Durchbruchsversuche des Gegners abgeschlagen.

Schwache amerikanische Kampfverbände bombardierten einige Orte in der Ostmark. Potsdam, die historische Residenz Friedrichs des Großen, war das Ziel eines nächtlichen britischen Terrorangriffs. Erhebliche Teile der Altstadt mit ihren zahlreichen historischen Bauten, darunter die Garnisonskirche, wurden vernichtet. Die Personenverluste sind erheblich. Außerdem wurden Bomben auf die Reichshauptstadt und das norddeutsche Küstengebiet geworfen.

1718

Supreme HQ Allied Expeditionary Force (April 15, 1945)

FROM
(A) SHAEF MAIN

ORIGINATOR
PRD, Communique Section

DATE-TIME OF ORIGIN
151100B April

TO FOR ACTION
(1) AGWAR
(2) NAVY DEPARTMENT

TO (W) FOR INFORMATION (INFO)
(3) TAC HQ 12 ARMY GP
(4) MAIN 12 ARMY GP
(5) AIR STAFF MAIN
(6) ANCXF
(7) EXFOR MAIN
(8) EXFOR REAR
(9) DEFENSOR, OTTAWA
(10) CANADIAN C/S, OTTAWA
(11) WAR OFFICE
(12) ADMIRALTY
(13) AIR MINISTRY
(14) UNITED KINGDOM BASE
(15) SACSEA
(16) CMHQ (Pass to RCAF & RCN)
(17) COM ZONE
(18) SHAEF REAR
(19) SHAEF MAIN
(20) HQ SIXTH ARMY GP 

(REF NO.)
NONE

(CLASSIFICATION)
IN THE CLEAR

Communiqué No. 372

UNCLASSIFIED: Allied forces are clearing the last pockets of enemy resistance in Arnhem. Farther north, we reached the outskirts of Apeldoorn. Good advances were made between the Ijssel River and the Ems River and we reached the outskirts of Zwolle, Groningen and Winschoten. To the east, Friesoythe and Cloppenburg have been cleared of the enemy. Several counterattacks launched against our bridgehead over the Aller River near Rethen, were repulsed. We advanced 30 miles beyond Celle and are fighting in Uelzen. Our armor reached the Elbe River near Werben, north of Magdeburg. Iinfantry units following the armor reached Wittingen and Gladdenstedt, 30 miles north of Braunschweig, and the vicinity of Bismark, northwest of Stendal. We also have reached the Elbe near Tangermünde and are fighting in the town.

North of Magdeburg, we have taken Wolmirstedt and Barleben and we are on the river northeast of Barleben. We have made two crossings of the Elbe. Our forces on the east bank repulsed several counterattacks and we are receiving artillery fire. We reached Altenau and Breitenstein in the Harz Forest. Our armor, advancing up to 30 miles, is at a point three miles southwest of Dessau. Infantry units following the armor reached areas three miles north and four miles south of Halle. Zeitz has been cleared and our armor is 16 miles east of the town. Southeast of Zeitz we are meeting heavy artillery, small-arms and bazooka fire.

Armored elements crossed the Mulde River and reached the vicinity of Meinsdorf and Hohenstein-Ernstthal, west of Chemnitz. We cleared the enemy from Jena and are fighting in Gera. Our infantry is mopping-up in the area south of Jena. Rudolstadt has been cleared, with the exception of a fortified castle, and we are in the area 16 miles east of Saalfeld. Our armor is fighting in Bayreuth and infantry is ten miles north of the city. Bamberg has been completely cleared of the enemy. Some 1,850 prisoners were captured there. Our armor advanced 15 miles northeast and east of the city. To the southwest we are within six miles of Rothenberg. In the Heilbronn area our units advanced eight miles east of the city and six miles southward toward Stuttgart.

Near the Rhine River, we gained more than ten miles southwest of Baden Baden. Steinbach and Bühl were captured.

Allied forces in the west captured 57,187 prisoners 13 April.

In the Ruhr Pocket, we have cleared Dortmund and the enemy controls only five square miles north of the Ruhr River. Hagen has been entered by our forces, and we captured Eisborn and Asbeck. Lüdenscheid has been cleared and we took 3,600 prisoners from the town. Enemy gun positions, strongpoints, and other installations in the Department of the Gironde area in France, near Royan, and an ammunition storage area north of Ulm in Germany, were attacked by medium bombers.

