m NOME NUGGET
* OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
^___ _^——————■—^
VOL. 47.—No. 25. NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1945. ~ PER_COPY—15^
* MITSCHER SAID
OFF NIP COAST
WITH FLEET
U. S. PACIFIC FLEET HEAD
UARTERS ON GUAM, Feb. 26.—
(AP)—Vice Admiral Marc A.
Mitscher’s world’s largest carrier
task force is reported again off
Japan, sending waves of planes
against Tokyo, it has been re
vealed.
Admiral Nimitz announced in a
special communique, that Mit
shcer was sending the same type
of 1,100 plane attacks, which 10
* days ago destroyed 659 enemy
planes and destroyed or damag
ed 36 ships, including an escort
carrier and other warships.
The enemy radio said the raid
began at 7:00 a. m. Sunday and
that fierce sky battles were in
* progress over Tokyo’s 8,000,000
people.
KISKA YETS
NOW FIGHTING
ON ITALY SOIL
* *
ROME, Feb. 26.—(AP)—Major
General George P. Hayes, com
mander of the Tenth Mountain
Division, consolidated his gains in
the mountainous section around
captured Mount Belvedere, west
of the Bologna-Pistoia highway,
-•and won new ground to the
northeast and northwest, today’s
communiques report. Many pris
oners were taken in the mopping
up of pickets and pillboxes in
the area.
After repulsing several Ger
man counter-attacks yesterday,
the Yank forces gained heights
dominating the important high
M way.
The U. S. Tenth Division is
composed of the 85th, 86th and
87th regiments.
The 87th regiment spearhead
ed the landings on Kiska in 1943.
.WELDERS GO
BACK TO WORK
IN SEATTLE
SEATTLE, Feb. 26.—fAP)—
Welders today returned to work
at the Todd Shipyard and Todd
Dry Dock, after a vote of 135
to 65 yesterday to end the strike.
The decision was made con
tingent upon the government la
bor agencies’ consideration of
their demands.
CAPTURE OF
SECOND FIELD
SAID IMMINENT
GUAM, Feb. 26.—(AP)—The
capture of Iwo Jima’s second
airfield in the center of the stra
tegic little island, is imminent, as
three Marine divisions drove to
the north with considerable sup
port in this intensified push, it
was revealed today.
This stiffest fight of the Pacific
war goes into its second week,
with the devil-dogs holding
nearly half of the island, includ
ing two-thirds of the south
fighter field.
The assault followed a full day
of bombardment by artillery,
warship batteries, carrier planes,
and Marianas based Liberator
bombers, giving close support to
the ground forces.
The latest report of American
dead on the island was 5,372,
while the Japanese dead totalled
2,827.
1200 BOMBERS
IN ATTACK ON
NAZI CAPITAL
LONDON, Feb. 26.—(API
More than 1200 heavy bombers
carried out the war’s biggest at-1
tack on Berlin, streaming out In
a procession 150 miles long,
guarded by more than 750 long
range Mustangs and Thunder
bolts, the allied air command re
ported today.
The attack was directed against
railway targets.
The Berlin radio went off the
air because of ‘‘technical diffi
culties.”
RAF Mosquito bombers at
tacked Berlin last night, while
more than 5,000 planes flew
against the Reich yesterday.
The air force in Italy made its
record assault against targets in
Austria.
Four bombers and 28 fighter
planes are missing from all op
erations.
MASONS HOLD
ANNUAL PARTY
Last Saturday evening the Ma
sons and their invited guests en
joyed a delightful party in the
Masonic Temple. After the card
games refreshments were served.
The party was well attended.
Everyone reads The Nugget.
Two Russian Leaders
MOSCOW — Radio — Soundphoto — Marshal Rokossovsky of the
2nd White Russian Army, left, is pictured talking with Marshal
Zhukov, whose 1st White Russian troops seized Poland’s second city
Lodz in their drive toward the Reich.
UNDERGROUND
BLASTS ROCK
CORREGIDOR
By C. YATES McDANIEL
MANILA, P. I., Feb. 26.—(AP)
—Today, underground blasts are
rocking the Corregidor fortress,
indicating that the Japanese are
destroying themselves according
| to plan, it has been reported.
