The White Falcon - 01.05.1943, Side 2

Japs Use Gas Shells
To Uproot Chinese
While Allied bombers dealt a
smashing blow to the Japanese
air base at Kendari in the Cele-
bes Islands, Chinese land forces
were subjected to Jap gas shells
in the region of West Shansi
province in China.
Heavy Allied bombers made a
1,500-mile trip to blast Kendari.
The raid lasted approximately 30
minutes, as the hardhitting Allied
formation poured 21 tons of
bombs on the enemy air base.
They wrecked repair shops,
hangars and battered five Japan-
ese planes which were caught on
the ground. About 20 Jap fighter
planes came up to challenge the
Allied raiders. Five of the enemy
Zeros were shot down and a sixth
probably destroyed. All the Alli-
ed planes returned safely.
In China, Jap land forces batt-
ling the Chinese in the West
Shansi area fired gas shells. The
Chinese were taken by surprise
and a number of Chinese officers
were gassed and suffered from
excessive nose bleeding.
Meanwhile, in the Chungking
district a fierce land battle is
raging at the foothills of the Tan
Shan Mountains in the north
Honan sector. About 40,000 Jap-
anese are trying to drive a smal-
ler force of Chinese out of the
mountains.
In Burma, American heavy
bombers ripped Rangoon, where
Yankee raiders hit enemy ware-
houses and started large fires.
Japanese fighter planes intercept-
ed the American bombers and
a sky battle followed that raged
for 40 minutes.
American bombers also attack-
ed Jap railroad installations at
Thazi junction in Central Burma.
Gen. MacArthur’s headquarters
announced that five Jap planes
were shot down in the Wewak,
New Guinea, area by a single
American bomber on a recon-
naissance mission over Wewak
harbor. It was attacked by 12
Zeros.
The news of its success was
wired ahead so when the crew
returned, each member received
an air medal.
—Radio
(Continued from Page 1)
“As we close our preview peri-
od of broadcasting we want to
express once again our deepest
thanks for the wholehearted co-(
operation that has been accord-
ed us. This applies to many units,
but we want especially to ac-
knowledge the unstinting assist-
ance of the Special Service sec-
tion, the Signal Corps, G-2, and
the THE WHITE FALCON.
Whatever success we have achi-
eved during this inaugural period
it? due In large part to them,”
—Africa
(Continued from Page 1)
Farther north the French forc-
es, battering their way with am-
azing success, have progressed
west of Cape Serrat to a point
20 miles from Bizerte on the
Mediterranean coastline. The
British Eighth Army, confronted
with difficult terrain north of
Enfidaville near Bou Ficha, is
driving west toward Pont du
Fahs.
The Germans, struggling de-
sperately to hold every inch of
Tunisian soil with no thought of
evacuation, have laid extensive
mine fields, and are using every
conceivable device to slow Allied
progress. Near Medjez el Bab, the
British bombarded the German
positions With more than 100,000
rounds of artillery fire, but still
met heavy German infantry re-
sistance.
General Montgomery, who
spent Easter in Cairo, reported
that between Jan. 1 and Apr. 15
the Germans lost 66,000 men in
killed, wounded and prisoners;
250 tanks were captured or de-
stroyed; 34 ships have been sunk,
53 damaged, and 55 damaged by-
land aircraft. Also, 3,000 vehicles,
425 guns andl,000planes had been
captured or destroyed, in addi-
tion to 600 planes destroyed on
the ground during the Eighth Ar-
my advance of 2,000 miles.
—Russia
(Continued from Page 1)
power, while Red Army anti-air-
craft batteries have destroyed
many enemy planes, including 17
shot down Thursday.
The German supply base for
the Kuban bridgehead, located in
the Crimea, has been subjected
to widescale assaults by Soviet
bombers. In addition, guns of tlu
Black Sea fleet and Russian com-
mando raids are aiding the de-
fenders in the Kuban.
Ground fighting in other sec-
tors was confined to local skirm-
ishes this week. Several block-
houses and dugouts were destroy-
ed by Russian artillery on the
Donetz front, while the Red Army
air force demolished an entire
German supply train near Bqla- 1
kleya.
Four Judges Named
In Writers Contest
Entries in the GI Writers’ Con-
test, sponsored by the Red Cross,
will be judged Monday and win-
ners will be announced as soon
thereafter as possible. The board
of judges will be composed of an
officer, a Marine representa-
tive, the local YANK correspond-
ent and the Editor of THE
WHITE FALCON,
Miss Betty Huckstep.
—Miss Huckstep
(Continued from Page 1)
throttles his milk-route freight
train through the Ozarks. She is
well informed about towns and
villages whose identities fre-
quently ■ mystify Missourians
twice her age.
A native of Chillocothe, Mo.,
(her map claims it’s located some-
where between Chicago and Los
Angeles), Betty attended the
Northeast Missouri Teachers Col-
lege at Ivirksville, where she
majored in physical education
and music. The athletic work was
Betty’s vocation, but she also
found enough spare time to
wrestle with the bass fiddle in
the symphonic orchestra, sing in
the choir and perfom as a solo
dancer.
After a summer course at Ohio
U., Betty was prepared for teach-
ing and she joined the physical
eduation staff at Stockton College
in Canton, Mo., where she re-
mained for a year. Then authori-
ties at the Rio Grande Jr. College
(O.) offered her a position as
gym teacher and music instruc-
tor, so Betty parted from her
home state.