Rail and road traffic in the large triangular area formed by Dessau, Dresden and Nürnberg; railyards at Schwabach, Schorndorf, Herbrechtingen, northeast of Ulm, and at Nördlingen; rail communications near Plzen, Rokycany, Beroun and Praha; objectives at Leitzkau, southeast of Magdeburg; airfields at Brandis, east of Leipzig; near Bayreuth and Nördlingen; fortified positions and strongpoints at Barßel Harkebrügge, and Kampe, west of Oldenburg; Stuttgart and Ingolstadt were attacked by fighter-bombers.

The communications center of Potsdam was heavily attacked last night by heavy bombers. Objectives in Berlin also were bombed.

COORDINATED WITH: G-2, G-3 to C/S

THIS MESSAGE MAY BE SENT IN CLEAR BY ANY MEANS
/s/

Precedence
“OP” - AGWAR
“P” - Others

ORIGINATING DIVISION
PRD, Communique Section

NAME AND RANK TYPED. TEL. NO.
D. R. JORDAN, Lt Col FA4655

AUTHENTICATING SIGNATURE
/s/
1719

U.S. Navy Department (April 15, 1945)

CINCPOA Communiqué No. 333

Three enemy counterattacks in the southern sector of Okinawa were broken up by Marine and Army artillery on the night of April 14-15 (East Longitude Date). At noon on April 15, the XXIV Army Corps lines were unchanged.

In the north, Marines of the III Amphibious Corps continued to mop up small units of the enemy. In the Western area of Motobu Peninsula one isolated group of the enemy was offering stiff resistance.

Ground forces continued to receive effective support from naval guns, carrier and land-based aircraft, and field artillery.

Keufu Island in the Kerama Group was occupied by our troops on April 14.

Privateers of Fleet Air Wing One damaged a small cargo ship near Tanega Island in the northern Ryukyus and bombed and strafed buildings and radio towers on the Island on April 15.

A Marine Mitchell scored rocket hits on a small ship in the area of the Bonins on the night of April 14-15. On the same date, Army night fighters attacked targets on Haha Jima, Chichi Jima and Muko Jima in the Bonins.

Corsair and Hellcat fighters of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing damaged bridge and pier installations in the Palaus on April 15.

1720

CINCPOA Advance Headquarters, Guam

Elements of the Marine III Amphibious Corps on Okinawa Island on April 14 advanced northward to the vicinity of Momubaru town on the west coast and Arakawa town on the east coast. Resistance was negligible. The Marines on Motobu Peninsula are now in possession of most of that area and are attacking small concentrations of enemy troops which continue to resist.

In the southern sector during the early morning hours of April 14 the enemy mounted a small counterattack which was immediately beaten off by troops of the 96th Infantry Division. Enemy positions were brought under fire of field artillery, ships’ guns and carrier and land-based aircraft.

A few enemy aircraft appeared in the area off Okinawa during the day and nine were shot down by our combat air patrols.

Aircraft from carriers of the U.S. Pacific Fleet bombed airfields on Ishigaki and Miyako Islands in the Sakishima group on 14 April, destroying seven aircraft on the ground and damaging twenty five more.

Without opposition, carrier aircraft of the British Pacific Fleet struck airfields and installations at Matsuyama and Shinchiku on Formosa on 13 April. A number of aircraft were damaged on the ground and hangars, barracks, buildings, a railway bridge, a train and other targets were heavily hit. Several small groups of enemy planes attempted to attack surface units of the British force and three of these were shot down. The task force suffered no damage.

Fighters of the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing bombed enemy islands in the Palaus on 14 April.

C. W. NIMITZ,
Fleet Admiral, USN,
Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet,
and Pacific Ocean Areas.

1721

The Pittsburgh Press (April 15, 1945)

YANKS NEAR BERLIN OUTSKIRTS
Entry imminent, London says

Rampaging Americans 80-odd miles from juncture with Reds
Saturday, April 14, 1945

BULLETIN

LONDON, England (UP) – The London Sunday Express said today that “new behind-the-scenes developments” had reached London which indicated the complete collapse of Germany was at hand.

map.041545.up
Closing in on Berlin, the U.S. Ninth Army advanced under a news blackout, but some unofficial reports put the Americans as close as 13 miles from Berlin. The U.S. First Army, to the south, neared Dessau, in the Elbe River region, after a 30-mile advance. Third Army troops aimed for Dresden and a juncture with the Red Army. Seventh Army troops drove into Bamberg, north of Nuremberg. In the north, the British Second Army reached Uelzen, southeast of Hamburg, while the Canadian First Army closed in on Emden and the North Sea.

PARIS, France (UP) – Rampaging American armies were bearing down on Berlin today, perhaps less than 21 miles away, and were no more than 80-odd miles from a juncture with massed Russian armies pressing through the Reich from the east.

