Profit of $220 million made on war damage insurance
U.S. Treasury may get money representing premiums on six and a half million policies
By Roger W. Stuart, Scripps-Howard staff writer
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Pyle’s adopted city honors his memory
Memorial service held in Albuquerque
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (UP) – Residents of Ernie Pyle’s adopted city paid final tribute to the famed war correspondent yesterday with a memorial service in Carlisle Gymnasium on the University of New Mexico campus.
More than 3,500 persons, including Mr. Pyle’s widow, attended the service. They heard a military chorus from nearby Kirtland Field sing a group of Ernie’s favorite songs.
Sgt. William Teets of Kirtland Field, who had met Mr. Pyle overseas, spoke briefly for G.I. Joe.
He said:
No man has been able to express our feelings to you as Ernie did. His columns were our letters home. He could tell our parents, our wives and children, the nation’s lawmakers and factory workers, what we felt because he was there experiencing it too.
At the conclusion of the service, three B-29s flew low down the city and dipped their wings in a final salute to the beloved reporter who was killed on Ie Shima last month.
Gracie Allen Reporting
By Gracie Allen
It looks like the racehorses are going to be among the first to get their old jobs back. Peace in Europe has lifted the ban on horseracing.
I’ll bet those horses were plenty nervous… what with their jobs gone, and the meat shortage. But those thoroughbreds may find racing a little more strenuous than in the past. With the gas and tire shortage still on, they may have to carry the fans to the track before they can run for them. Of course, they can let the fans walk home… they’re used to that.
Bing Crosby got a telegram saying that the government would let his horses run… It gave Bing a lot of respect for the government because that’s more than he’s ever been able to get them to do.
Millett: Living alone gives wife a new sense of values
Being ‘half a couple’ is no fun but experience is compensating
By Ruth Millett
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School for G.I. brides
Forums teach Yank customs
By Bert Brandt
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Pirates battle stampeding Dodgers
Roe to hurl Flatbush opener – ‘DiMag’ stars as Bucs, Phils split
By Chester L. Smith, sports editor
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Giants halted – Dodgers win eight in row
By the United Press
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Outlook grim for England in post-war
Position threatened by Dominions
By Henry J. Taylor, Scripps-Howard staff writer
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V-E has little effect on steel cancelations
Mills loaded with heavy backlogs
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I’m sure absolutely nothing will ever come of this.
1 Like
Himmler festgenommen
Moskau, 14. Mai – Heinrich Himmler, Innenminister, Chef der Polizei usw., ist nunmehr in englischem Gewahrsam.
Statement by President Truman on German Reparations
May 15, 1945
A fair and workable settlement of reparations poses some of the most difficult problems of the entire post-war adjustment. These questions are closely related to the task of insuring a lasting peace. For that reason, the right answers will be vital to the security of America and the world.
I personally concur in the general view of our own objectives as shared by Ambassador Pauley and Dr. Lubin. Absolute insurance against German or Japanese rearmament – ever again – comes first with us.
I believe, further, that our allies are of one mind with us on this point, and that with such a basic agreement, the way will be clear for a just and equitable schedule of German reparations – reparations “in kind” which will provide the maximum of rehabilitation and restoration of overrun territory.
The men chosen for this vital mission should inspire the confidence of all Americans. They are eminently qualified to do the job.
News Conference with President Truman
May 15, 1945, 10:50 a.m. EWT
THE PRESIDENT. I am very sure that the first thing you are principally interested in is the free press in Germany. I would like to read a little statement here, and if you want to ask me some questions about it, I will try to answer them.
Q. Will you read slowly, Mr. President?
THE PRESIDENT. I will read it very slowly.
"General Eisenhower has advised me that he has issued no policy or order dealing with the importation of publications into Germany. The General has expressed the personal opinion that a free press and a free flow of information and ideas should prevail in Germany in a manner consistent with military security.
“General Eisenhower has emphasized, however, that there can be no restoration of a free German press in Germany until the elimination of Nazi and militarist influence has been completed. We are not going to lose the peace by giving license to racialist Pan-Germans, Nazis and militarists, so that they can misuse democratic rights in order to attack Democracy as Hitler did.”
Now I agree with General Eisenhower on that.
And if you want to ask me some questions, why fire away.
Q. Mr. President, is that any reversal of the position taken last week by–
THE PRESIDENT. Yes, it is.
Q. --Elmer Davis?
THE PRESIDENT. Yes, it is. Mr. Davis was in Europe, in conference with SHAEF on the lower level, and Mr. Davis thought he had reached a policy with them on this. After that was released, I got in touch with General Eisenhower himself, and he informed me of just what I told you. Mr. Davis acted in good faith. Mr. Davis thought he was outlining the policy which had been agreed on. Apparently, from General Eisenhower’s statement, there had been no policy agreed on, and it has not yet been agreed on. But as you see, General Eisenhower is for a free press in Germany, when the time arrives to give it to them.
