The White Falcon - 16.10.1943, Síða 1

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OUR FORCES —
ALWAYS ALERT
Vol. V.
ICELAND, Saturday, October 16, m3.
No. 4.
IBC Fieldhouse
To Open Nov. 6
Engineer workmen are racing
Ihe clock on a 24-hour daily sche-
dule to complete construction of
the Command’s first fieldhouse
in time for its tentative inaug-
ural affair on Nov. C.
The protective cement founda-
tion already has been poured,
and skeleton sections of the tow-
ering framework are beginning
to pyramid into the air. The main
structure, 100x40 feet, will have
two 24-foot huts attached, one to
house showers, the other to serve
as dressing rooms.
Located near the Base Post
Office, the new athletic center
will have permanent bleachers
to accomodate 700 spectators —
between 1,200 and 1,500 can be
seated for boxing matches — and
a basketball court 80x38 feet. It
is planned also to utilize the
building for dances when athletic
events aren’t scheduled.
In addition to the bleachers,
there will be standing room and
space for chairs behind each
basket, increasing the seating
capacity to almost 1,000. This,
of course, will solve the problem
created last year when Army
basketball was staged on the
Navy court, with no accomoda-
tions for spectators.
To bring that “ol’ college spirit’’
to Iceland, plans already are und-
er way to include a refreshment
counter in the fieldhouse.
Five combination theater-gym-
nasiums in the Western Assn,
sector of IBC have given that
region a premature start in pre-
paring for the basketball cam-
continued on Page 6)
Allies Destroy
119 Jap Ships
In Rabaul Raid
Japanese plans for offensive
operations in the Pacific were
dealt a smashing blow this week
when huge formations of Allied
bombers scored an overwhelm-
ing victory against enemy ship-
ping and air power nestled in
the apparent safety of Rabaul on
New Britain.
Heavy and medium bombers,
escorted by fighters, caught the
Japs napping. In fact, it was the
greatest single-engagement sea
and air success marked up by
the Allies in any theater since
the war began.
Pouncing on the harbor in a
surprise attack, Allied bombers
definitely sunk 119 enemy ves-
sels and damaged at least three
other craft, including a destroy-
er. The Japs, who can ill afford
to lose any shipping at this stage
of the Pacific struggle, lost three
destroyers, three merchantmen
of the 8,000-ton class, 43 small
sea-going vessels and 70 barges
and harbor craft.
The air victory for the Allies
which followed was just as one-
sided. Turning to the Rabaul air-
fields, the bombers destroyed 100
Jap planes on the ground and
damaged at least 51 others. Of
40 Zeros which managed to get
(Continued on Page 2)
Fight Results
(Early story on Page 6)
Pvt. Bob Bloom (Inf.), 134,
beat Pvt. Manning Camp (QM),
135. (3).
T/4 Ronald Rayle (QM), 153,
knocked out Pvt. Bernard Ti-
badore (QM), 150. (1).
T/5 Jack Butler (QM), 168,
stopped Pvt. Teddy Near (QM),
170. (2).
Frank Patraoff (Navy), 160,
beat Tony Winter (Navy), 164.
(3).
Pfc. Jack Driscoll (CA), 135,
beat Pfc. Milt Scott (Med), 134.
(3).
T/5 Alf Dichara (QM), 170,
beat S./Sgt. Fred Shockley
(Eng), 175. (3).
Pvt. Nick Sullo (CA), 155,
beat Pvt. Glen Wilkins (Hqs),
159. (3).
James Karjanis (CA), 155,
beat Ralph Cedas (Sig), 150.
(3).
Chin Turret
Makes Fort
Air Arsenal
The latest model B-17 is being
equipped with a special “chin”
turret that is operated by remote
control by the bombardier, Air
Force officials revealed this
week.
The new turret is fitted direct-
ly below the plexi-glass nose of
the Flying Fortress and is equip-
ped with two .50-cal machine
guns. The “chin” turret is design-
ed to meet head-on fighter at-
tacks and in some models takes
the place of the three guns mount-
ed in swivel hangars in the nose.
Air Force officials refused to
comment on whether the new
model has been tested in com-
bat yet.
Chinese Independence Day was observed in Iceland with a
gala party at White Rose Hall. Here Chinese in U.S. Army rally
around Maj. Gen. William S. Key, commanding IBC.
(Other photo on Page 3).
IBC Gals To Make Debut
In Hilarious ‘Doughgirls’
The four USO girls sent to
Iceland to participate in soldi-
er productions will make their
IBC stage debut in “The Dough-
gir^s,” a breezy, sophisticated
comedy written by Joseph
Fields, Base Special Service Of-
fice announced this week.
The show, a “natural” for the
talents of Parker McCormick,
Betty McCabe, Miriam Stovall
and Molly Dodd, is tentatively
slated to open within three
weeks. Location of its run is
still a mystery since its first
week schedule overlaps “Angel
Street,” currently playing to
Lt. John Winant Jr.