The London press said the American entry into Berlin might be announced at any hour.

The American news blackout on the fighting before Berlin apparently has been the most complete and extended of the war. Developments may be almost three days ahead of the news reports.

West of Berlin, the U.S. Ninth Army put a second task force across the Elbe onto the Berlin Plain, joining the 2nd “Hell on Wheels” Armored Division which fought toward the tottering Nazi capital under a news blackout extended into its third day.

Radio Luxembourg said the 2nd Armored Division was only 13 miles from the capital’s outskirts and the Germans said it was 21 miles away as of yesterday.

The Paris radio, frequently unreliable, said the Ninth Army was in Berlin’s outskirts.

As the hour of victory in Europe neared, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower returned to Supreme Allied Headquarters after a tour of the front.

The U.S. First and Third Armies rammed a 75-mile-wide armored wedge into the rear of Nazi forces facing the Russians in a gigantic drive to cut off the main German army – perhaps more than a million men – in a 25,000-square-mile pocket including Berlin and extending to the Baltic.

Cutting supply roads

Six armored columns were racing across the dwindling supply highways and railroads from remaining Nazi arsenals in Czechoslovakia and Austria.

Tanks of Lt. Gen. George S. Patton’s Third Army, outflanking Berlin far to the south, plunged beyond Leipzig and were within 80-odd miles of a junction with the Russians which will cut the main German armies in the north from their last stand mountain redoubt in the south. Another Patton column entered the northern fringes of the redoubt, at Bayreuth, only 167 miles northwest of Hitler’s Berchtesgaden retreat and 102 miles from Western Austria.

1st Army paces drive

Lt. Gen. Courtney H. Hodges’ First Army’s 3rd Armored Division paced the announced advances of Allied armies by sending three tank columns through Berlin’s southern defenses, one to within five miles of the middle Elbe at Dessau and 55 miles from the capital. Other First Army forces tightened the arc around Leipzig, fifth largest city of the Reich, and fought within four miles of Halle.

Scottish troops of the British Second Army joined the race for Berlin from the northwest. Fighting into Uelzen, 97 miles from the capital and 22 miles from the Elbe, driving the Germans ahead of them in mass flight.

Lt. Gen. Alexander M. Patch’s U.S. Seventh Army, fighting through Bavaria along Gen. Patton’s southern flank, captured the city of Bamberg, and moved toward the Nazi shrine center of Nuremberg, 29 miles to the south.

Gain in Ruhr

Far behind the spearheads, the battle of the Ruhr neared an end as the First and Ninth Armies, taking another 19,904 prisoners for a Ruhr total of 1,100,000, reached within 2½ miles of cutting the pocket in two near Hagen. One report said those forces had met, spitting the diehard Nazis.

Resistance in the Holland pocket weakened suddenly as Canadian First Army troops captured or fought into four major German anchor towns – Arnhem, Deventer, Zwolle and Groningen – and reached within seven miles of the North Sea near the Ems River estuary.

The Americans were threatening or fighting in six German cities: Dresden, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Chemnitz, Halle and Dessau.

Prisoners were pouring into the rear areas so rapidly it was almost impossible to take care of them. The First Army bagged 34,847 alone on Friday – believed to be a one-day record for the Western Front.

Hard battle reported

The blackout on Lt. Gen. William H. Simpson’s Ninth Army drive on Berlin prevented correspondents from revealing anything of the fighting beyond the Elbe.

But the London radio said the Germans were battling furiously on Berlin’s near approaches and massing tank forces for blows against the flanks of Gen. Simpson’s Berlin-bound spearheads.

The London Evening Standard said private dispatches from Allied generals to the British government conveyed sensational news. The Standard said a sensational double announcement – the entry of Allied troops in Berlin and capitulation of the German Army – was expected hourly.

The American Broadcasting Station in Europe said the entry into Berlin was imminent and there was terrific tension in the Reich capital as the Ninth Army approached.

Allied Supreme Headquarters disclosed that the Ninth Army made a second crossing of the Elbe, but did not name the place. These reports said the Ninth Army was fighting at three other places along the Elbe at Tangermuende, Stendal and Osterburg, from 28 to 43 miles north of Magdeburg.

Saturday’s dispatches placed the 5th Armored Division at Tangermuende and also at Seehausen, 51 miles north of Magdeburg, presumably forcing a river crossing.

The 15th Scottish Division of the British Second Army was driving for the Elbe on the Americans northern flank, striking 23 miles through cracking German resistance to drive into Uelzen, 22 miles west of the Elbe and 27 miles northwest of Berlin.