Mr. Davis was acting in good faith, be sure and get that.
Q. Mr. President, speaking of the military situation, as mentioned in the statement, have you decided what our position is going to be on the handling of the German general staff, and the militarist influences in Germany?
THE PRESIDENT. No, I haven’t. That is in the hands of Mr. Jackson-- Mr. Justice Jackson, I should say.
Q. Mr. President, at your first press conference you said you would give us your views on the repeal of the Johnson Act.
THE PRESIDENT. On that repeal, I will read you a statement of President Roosevelt’s as to why it is necessary, if you like.
“At present, our foreign investment programs–” this is direct quotes from the statement issued by President Roosevelt–
“At present our foreign investment programs are impeded by legislation which restricts loans to those countries which are in default on loans arising out of the First World War. For both the International Bank and the Export-Import Bank to operate effectively, as well as to achieve an adequate flow of private investment, it is essential that these restrictions be removed.”
That is just as true as it can be. I never was for the Johnson Act in the first place.
Q. Mr. President, is that his Message to Congress–
THE PRESIDENT. I think this–let’s see–yes, in the Budget Message to Congress of January 3, 1945–just the recent Budget Message, the one which we are in now.
Q. Do you plan any early meeting with either Prime Minister Churchill and/or Marshal Stalin?
THE PRESIDENT. Well, Mr. Eden was in to see me yesterday to discuss that question and our hope that there will be a possibility for the three of us to meet and discuss the coming peace program around the table. I can’t say anything about the date, or how soon that will be. It depends on business right here. As you know, I am a very busy person.
Q. Mr. President, is it possible that General de Gaulle might be included in this meeting?
THE PRESIDENT. The Big Three will have the meeting.
Q. Is there any possibility that may be at San Francisco, before the present thing breaks up?
THE PRESIDENT. No, there isn’t any possibility of its being at San Francisco.
Q. Did you say the Big Three will have the meeting? In other words, there will be a meeting? It’s just the–
THE PRESIDENT. I hope so. I am not saying there will be a meeting. I am saying I hope there will be one.
Q. Mr. President, I am not trying to pin you down on the time element, but are you looking into it in terms of soon?
THE PRESIDENT. Well, it won’t be in the very distant future. It won’t be immediately. [Laughter]
Q. Mr. President, can you tell us yet when you will have your press conference on taxes?
THE PRESIDENT. No, I can’t. We are still working on that, and we will have one very shortly.
Q. Did you see Senator George’s statement this morning?
THE PRESIDENT. Yes, I saw Senator George’s statement – not this morning, I saw the other the other day – I didn’t see the one this morning.
Q. He was foreseeing a 5-year plan for gradual reduction of taxes until they reached the prewar level.
THE PRESIDENT. Well, I want it distinctly understood that there can be no reduction in taxes until the war is over. I want that thoroughly understood. There is no possible way to reduce taxes until this war is over, and we still have a war to win in the Pacific. So you can talk about taxes all you want to, but we have got to meet obligations to make the United States of America good, and you can only make them good by taxation. And every man in this country is a partner in the Government of the United States. There are 85 million individual bondholders in the United States, and they must be protected; and in order to protect them, you have got to collect the money to make those bonds good. And that has to be done by taxes. And you can do it no other way.
Does that answer your question? [Laughter]
Q. Mr. President, there is a report that you were about to shake up the Veterans Administration, and that part of the shakeup will be to appoint Bennett Champ Clark. Do you plan such a shakeup?
THE PRESIDENT. I can’t–I didn’t hear the question–I am not planning a shakeup, but I didn’t know what it was about.
Q. Veterans Administration.
THE PRESIDENT. No, I am not planning any immediate shakeup in the Veterans Administration. The Veterans Administration, of course, will have to be expanded to meet the situation which we will face as soon as the soldiers return in large numbers. And the Veterans Administration, of course, will have to be put on a basis to meet this situation, just as it was put on a basis to meet the situation after the First World War. That will be done. I don’t think it necessitates any serious shakeup.
Q. You said you did not see any immediate shakeup?
THE PRESIDENT. That’s what I meant.
Q. Can we quote that word immediate?
THE PRESIDENT. No, I wish you wouldn’t, for this reason, because I don’t want it to appear in any way that I have any intention of immediately discharging anybody. I am trying to get this “mess” to operate, and I want you to be as lenient with me as you possibly can. The Veterans Administration will be modernized; let’s put it that way. That should be done as soon as possible, but I can’t do it immediately.
Q. The second part of my question, Mr. President, was, do you intend to appoint Bennett Champ Clark
THE PRESIDENT. I do not.