Reported Missing
l/Lt. John Winant Jr., son of
the U.S. Ambassador to Britain,
was reported missing this week
after a Flying Fortress raid on
the German city of Munster. It
was Winant’s 13th operational
flight.
Winant’s first job after earning
his wings was to ferry bombers
across the Atlantic. He partici-
pated in the shuttle raid in which
British-based Fortresses attack-
ed the' Messerschmitt plant at
Regensburg in August.
One of featur-
es of “County
Fair” at Main
Rec Center Sun-
day was hula
dancer, Cpl. Hen-
ry Ferry of Cam-
bridge, Mass. The
sideshow’s bark-
er is Pvt. Bern-
ard Thibodeau
of Van Buren,
Me., while ARC
hostess shown is
Miss Euniel Lou-
ise Tucker of
Chattano oga,
Tenn. The Fair,
which lasted dur-
ing the afternoon
and evening, was
acclaimed “one
of the Center’s
best programs”
by enlisted men
>vJto attended.
capacity audiences in the new
Air Corps theater.
Characters have been cast by
Lt. Paul Baker, director, and
the actors and actresses are
now busily engaged rehearsing
every afternoon and evening.
Frequent morning sessions also
have been added to the pro-
gram to insure a smooth, fast-
moving production when it
reaches the boards.
The four “GI girls” will share
the spotlight with Miss Reta
Shaw1, popular American Red
Cross hostess, and a coterie of
enlisted men who never before
have participated in Command
shows. But the cast is well
chosen so there’s no cause for
alarm among theatergoers.
The USO visitors will, of
course, play the four co-star-
ring roles, while Miss Shaw has
been cast as Ihe “judge.” The
quartet of fortunate enlisted
men who have drawn leading
assignments opposite Parker,
Betty, Miriam anjd Molly are
Sgt. Herbert Homan of Oakland,
Calif., “Colonel Halstead”; Pfc.
Charles D. Matthews of Fort
Worth, Tex., “General Slade”;
Cpl. Fred J. Sass of Detroit,
Mich., “Tom” (an Air Force
lieutenant), and Pvt. Paul Lor-
enz of Madison, Wis., “Julian.”
Others in the show include:
Pvt. Henry B. Scheeland of
Portland, Ore.; ' Cpl. James T.
Stacy of Mt. Vernon, Ill.; Cpl. W.
A. Christie of Chicago, and Cpl.
Rosario S. Tessier of Milburn,
Mass.
Pearl Harbor
Probe Shelved
Court martial proceedings a-
gainst the two U.S. commanders
in Hawaii when the Japs struck
Pearl Harbor have been post-
poned, the War and Navy De-
partments announced this week.
Both Rear Adm. Husband F..
Kimmel and Maj. Gen. Walter C.
Short, it was announced, have
agreed to waive the statute of
limitation. Both officers are now
retired.
The announcement said the
proceedings would be delayed
until such time as it was decided
it would be appropriate,
. w. -
Italians
To Join
Allies
Following a week which saw
Italy formally declare war on
Germany and the British and
Americans continue to make
steady advances beyond Naples,
Gen. Mark Clark’s 5th Army and
Gen. Montgomery’s veterans of
the 8th Army are poised today,
ready to strike the blows that
will send them marching into
Rome.
The Italian declaration of war
against the Nazis was made by
Marshal Badoglio on Wednesday.
But although the United States,
■Great Britain and Russia agreed
to grant Italy the status of a co-
belligerent, it was pointed out
that such recognition would not
automatically make Italy a mem-
ber of the United Nations.
Meanwhile, both the 5lh and
8th Armies pushed on to new
successes. In the past week the
Allies gabbed the towns of San
Groce, Bondfro and Riccia.
The Fifth Army cleared a path
to Rome yesterday by cracking
German defenses on the north
bank of the Volturno River, last
physical barrier between the
American forces and the Vatican
City. An intense artillery bar-
rage preceded the precarious
crossings.
After establishing beachheads
at several points along the river,
large forces of Fifth Army units
poured across the pontoon brid-
(Continued on Page 2)
Germans Flee
From Kiev As
Russians Gain
The men who fire the guns in
celebration of every great Russi-
an victory are reported to have
“itchy fingers” again today as
they stand by in Moscow for
word that Soviet comrades have
driven the Nazi invader from the
great bastion of Kiev.
As the Russians are reported
sweeping onward in their re-
newed offensive all along a 1200-
mile front from Leningrad to the
Crimea, particular attention of
United Nations leaders is being
centered on the area west of
the Dnieper river. Advance units
of the mighty Red Army are said
to have ripped through the outer
defenses of Kiev, and the fall of
the capital of the Ukraine is ex-
pected momentaritly.
The Soviet troops along the
Dnieper have been driving ahead
in the past week despite desper-
ate Nazi counter-attacks. In a
series of bridgehead battles not
far from the outskirts of Kiev,
Moscow reported the slaying of
more than 1,000 of the enemy.
That the Germans expect to
lose control of Kiev and Gomel,
the two big Soviet objectives of
the moment, has been made evi-
dent, in late dispatches. Moscow
claims that the Nazis have been
(Continued <m Page 2)