The drive into Uelzen met resistance from fanatical Hitler Youth units battling with bazookas. But a mass flight was in progress between Uelzen and the Elbe, with the enemy using even double-deck buses under the blasting of British fighter-bombers and rocket-firing planes.

The Scots, supported in their breakout from their Aller River bridgehead above Hanover by British armor and Welsh troops, were threatening to outflank the large port of Hamburg by their eastward drive some 40 miles south.

The U.S. First Army drive toward Berlin was as of noon Saturday and it was believed Gen. Hodges’ tanks might already be at the Elbe, which flows from east to west in that area. Dispatches said the First Army was going so fast that front reports were being delayed hours and even days.

One column advanced 30 miles to reach a point three miles south of Dessau, a city of 130,000 and five miles from the Elbe which has three bridges at Dessau. Another reached Koethen, 10 miles southwest of Dessau and a third hit Sandersleben, 25 miles southwest of Dessau.

The 104th “Timberwolves” Infantry Division battled to within four miles of Halle, 24 miles southwest of Dessau, and 15 miles northwest of Leipzig. The 9th Armored Division built a siege arc halfway around Leipzig and sent om task force into its southeastern outskirts. The Ninth crossed the Elster River and reached the Pleisse River at Bergisdorf, 15 miles south of Leipzig.

The Germans were offering tough resistance at Leipzig, battling with artillery, mortars and small arms on all of the city’s approaches.

1722

‘Eternity’ stressed at Roosevelt bier

‘Yet shall he live,’ bishop intones
By Merriman Smith, United Press staff writer
Saturday, April 14, 1945

WASHINGTON – A handful of the millions who loved Franklin D. Roosevelt heard in a hushed White House today this promise “Yet Shall He Live.”

Those words, essence of all that the Bible contains of hope and assurance were uttered while Americans everywhere stood silent at 4 p.m. in tribute to the leader and friend who piloted them to the threshold of victory and peace.

Other words of hope – words voiced by Mr. Roosevelt at his first inaugural in the depression days of 1933 – were also given utterance in his name.

Warning against fear

The Rt. Rev. Angus Dun, Episcopal Bishop of Washington, departing from the text of the moving Episcopal service, quoted: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself…”

Then, the bishop added:

As that was his first word to us, I am sure he would wish it to be his last, and that we should go forward into the future as those who go forward without fear…

A few hours before, the nation’s great helmsman in its greatest war had completed his long last journey to the White House. A few hours later – at 10:42 p m. – he began the final trip home to his beloved ancestral estate on the Hudson at Hyde Park, New York.

But now, in the East Room of the mansion which was his home for 12 years of ceaseless labor, they were saying over his flag-draped casket the simple words of faith and hope which are the Episcopal service for the dead.

Widow bears up bravely

There in the great room, where in happier times gaiety had ruled, stood the trustees of a world’s grief.

They were few – compared to the many who mourned. At their head was the new President, Harry S. Truman, the man who had given his pledge to fight on for the dead President’s goals.

At Mr. Truman’s side was the gallant lady, the mother of four fighting sons, who had shared as best she could with Franklin Roosevelt the burdens which finally killed him. Clad simply in black, she bore a grief too great for tears.

With Mrs. Roosevelt was Brig. Gen. Elliott Roosevelt, the only one of her four fighting sons who was able to come home for his father’s funeral. With her, too, were her only daughter, Anna Boettiger, and her four daughters-in-law.

There were also the official representatives of all the freedom-loving nations. Among them was Anthony Eden, British Foreign Secretary and personal representative of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the dead President’s friend and co-architect of doom for the Axis.

Bowed by a grief as great as any in that grief-filled room was one of Mr. Roosevelt’s most intimate friends – dark-skinned Arthur Prettyman, wearing the uniform of a Navy chief petty officer, who for six years had been the President’s personal valet. Two days before, he had carried his stricken chief to the bed on which he died.

Old friends mourn

Also in the funeral chamber were two friends of old, on whom Mr. Roosevelt had leaned constantly for years – White House Secretaries Stephen T. Early and William Hassett.

Among those who rushed here from various parts of the world for the funeral were Bernard M. Baruch, who flew from London: Harry L. Hopkins, who came by plane from the Mayo Clinic at Rochester, Minnesota; Gov. Thomas E. Dewey of New York, and the Earl of Athlone, Governor General of Canada.

Hymn opens services

The brief services began with a hymn the President loved – “Eternal Father! Strong to Save.” They ended 24 minutes later with a prayer, composed and spoken by Bishop Dun who asked of God this boon:

Quicken and knit together in common loyalty the willy of this whole people, that we may resolutely take to ourselves the responsibilities bequeathed to us by our stricken leader.