Q. Mr. President, is it true that you are going to send Dr. R. G. Sproul of the University of California to Moscow on a mission ?
THE PRESIDENT. Yes. He is going with Mr. Pauley. I want to say to you, since you brought that subject up, that I think we have the finest layout here on this reparations thing that has ever been gotten together. It is headed by Mr. Pauley and Dr. Lubin, and we have Dr. Sproul–
Q. What’s that first name, sir?
Mr. Daniels: Pauley.
Q. I mean Sproul.
THE PRESIDENT. Robert Gordon. And here is a fellow that must be descended from a Civil War veteran. His name is Jubal R. Parten. [Laughter]
Q. Steve Early!
Q. Steve’s relative!
THE PRESIDENT. Jubal Early, as you remember. [Laughter]
Q. What is Parten going to do?
THE PRESIDENT. He is industrial adviser. I am going to give you all this–I think there’s a release for you on this, but I will read the last sentence of that release:
“The men chosen for this vital mission should inspire the confidence of all Americans. They are eminently qualified to do the job.”
And I believe that, with everything that is in me.
And it’s as fine a list as I ever saw. I don’t know what we are going to do for experts for the peace conference, if Pauley takes them all. [Laughter]
Q. Mr. President, can you tell us what further steps are planned in the anthracite strike?
THE PRESIDENT. Whatever steps are necessary to get coal out. Coal is what we want, and coal is what we are going to have. Reporter: Thank you, Mr. President.
U.S. Navy Department (May 15, 1945)
Communiqué No. 598
Pacific.
U.S. submarines have reported sinking nine enemy vessels as a result of operations in Far Eastern waters. Five combatant vessels were included those sunk. The vessels sunk were:
- 1 destroyer
- 2 small escort vessels
- 1 large tanker
- 2 patrol vessels
- 1 medium cargo vessel
- 2 small cargo vessels
These actions have not been announced in any previous Navy Department communiqué.
JAPANESE LOSSES INFLICTED BY U.S. SUBMARINES
(According to the latest available information)
Combatant Ships
| Sunk | Probably Sunk | Damaged | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battleships | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Aircraft Carriers | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Cruisers | 17 | 2 | 6 | 25 |
| Destroyers | 54 | 6 | 6 | 65 |
| Submarines | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tenders | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Others | 53 | 1 | 0 | 54 |
| TOTAL | 131 | 11 | 16 | 168 |
Non-Combatant Ships
| Sunk | Probably Sunk | Damaged | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tankers | 110 | 1 | 18 | 129 |
| Transports | 165 | 5 | 8 | 178 |
| Cargo & Supply | 682 | 17 | 71 | 770 |
| Miscellaneous | 40 | 3 | 6 | 49 |
| TOTALS | 997 | 26 | 103 | 1,126 |
| Sunk | Probably Sunk | Damaged | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Ships of all Types | 1,128 | 87 | 119 | 1284 |
CINCPOA Communiqué No. 363
Airfield installations at Kokubu, Kanoya, Chiran and Kagoshima on Kyushu were bombed by Avenger torpedo planes of the Fast Carrier Task Forces of the U.S. Pacific Fleet on the night of May 12-13 (East Longitude Dates.)
Twelve enemy planes were shot down during this period. On May 13 and 14, heavy strikes of torpedo aircraft, Helldiver bombers and Corsair and Hellcat fighters were launched against airfields throughout Kyushu and in parts of Shikoku in the Japanese Empire. During these two days our aircraft destroyed 71 enemy planes and a barrage balloon in the air and 93 planes on the ground and destroyed or damaged 108 more on the ground. An additional 73 aircraft were brought under machine gun and rocket attack with unobserved results. Railroad installations in Kyushu were heavily hit with an oil train, four locomotives, a railroad station, a chemical plant and a number of large buildings destroyed or seriously damaged. Our planes also struck buildings, barracks and aviation installations at airdromes in Saeki, Oita, Miyakonojo, Kikuchi, Ashiya, Gannosu, Kofuji, Usa, Izumi, Tachiarai, Chiran, Omura and Hitoyoshi on Kyushu and at airfields in Kochi and Matsuyama on Shikoku.
Two motor boats and two luggers were sunk and a repair ship, seven torpedo boats, four luggers, a small cargo ship, four small craft and a tug were damaged on May 13 and 14. Preliminary reports indicate that our forces lost about 10 aircraft in these attacks.
Search aircraft of Fleet Air Wing One heavily damaged a small freighter transport and two small cargo ships on May 14 in the waters around Korea.
