Oldest Newspaper In Alaska. "The News of The Day In Pictures** Menil>er Of I he Associated Press
THE NOME NUGGET ~
VOL. 44. No. 33. NOME, ALASKA. Wednesday, Mar. 18. 1942 p" Copy 15«
M’Arthur Is Supreme Commander
MacArthur Is Supreme Commander
United Nations Forces In Pacific
|l UNDATED, March 17 (AP) — The arrival of Gen.
Douglas MacArthur in Australia to assume the su
preme United Nations command in that region was an
nounced by the War Department. His assignment
was requested by the Australian government, the De
partment said, and President Roosevelt directed Mac
Arthur on February 22, to transfer his headquarters
from the Philippines, which he so brilliantly defended,
to Australia, as soon as necessary arrangements could
be made. MacArthur requested a delay until he could
perfect arrangements within the Philippine command.
This delay was approved by the President.
* General MacArthur was accompanied on the plane
trip by Mrs. MacArthur and his son, his chief of staff,
Maj. Gen. Richard Sutherland, Brig. Gen, Harold
George of the air forces, and several other staff officers.
His command in the southwest Pacific region will in
clude the Philippines, the War Department said.
Among the men now under MacArthur in Australia
are a “considerable number” making up the expedi
^ lionary forces of American ground troops and air corps
units, it was announced by Secretary Stimson.
9 Million Men Involved In Third
Draft Lottery on St. Patrick’s Day
j J ;
WASHINGTON, March 17 (AP) — Number 3,485
bobbed up tonight as the first drawn in the new war’s
first draft lottery, intended, said Brig. Gen. Hershey,
Director of Selective Service, to add millions to that
pool of men who stand ready for selection for neces
sary tasks, whatever they may be. Hershey stressed
that some 9,000,000 men, involved in the lottery might
be drafted to man factories while their companions
manned guns.
. The first number was drawn by Secretary of War
Stimson from among the 7,000 slips encased in green.
St. Patrick’s Day capsules. It meant that among the
men who registered on Feb. 16th, those holding that
serial number will be the first in their districts called
for possible service. Navy Secretary Knox drew the
second number, 2,850; and the third, 4,301 was drawn
by Representative May of the House Military commit
tee.
The fourth was 4,410; the fifth, 3,743; the sixth,
3,417; the seventh, 5,298; eighth, 6,724; ninth, 4,618;
md the tenth, 4,002.
Joe E. Brown
T Gives Laughs
To Local Soldiers
Joe E. Brown, laugh-star
of cinema fame, was the
purporter of fun and merri
ment at the local Army
k Post last evening when he
made a personal appear
ance followed by the pro
jection of one of his motion
pictures, “Alibi Ike.” To
arouse such spontaneous
peels of laughter is a noble
art—and Joe E. Brown is
the one who can do it.
The movie star was an
arrival yesterday and is on
a tour of military posts in
Alaska to entertain sol
diers of the Alaska Defense
Command. He is giving his
services without remuner
ation and in a spirit of pat
• riotism only.
Having for the past 3
weeks visited Anchorage,
Dutch Harbor, and other
points, it is understood he
will leave tomorrow for
Fairbanks and will remain
in the Territory about two
or three more weeks. To
day he made a trip by
plane to St. Lawrence Is
land which is rarely visit
ed by any travelers.
In an interview with the
Nome Nugget he said.
“Nome is more like what I
imagined Alaska would be
— colder and, well, just
more like Alaska.” He had
his first taste of reindeer
last evening and declared
that it was very good.
The film star came north
at the invitation of Major
M. R. Marston, command
ing officer of the Athletic
and Recreation Division,
sponsoring organization of
the Golden Gloves tourna
ment which was held re
cently in Anchorage.
Joe E. Brown, exponent
of manly sport and friend
of Alaska’s stout hearted
defenders has made a host
of new admirers who are
grateful for the laughter
and pleasure he has
brought to them.
__J:
T o r n a d o e s
Sweep Through
Six Slates
Undated, Mar. 16 (AP)—
Tornadoes and a devastat
ing series of tornadic winds
sweeping through 6 south
ern and midwestern states
Monday reportedly killed
118 persons and injured ap
proximo tely 700 and de
stroyed thousands of dol
lars worth of property.
Donald Nelson
Makes Speech
Washington, Mar. 17 (AP)
— Donald Nelson will
make a “statement to the
nation’’ from 6:30 to 7:00
p.m., Pacific war time, in a
special broadcast designed
1o counteract Axis propag
anda. Officials said he de
scribed t h e production
speed-up drive as an at
tempt to “Sovietize” Am
erican industry'. i
I
Berlin Reports
Bombs Dropped
In Turkey
Berlin, March 10 (AP) —
The radio said an official
announcement from An
kara reported that two per
sons were killed and sever
al wounded w'hen three un
identified planes dropped
15 bombs in the Milas area
near the Turkish west
coast.