Keep us in this land and those peoples who struggle at our side peoples who struggle at our side steadfast and united in the unfinished task of war.

Seven hours before the funeral, under a cloud-flecked April sky, the President had come back to his greatest triumph. Nearly 40,000 persons, more than ever had paid homage to him alive, watched with grief-constricted throats while his casket moved from Union Station to the White House.

Military procession

The funeral train had rolled slowly northward during the night from that “Other Home” in Warm Springs, Georgia, where a cerebral hemorrhage snuffed out the President’s life at 4:35 p.m. Thursday. It arrived in the capital at 9:58 a.m.

A great military procession, symbolizing a peaceful nation’s might in a righteous cause, led the way to the White House. The President’s mahogany casket, wrapped in the flag. rede on a shining, jet-black caisson drawn by six gray horses.

It entered the White House at 11:17 a.m. as a military band softly played “Lead Kindly Light.”

At the White House, President Truman took leave of Mrs. Roosevelt and went to the executive office to work until funeral time – the old President was dead but the new one was carrying on.

Honor Guard of servicemen

The casket was carried to the East Room where an Honor Guard of two soldiers, a sailor, and a marine, with a naval lieutenant at the head, took charge of it.

The walls were banked high with flowers – despite Mrs. Roosevelt’s request that no flowers be sent. Their fragrance permeated the mansion.

Between the casket and one wall was a walnut pulpit. The portraits of Martha and George Washington looked down on it. Gilt chairs, a little more than 200 of them, were placed in semi-circular rows on either side.

In the center front raw were 12 special chairs, upholstered in pale green tapestry, for the family. On each chair was a prayer book.

The funeral was conducted by Bishop Dun, assisted by the Rev. John G. Magee, pastor of St. John’s Church, the “Church of Presidents” where Mr. Roosevelt went to pray on the morning of his first Inauguration Day, March 4, 1933.

Wesley Steele. organist of St. John’s Church, opened the services with “Eternal Father,” the hymn which concludes:

O Trinity of love and power!
Our brethren shield in danger’s hour;
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect them wheresoe’er they go;
Thus evermore shall rise to Thee
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

Bishop Dun’s first words were the reiteration of Christ’s promise:

I am the Resurrection and the Life, saith The Lord: He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me, shall never die.

Then the Bishop said: “The Lord gave and The Lord hath taken away, Blessed be The Name of The Lord.”

The Rev. Mr. Magee then read two Psalms, the 46th – “Lord of Hosts is with us, and the 21st – “The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in, from this time forth forevermore.”

Bible lessons read

The Rev. Howard S. Wilkinson, rector of St. Thomas’ Church, read the Bible lessons. They included this from Romans VIII-14: “If God be for us, who can be against us?” and these words of promise from St. John XIV-1:

“In My Father’s house are many mansions: If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”

Then followed another of Mr. Roosevelt’s best-beloved hymns, “Faith of Our Fathers” with the refrain “Faith of Our Fathers, Holy Faith! We will be true to thee till death.”

The Bishop then intoned the words “The Lord be with you,” and the congregation replied, “and with thy spirit.”

In his concluding prayer, Bishop Dun thanked God “for the qualities of heart and mind which this Thy servant brought to the service of our nation and our world.”

He prayed:

As we look ahead to final victory, enable us to strive even more mightily in peace than in way to bring new freedom and dignity to every member of our human race, and to bear without stint our destined responsibilities in the family of nations.

Make ready our shoulders to carry the burdens of victory; to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to free the oppressed, and to lay the foundation for a more just and ordered human life for all Thy people.

The prayer closed with:

…Through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever.

AMEN.

Services list body bearers

WASHINGTON (UP) – The following are the servicemen who acted as body bearers in the Roosevelt funeral cortege today:

  • Army: Sgt. James W. Powder, Rockford, Illinois; Sgt. Bentley K. Hurt, Williamsson, West Virginia; Sgt. Richard O’Neil, Arlington, Virginia.

  • Marines: Sgt. Roy A. Culberson, Syracuse, Alabama; Sgt. Robert F. Buckley, Detroit.

  • Navy: Chief Fire Controlman Thomas E. Ballew, El Paso, Texas; Chief Gunner’s Mate David H. Cleaver, Dunsmuir, California.

  • Air Forces: Sgt. William I. Murray, McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania.

  • Coast Guard: Boatswains Mate Arthur A. Arnold, New Alexandria, Virginia.