As the Sixth Division of Yanks
captured San Isidro and Mondal
ban road, driving the Japanese
loose from their footholds east of
Manila, five heavy explosions oc
curred deep under Corregidor’s
Malinta Hill on which 500 Third
Paratroopers, of the 34th Regi
ment, Third Battalion, were es
tablished.
A spokesman said more than
200 Japanese fled from the por
tals of Malinta tunnel after the
blasts, which jarred the island
for the second straight night. All
were killed.
Gen. MacArthur made no men
tion of Manila in the communique
for the first time in many weeks,
but reported steady pressure on
the enemy on all fronts.
Communiques reported air
sweeps against enemy installa
tions, shipping and air facilities
from Formosa to New Guinea.
A 5,000-ton tanker was set
ablaze off French Indo China, and
a 7,000-ton transport was dam
aged off Swatow, China, also a
number of troop landing barges
and other craft desrtoyed in
various sectors.
MANEUVER
FOR DRIVE
ON BERLIN
MOSCOW, Feb. 26.—(AP)—Two
great Russian armies maneuver
ed for the approaching drive on
Berlin today, while other Soviet
forces on either flank, one toward
the Baltic through Pomerania,
and the other through besieged
Breslau in Silesia, drove ahead,
it was announced according to
Marshal Stalin’s order of the
day.
All signs indicated that the
coming offensive against Berlin
will be stronger than any yet
loosed by the Russians in the
center sector, but there is no im
mediate indication when the twin
attacks will be loosed.
There are many heavily forti
fied points on the Oder and the
Spree rivers which must be ei
ther taken or by-passed.
Russian scouting operations in
this area suggest that the zero
hour may be near.
DEPUTY IN FROM
UNALAKLEET
Albert Bahls, deputy U. S.
marshal of Unalakleet, is in town
on official business.
EDGAR TWEET
IS PIONEER
Edgar Tweet was recently j
made a member of the Pioneers
of Alaska, Igloo No. 1.—Mr.
Tweet has been in the country
since 1903.
| INFANTRY NOW
ONLY 13 MILES
FROM COLOGNE
PARIS, Feb. 26.—(AP)—Amer
ican infantry and tanks drove to
within 13 miles of Cologne, on a
broadening front, approaching the
Rhine river, it has been reported.
In the Ruhr valley more than
20 towns fell to the advancing
Yanks.
Cologne is officially described
as the most devastated city in
all the Rhineland.
The Americans are seven miles
past Duren, which was cleared
out yesterday, and swiftly ap
proached the Erft river.
Tanks streamed across the
Roer river bridges to give power
to the American First and Ninth
Armies, which the Germans held
off with an estimated 600,000
men.
General Simpson’s shock troops
have closed to within a mile of
the heavily fortified communica
tion center of Erkelenz, and to
within nine miles of the Rhur
industrial region of Meunchen
Gladbach, a city of 128,000.
The Americans fought 26 miles
.deep into Germany, and less than
four miles from the Erft river,
! where five German divisions are
offering light to moderate resist-:
ance.
>
The Cologne plain is expected
to be the supreme stand of the
, enemy to bar the Americans from
the Rhine south, of Cologne.
The American Third Army
broke into a run, with an ad
vance of seven miles, and the
Fourth Armored Division carried
to the Nims river, in the vicin
ity of fortified Bitberg.
A dozen or more towns fell to
Gen. Patton’s troops, sweeping
toward Coblenz beyond Saarburg,
1 in a gradual encirclement of the
ancient city of Trier.
North of Cologne, the Canad
ians struck beyond the Siegfried
line to within 1,000 yards of Cal
car, while the American Seventh
Army, invading the Saar, widen
ed its front inside Germany with
j in sight of Saarbrucken.
PIONEER MEN MEET
All members are requested
to attend the regular meeting
of the Pioneers of Alasko,
Wednesday at 8:00 p. m., at the
Whaley House.
Spceial refreshments.
ROBERT F. BALDWIN,
Secretarf.
Read it in The Nugget.