Francis I. DuPont
Dies In London
New York, Mar. 1G (AP)
— Frances Irenee DuPont,
aged 68, senior partner in
the New York brokerage
house of Frances I. Du
Pont and Company, one of
the nation’s outstanding re
search chemists, died in
London.
Mike Walsh
Tells Of War
In California
After several attempts to get
Mike Walsh to give an account of
his recent trip to the States, the
Nugget reporter finally obtained
the following brief statement,
rather reluctantly given:
Mr. Walsh left Nome on Feb.
5th and returned March 14th,
traveling by air both ways. Due
to adverse flying weather condi
tions, priorities, etc., he did not
reach Seattle until Feb. 14th.
Aiter attending to certain busi
ness he was ready to return to
Nome on Fob. 22nd but could not
(Continued on Page Three)
Considerable Num
bers U. S. Forces
Now In Australia
Washington, Mar. Hi (AP)
The Army reported tonight
that United States troops
and aviation are in Aus
tralia in considerable num
bers. in an apparent an
swer to the frantic calls by
Australia for aid against
the expected invasion at
tempt by the southward
surging Japanese. The an
nouncement came from
'Secretary Stimson who
said no informaPon as to
the strength and designa
tion of the units nor their
location was at present
available for publication.
Fleet And RAF
Coordinate Attack
In Mediterranean
—
Alexandria, Mar. 1(5 (AP)
— The British light naval
forces which sailed up to
the Italian island of Rhodes
in the eastern Mediter
ranean early Sunday, pour
ed shells into the harbor
and dock and manufactur
ing facilities. The rain of
shells struck as the RAF
closed in with coordinated
bombing of airdromes on
the largest island of the
Dodecanese group off the
Turkish coast.
°iuv <) <• i’>. mi and Stanm
U. S. Trooj >s Take Battle Stations
As M’Arthur T akes Over Command
UNDATED, March 18 (AP) — Khaki clad U. S.
troops, officially described as a “most substantial” num
ber moved into battle stations in Australia as Gen.
MacArthur took over the Allied supreme command, to
meet the threatened Japanese invasion. Dispatches
from Melbourne said the Americans were scattered in
camps throughout Australia’s vast domain of nearly
3,000,000 square miles and at some points are quar
tered alongside Australian troops.
The British Exchange Telegraph news agency said
MacArthur arrived yesterday at Alice Springs, mid
way points on the long defense highway between Dar
win and southern Australia and is expected to confer
with government officials at Canberra soon.
The hero of Bataan brought along his wife and son
and four dozen members of his staff. He made the flight
to Australia through the dangerous aerial war zone,
from the Philippines in a U. S. Army plane, in a 2,000
mile trip, on a direct route to the nearest Australian,
base at Darwin.
U. S. Will Hold Philippines
“MacArthur’s arrival doesn’t mean that the Ameri
can forces are pulling out of the Philippines,” de
clared Lieut. Col. Lloyd Lehrbras, Army press officer,
at Melbourne. “The U. S. Army proposes to continue
that fight. We have been holding the Japs in the Phil
ippines and we intend to continue holding them,” he
said.
While the Tokyo radio seized on MacArthur’s de
parture from Bataan as “a treacherous abandoning of
a sinking ship,” the United Nations took a tremendous
uplift from the knowledge that the most successful
Allied comander of the war, is now able to direct
large scale counter blows against the enemy Allied
military experts cautioned against too great optimism, ’
pointing out that the odds are still heavily in favor
of the enemy.
Prime Minister Curtin announced that Lieut. Gen.
George Brett, aged 56, is in comand of the Allied air
forces in the Australian and New Zealand theater,
and will also hold the post of deputy supreme com
mander of the United Nations forces under MacArthur.
Allied bombers continued to smash the enemy’s po
tential jumping off bases, raiding the airdrome at
Japanese-held Koepang, capital of Dutch Timor in the
East Indies.
NEW ENVOY TO RUSSIA ON VACATION
mtmm■ •• ***•• ■ t* a « ■: * SET '1
Admiral William H. Standley, new United States ambassador to Rusisa, arrived
in San Diego for a brief vacation before leaving for his new post. He warned that
“America can be licked” by the Axis and pleaded for “absolute unity in our war
effort." Left to right: Mrs. Charles B. Wincote, Standley’s daughter; Mrs. Stand
ley; Mary Lou Windeote; Admiral Standley.
CARNIVAL SATURDAY High School Gym 8 p.m.