1723

Mrs. Roosevelt wavers only once

She bears ordeal like a soldier
Saturday, April 14, 1945

WASHINGTON (UP) – Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt bore the ordeal of her husband’s last ride to the White House like a soldier.

Only once did she waver.

Her black limousine drew to one side as the caisson stopped before the White House portico. She didn’t wait for help but opened the car door and stepped out alone.

For a moment, her tall figure seemed to crumple slightly but she quickly gathered herself together and waited for her son, Brig. Gen. Elliott Roosevelt, and her daughter, Mrs. Anna Boettiger, to join her.

They were a lone little group, standing by the side of the car those few, long minutes.

Soon the four daughters-in-law, all of a size and all wearing black dresses and very small black hats, arrived in a single straight line behind them.

Col. John Boettiger, the Roosevelts’ son-in-law, was at Mrs. John Roosevelt’s left. To her right were Mrs. Franklin Roosevelt Jr., Mrs. James Roosevelt and Mrs. Elliott Roosevelt, the former Faye Emerson.

Mrs. Roosevelt’s face, looked drawn and tired in the bright sunlight, but she wore no heavy veiling. She was meeting the ordeal openly.

A moment for family

Suddenly, the band began the Star-Spangled Banner. The honor guard started to lift the casket from the caisson. Mrs. Roosevelt instinctively stepped forward. She moved towards the caisson, walking ahead of Elliott and Anna.

It was a family moment. President and Mrs. Truman were not there. Mr. Truman had slipped into the executive offices, apart from the mansion. Mrs. Truman did not arrive until half an hour before funeral time.

Behind the daughters and son-in-law, were Miss Malvina Thompson who always accompanies Mrs. Roosevelt; Mrs. James Helm, White House social secretary since the days of President Wilson, and Presidential Secretary Stephen T. Early.

Fala led into house

Then came the President’s two cousins who were at Warm Springs with him – Miss Margaret Suckley and Miss Laura Delano.

Miss Delano was leading Fala, Mr. Roosevelt’s Scottie, who trotted eagerly ahead as if he expected to find his master at home.

Old family friends came after them – the President’s old boss, former Secretary of Navy Josephus Daniels, Bernard M. Baruch, and Maj. James Hooker.

Mrs. Roosevelt’s head was bent as she approached the White House door. But it lifted up when the band began to play softly one of the President’s favorite hymns. It was “Abide with Me.”

1724

Yanks seize Von Papen, Nazi ‘fixer’

Capture made in Ruhr pocket

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1725

Nazis call Roosevelt death a stroke of luck

Goebbels and his propagandists exploit passing of President to the fullest
By Paul Ghali
Saturday, April 14, 1945

BERNE, Switzerland – Like a drowning man clutching at straws, the German propaganda machine today seized on the death of President Roosevelt as a stroke of luck and exhorted the tottering Reich to fight on at all costs because “other welcome surprises may be in store for us.”

As had been expected, the President’s death, which had shocked and saddened the entire democratic world, was being exploited to the fullest by Dr. Joseph Goebbels.

The German press developed the theme that it was Roosevelt’s fault that the war had not “remained localized,” actually an admission that the Germans had not expected to find in him such a staunch opponent of their aggression.

The death of the American President was described as one of those events by which a benevolent God sometimes extricates the Reich from disaster. It was compared with the death of Empress Catherine of Russia, which saved Frederick II of Prussia from complete defeat.

The press mouthpieces of the new Fascist regime in Northern Italy openly gloated over repercussions that the President’s death might have. They asserted that the event had caused a feeling of uncertainty among Allied troops, which might slow the impetus of their offensive.

The northern Italian papers asserted that Mr. Roosevelt’s death was not due to natural causes and implied that there was a strong anti-war opposition in the United States.

The Milan radio, which yesterday abused the President’s memory, has taken a more moderate tone. Reports reaching here say that public reaction to the radio outbursts was far from favorable.

In Switzerland, Roosevelt’s death remains the one item of news and the avalanche of victories in the east and west impress the Swiss less than the passing of “America’s greatest statesman of modern times.”

A special memorial service will be held Monday in Bern’s 14th-century Gothic Cathedral in memory of the President.

1726

Day of reckoning –
German civilians forced to bury torture victims

Protesting civilians put 2,700 in graves in part payment for their country’s sins
By C. R. Cunningham, United Press staff writer

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1727

London expects victory news

Death casts shadow over triumph
Saturday, April 14, 1945

LONDON, England – Victory in Europe was near tonight but the Allies approached their triumph saddened and troubled by the death of President Roosevelt.