Two years later, Betty moved
into Cincinnati, where she taught |
at the St. Bernard High School
until two months ago when she
ventured into the Red Cross.
GI wolves who disbelieve Bel- j
ty’s athletic background might
like to know that the li’l hostess
is well versed in jiu-jitsu and
pilches haymakers from the right
and left with equal dexterity. But
she’s a mild mannered girl who
is rapidly becoming a favorite
among visitors to the No. 1 Rec
Center.
Home Front Hit
In Ration Plan
Citizens on the home front are
in for sacrifices of flesh if not
blood with stringent new food
rationing rules in effect.
Latest unofficial estimates place
the average individual meat ra-
tion at about two pounds a week,
butter will be distributed on a
quarter pound a week basis, and
“coffee nerves” should disappear
with the initiation of the %
pound a week individual ration.
Soldiers of this Command, by
way of contrast, gel a weekly
individual ration of seven pounds
of meat, one pound of blitter and
% pound of cofffe,
Americans, RAF Hit
Bari. Italian Port
Two Pilots
‘Share Nazi’
In Iceland
A German plane was destroy-
ed by two U.S. Army Air Force
fighter pilots over Iceland a -week
ago today, but which American
flyer shot down the invading air-
craft is something military of-
ficials probably never will know.
Announcement of the successful
sky batle came from War Depart-
ment this week. Both pilots have
been awarded Silver Star medals.
Flying as a team, Lts. Harry
R. Stengle, 24, of Penysville, Pa.,
and James M. McNulty, Jr., 27,
of Milford, Me., struck at the air-
craft simultaneously, with their
guns blazing at the rear gunner.
The surprise attack was success-
ful, crippling the rear gun posi-
tion, but neither pilot claims cre-
dit for the destruction of the Ger-
man plane.
“We had trouble keeping on
the plane’s tail,” Stengle report-
ed. “The clouds were heavy and
we must have trailed him through
six or seven soupy clouds during
the running battle. However, aft-
er we quieted the rear gun, it
was a simple task to dog his tail.
“The first target after closing
the gap was the left motor, and
soon the ship was wobbling to
the side, indicating only the right
motor was pulling. Knowing ap-
proximately how the enemy
would sway and turn in a cloud
bank, it was comparatively easy
to be waiting for him when he
emerged from the cloud.
“Our guns were in action al-
most constantly. The entire en-
gagement lasted only about five
minutes. Once we thought he had
disappeared, but on a low sweep
I sighted the wreckage — about
seven miles from where we first
sighted the plane.”
McNulty, elated at participat-
ing in the battle, was equally
bewildered when asked who de-
served credit for the actual de-
struction. “Things happened so
rapidly I didn’t have time to wor-
ry about getting a medal or some-
thing. Just say it -was 50-50 and
let it go at that.”
‘Eleanor’ Suggests
WAVES Go Overseas
Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt stopped
her jaunts ’round the country this
week long enough to declare the
WAVES should be allowed to
venture overseas.
“It is utterly ridiculous that
American naval officers should
be chauffered around London by
British WRENS, the nation’s
First Lady asserted. “There is no
reason wby British girls should
be doing tasks that could be per-
formed by pur WAVES,”
The relentless ’round-the-clock
aerial offensive over Europe kept
American airmen and the RAF
busy this week, and so thorough-
ly crippled important Nazi cent-
ers it will be some time before
they will be able to contribute
production to the Axis war ef-
fort.
A fleet of 70 American Libera-
tors started huge fires at the It-
alian port of Bari on the Adriat-
ic Sea, making the long, precari-
ous flight from the British Isles
Wednesday. Docks were gutted
and damage was inflicted upon
shipping nearby.
The RAF followed up the
USAAF sweep against Bari Thurs-
day. Reconnaissance flights after
the second pounding disclosed
that shore installations are virtu-
ally useless now, and more than
50 Axis planes were destroyed
at Italian bases. The RAF bomb-
ers also cornered an enemy ship
near the Island of Rhodes and
sent it to the bottom.
Sterlings, Halifaxes, Lancast-
ers and Wellingtons roared over
the English Channel Tuesday to
unleash more than 1,300 tons of
explosives on vital factories and
installations at the important in-
land port of Duisburg. The bom-
bardment, which lasted 45 min-
utes, was almost as great as the
assault on Cologne when 1,000
planes participated.
Shipping in northern Europe-
an waters served as RAF targets,
too, as bombers invaded German-
controlled coastal waters, laying
mines and damaging vessels. Dir-
ect torpedo hits were scored on
at least one medium enemy mer-
chant vessel off the Norwegian
coast.
RAF Whirlwinds, escorted by
Spitfires, attacked a convoy of
eight ships off the coast of Brit-
tany, losing only one Spitfire.
Three enemy vessels were hit.
Swedes Battle
Local Nazis
As Reprisal
Swedish anger, which has been
rising against the Germans since
the recent shelling of a Swedish
submarine by an armed Nazi
merchant ship, flared into action
and resulted in an attempted
lynching of a group of Nazis this
week in Stockholm, Sweden.
An enraged crowd of Swedes
gathered when the Nazis at-
tempted to hold a meeting at a
German club. A riot broke out
and the Nazis were severely
mauled. One German was so bad-
ly battered he had to be taken
to a hospital.
After beating up the Nazis, the
crowd of Swedish patriots began
making preparations to lynch
them. Police were summoned and
they had! tip, fire blanks into the
crowd; before, the patriots would
disperse.