On May 14, escort carrier aircraft attacked airfield installations in the Sakishima group and struck enemy positions on Kume Island west of Okinawa. On the same date night fighters of the Second Marine Aircraft Wing struck targets in the Amami group. No material changes were made in the Tenth Army lines on Okinawa on May 15. The day was marked by heavy fighting along the western and central sectors of the front where the enemy mounted a counterattack in the 6th Marine Division sector. The 22nd Regiment of Marines standing at the suburbs of Naha met the assault of the enemy during the morning and beat it off in hand-to-hand fighting, finally driving the attackers into the interior of Takamotoji Town with heavy losses. An attempt to land small craft behind the Marine’s lines in the Machinato airfield sector was broken up by Naval gunfire. The 1st Marine Division continued to attack the high ground in the vicinity of Wana Town and the 77th Infantry Division after a difficult five day battle, captured “Chocolate Drop Hill,” east of Ishimmi, inflicting major losses on the enemy. In the eastern sector, the 96th Infantry Division strengthened its positions and beat off an enemy counterattack in the vicinity of Conical Hill. Throughout the day, Army and Marine troops were supported by field artillery, heavy Naval gunfire and carrier and land-based aircraft.
Fighters of the 2nd MarAirWing struck installations on Kikai Island in the Amami Group on May 16.
Fighters of the 4th MarAirWing bombed and strafed enemy facilities in the Palaus an May 14.
Search aircraft of FlAirWing Two sank a small cargo ship at Truk on May 15.
The Pittsburgh Press (May 15, 1945)
MARINES IN OKINAWA CAPITAL
Jap defenses unhinged on Pacific isle
Yanks cross river, smash into Naha
Wednesday, May 16, 1945, Guam Time
Driving into Naha, the capital of Okinawa, U.S. troops were near the heart of the city. To the east, the Yanks captured Conical Hill and closed in on Yonabaru.
GUAM (UP) – U.S. 10th Division infantrymen fought through the rubbled streets and ruined buildings of Naha today to within 2,000 yards of the dock area.
The Yanks also unhinged the Jap defense line across Southern Okinawa.
Marines of the 6th Division, despite Jap mortar and machine-gun fire, crossed the Asato River and battled house-to-house to within 1,000 yards of the heart of the capital city.
On the opposite end of the six-mile battlefront, troops of the 96th Infantry Division wheeled around captured Conical Hill, consolidated their positions at Yonabaru Airfield, and laid siege to Yonabaru City and its east coast port.
Center of line tough
The 1st Marine Division and the 77th Infantry Division were closing, a pincer on Shuri Village, the enemy’s anchor point in the center of the trans-island fortifications system.
The center of the line proved as tough as either the Naha or Yonabaru flanks. Progress of both the Army and Marine divisions was still being measured in fractions of miles.
The Jap garrison, estimated between 30,000 and 40,000, appeared determined to resist bitterly to the inevitable end.
Splits Jap line
The capture of Comical Hill, announced yesterday by Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, split the Naha-Yonabaru line and opened the way for outflanking movements against Naha and Shuri.
Overrun in the advance was Yonabaru Airfield, the fourth of Okinawa’s six airfields to be captured by the Tenth Army.
The thrust put troops due east of both Shuri and Naha. The drive exposed the cities to attack from the rear.
The Japs were drenching the Shuri front with such heavy mortar and machine-gun fire that supplies, ammunition and food had to be dropped to the troops by parachute.
One plane lost
Cub observation planes made 53 parachute drops over the first Marine lines in 48 hours. One plane was shot down. When the Cubs were unable to get close enough to 77th Infantry Division troops in the center of the line, tanks carried supplies forward.
A battleship supporting the drive scored 25 direct hits on a gray stone barracks building in the heart of Shuri yesterday. But all 25 shells bounced off the thick walls without apparent damage.
It was believed that the enemy’s subterranean defense system may radiate from the building, christened “Shuri Castle” by the Doughboys.
Stalled drive for week
Conical Hill, a 500-foot clay height from which the Japs had stalled the east coast drive for more than a week, fell to the 96th Infantry Division.
Two rifle companies reached the summit of the hill, 2,500 yards east of Shuri, Sunday afternoon and held firmly despite Jap counterattacks.
The 393rd Infantry Regiment came to their rescue and completed capture of the hill yesterday.
Their flank protected, other units of the 96th Infantry Division advanced 2,400 yards to the south, capturing Yonabaru Airfield and driving to within a half mile of the port of Yonabaru.
Jap planes attack
With Conical Hill in their hands, the Americans were in a position to wheel south and west to envelop Shuri and Naha from the rear.
Off Okinawa, 35 enemy planes attacked in three groups. They damaged two light American naval units, but lost 25 planes in the effort.
Other Jap planes attacked fast carrier task forces at an undisclosed point early yesterday and caused “some damage” to a major unit – presumably an aircraft carrier, battleship or heavy cruiser. Twenty-one enemy planes were shot down in this engagement.