The British press believed the news of an Allied entry into Berlin and a junction with the Russian armies would come at any hour. It reported an air of “high expectancy” in all government offices.

Sunday morning newspaper headlines were in the same vein.

Called victory weekend

“This Is Victory Weekend,” said the Sunday Dispatch. The Times, in a three-column tophead, said, “Germans Unable to Save Berlin.” The Observer said, “News of first-class importance reached ministers in Downing Street yesterday and high officials who rarely are to be found in their offices on Saturday were on duty all day.”

The London News of the World, quoting an American broadcast, said that “entry into Berlin is imminent.”

Before next week is out, the United Nations may have their victory in Europe, but they also will have to adjust themselves to an American government lacking the leadership of President Roosevelt.

Churchill to speak

Prime Minister Winston Churchill will speak at least twice in Commons and possibly three times during the week.

Tuesday, as orator and a grieving friend, he will pay tribute to Mr. Roosevelt. Thursday he will review the climax of the war and tackle the ticklish Polish situation. Should final victory come, he may proclaim it to the House in still another address.

These appearances emphasize the increased burden which Mr. Roosevelt’s death has cast upon Mr. Churchill. Some observers believe that on the Polish issue he will be speaking as much to the United States as to Britain.

Mr. Churchill’s statement on Poland will be made after Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, now in the United States, has conferred with President Truman and reported privately to him.

Against this background, millions in Britain awaited the news that American and Russian armies had linked in Germany. Central London for 24 hours has buzzed with rumors that the Americans had already entered the German capital.

The London Evening Standard said that:

We are on the eve of tidings of really sensational events. News of the greatest importance is expected hourly in London. Some of these events may even already have happened. for published war news is behind the private dispatches which reach Whitehall from the generals in Germany.

The expectation in London today was that there will be news of:

One, entry of Allied troops into Berlin, or,
Two, the capitulation of the German Army.

The Evening Standard added that there was “no confirmation” that big events already had been reported to the government and were being withheld pending still more important information.

Cabinet ministers were in daily meetings, press dispatches said.

Generals and privates crowded into Grosvenor Chapel today for a memorial service to President Roosevelt. Hundreds of servicemen were turned away for lack of room conducted by three Army chaplains. Navy and Marine memorial services were held at St. Mark’s Church on Audley Street.

1728

At Truman’s request –
Red Molotov is going to San Francisco

Stalin emphasizes ‘earnest cooperation’

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1729

Fires burn long after Tokyo raid

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1730

Truman brings capital new political era

Cabinet shakeup called inevitable
By Lyle C. Wilson, United Press staff writer
Saturday, April 14, 1945

WASHINGTON – The dawning of a new political era was marked here today as this capital said a sorrowful farewell to Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Despite President Truman’s invitation to Roosevelt Cabinet members to “stay on,” the time is near after more than 12 years for new faces in high places.

Mr. Roosevelt’s last appearance in the capital he so long dominated marked an end and a beginning, like the midnight minute of a century’s turn. In the final hours of this day, the late President went away.

To return tonight

Mr. Truman was aboard the Roosevelt funeral train. He will be back tomorrow night moving briskly beyond the shadow of mourning. Great business of stale and war will not wait for tears. When Mr. Truman turns back from Hyde Park, New York, tomorrow en route to Washington it will be the President’s special train which he rides. The Roosevelt train will have made its last run.

Political Washington expects plenty of action. Roosevelt intimates predict a clean – or almost clean – sweep of top White House personnel. Maurice Latta, the venerable chief clerk, and perhaps Secretary William D. Hassett will remain.

Mr. Hassett’s forte is handling presidential correspondence, writing letters for the presidential signature. He performs it with the humor and grace bubbling from a full mind.

Shakeup inevitable

A Cabinet shakeup within a few months is almost inevitable. The so-called Roosevelt Palace Guard – the unofficial advisers variously on and off the government payroll – is expected to be packing shortly. Or if they have significant and permanent positions here, they will spend more time on their official cuties and considerably less, if any, giving the President advice. There is, for instance, Associate Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter.

For the time being, however, Mr. Truman will carry on about as is. His first formal declaration of policy comes Monday when he addresses a joint session of the Congress in the House chamber.

All major networks will broadcast Mr. Truman’s address at 1 p.m. Monday ET.

The world will listen to that address with more than usual interest.

To address troops

Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Marshal Joseph V. Stalin will want to know with what kind of a man they now have to deal. In the broadcast will be their first opportunity to begin forming a judgment.

On Tuesday the President will address the armed forces. He is already committed to the Roosevelt policies and in his Missouri lingo says, simply, “We have to lick ‘em and lick ‘em good.”

His associates say that he has decided not to attend the United Nations Conference m San Francisco. It meets April 25 to formulate a world security pact. His opening address will be broadcast from here.

There is speculation, however, that a new Big Three meeting may be coming soon. The war has gone well but Big Three diplomacy has had its troubles since the Yalta Conference.

If an adjustment is necessary, perhaps Mr. Truman, Mr. Churchill, and Marshal Stalin will find that they must make it themselves.

Senators and representatives may expect to be consulted and already high on the list of advisers is James F. Byrnes, former director of the Office of War Mobilization.

Invited by Truman

Mr. Byrnes has been invited to accompany Mr. Truman to the Hyde Park funeral. For the moment, at least, he seems to be the Harry L. Hopkins of the Truman administration. Whether he will continue in that role cannot be determined now.

Mr. Hopkins is being counted out hereabouts. He was the closest of Mr. Roosevelt’s advisers. He is ill and will return to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota after the Roosevelt funeral. Today, Mr. Truman conferred with Mr. Hopkins. Chances are he asked Mr. Hopkins to “stay on,” too. If so, it scarcely can be for long.

If Mr. Byrnes takes over the Hopkins duties, he may well succeed in time to the Secretaryship of State. That speculation could be unfair to Secretary Edward R. Stettinius except for one explosive fact.

The 44-year-old, personable Stettinius is next in line for the White House should anything happen to Mr. Truman. He might make a good President but regular Democrats would shudder at the thought of Mr. Stettinius as party leader.

Mr. Stettinius is not an organization man. The regulars had enough of non-organization irregularity under Mr. Roosevelt.

1731

Simms: No foreign policy change, Allied nations are assured

Diplomats busy explaining that plans of Roosevelt will be pushed by Truman
By William Philip Simms, Scripps-Howard foreign editor

…

1732

Congress due to iron out G.I. Bill flaws

Cutting of loan red tape tops changes
By Ned Brooks, Scripps-Howard staff writer

…

Murray, Green pledge support

…

1733

Potsdam, Berlin pounded by RAF

Transport center west of capital hit

…

1734

Russian flags black-bordered

Moscow pays tribute to Roosevelt
Saturday, April 14, 1945

MOSCOW, USSR (UP) – Black-bordered Russian flags fluttered from all official buildings today in accordance with an official Soviet decree ordering two days of mourning for President Roosevelt.

It was the first time in Soviet history that black-bordered flags have flown for a foreign statesman. Hitherto such an act was reserved for only the highest national leaders, such as Lenin.

The official government newspaper Izvestia said:

The Soviet people will always cherish the memory of the great American statesman, President Roosevelt, who has done so much to strengthen Soviet-American friendship.

All freedom-loving nations will remember him as the great organizer of the struggle of free nations against the common enemy, as the most outstanding battler in the cause of democracy and progress.

A memorial service was held at U.S. Ambassador Averell Harriman’s residence attended by Soviet Foreign Commissar Vyacheslav Molotov and other high Soviet officials.

Izvestia reviewed the President’s career, stressing his foresight and wisdom in foreign affairs. It highlighted his pre-war speeches and acts intended to check aggression, prepare America for war, his Lend-Lease policy and his aid and encouragement to the Soviet Union.

1735

Hopkins attends Roosevelt funeral

Flies from hospital ‘to say goodbye’
Saturday, April 14, 1945

WASHINGTON (UP) – Harry L. Hopkins, for years one of President Roosevelt’s closest personal advisers, flew here from the Mayo Clinic at Rochester, Minnesota, today “to say goodbye to a great friend of mine.”

In addition to attending his old boss’ funeral, he spent 90 minutes with President Truman. When he left the President, he was surrounded by reporters.

He looked thin and shaken. He said he would go back, immediately to Rochester, where he has been under treatment for several weeks. He said he talked to Mr. Truman “about a number of things, but chiefly about Mr. Roosevelt.” Asked if they discussed any part he might play in the new administration, he replied:

Oh, no. I’ve just come back to say goodbye to a great friend of mine. Those of you who know me know what’s in my mind and heart today. Nothing else but that matters.

Mr. Hopkins said he would confer again with the new President as soon as he is able to leave the hospital.

He said:

At that time, I will acquaint him with any information that I might have about the government and that I might have acquired in my relations with Mr. Roosevelt.

1736

Perkins: Truman rated friendly but firm on labor

Rail brotherhoods chief supporters
By Fred W. Perkins, Pittsburgh Press staff writer

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