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H E A D D R E S S_Arnoid
Headley, American Indian at
. Naval Air Station, Corpus
* Christi, Texas, wears a head
dress of machine gun bullets re
sembling ancestral feather t*ue
Gov. Gruening' Requested Adequate
Defense Before Dutch Harbor Attack
WASHINGTON—During most of last winter, Gov.
Ernest Gruening ft AYiska constituted a ono-man lob
by pounding on office d rs to promote the fortification
of Alaska. Gov. Gruening contended that the Japs
were- sure 1o bomb Alar .-.a. probably would atte mpt a
landing, and that Alaska was woefully undefended.
Finally, Gov. Gruening went to see the’ President
hims'dl. The President sympathized heartily, but fin
a I\ replied by asking this question: “How many planes
do you th.nk we have de:ending the c tv of New York?”
Then he went on to s: y that he had called in the
Army a few days before to answer that question, and
was surprised at the fii .ire. The President also went
on to explain that it w s absolutely essential for us
to send planes to war fronts where they could be us
ed immediately—where the fighting was actually tak
ing place. If they went ;o Alaska or New York, he
pointed out, they might sit there for months doing
nothing, while the battels were being lost on the Rus
suin front. Therefore, '.he limited number of planes
had to be distributed to ureas where the need was
urgent.
This was the posit on also taken by Gen. Marshall.
Admiral King and other war chief's, and explains why
the Japanese had such an easy time getting a foothold
on the extreme end of the Aleutian Islands. Since this
White House conversation last winter, U. S. air stren
gth has been enormously increased. Present disposi
tion of forces is a military secret. The Aleutian Is
land bases remain all- mportant in staging air raids
on Japan, and that is wry the Japs were anxious to
seize them.
Note:- The American public is completely sympath
etic with the necessity of spreading our defenses thin,
but not so sympathetic w.th the official minimizing of
the Aleutian Island attack. At first this attack was de
nied—though we had a radio station on Attu which
must have reported or at least gone silent after the
attack. I hen it was announced that there were no im
portant Jap ships in the Aleutians. Following which
11 was revealed that we had hit or sunk eight ships—
so there must have been quite a few there after all.
A •sh:r.'4t--n Morry-Go-Rf.c a . \ Drew Pearson and Robt. S. Allen
8.616 Fled By Air
From Burma Area
WASHINGTON A hr..' <f
8.616 persons have b an ev cu
ed from Burma, approx:nr • y
hnlf of them by tin Unit'd S
Army Ferrying C mm. :
War Department aen u-e d
In the first cptnmttniqu r
issued on that phase of the w
the Department stated t ' M,
Gen. Lewis H. Brerton. chief <
the United States A r Farces •••
India, with headquarters in N v,
Delhi, had reported that th< Unit
ed States Army Ferry tig Com
mand. operating under his direc
tion, was engaged several weeks
ago in; vacua ting casual! e. and
civilians front Burma.
Thi evacuation of civilans an 1
military casualties, apparently be
ore the advancing Japanese, w -
carried out bv the cooperation ■'
Allied air units. The British R iy- 1
A r Fore - and the China National
Aviation Corporation collaborat
ed with the United States Army
F riving Command, manned by
a " combatant fliers whose ma
jb ' taSfr tves trnnsputing airolain
to points where they were
1 d and in bringing the
ntded and civilians out of
fur: a.
War Department did not
. what civilians were evacu
: f'um the war z-me. It did
'.life, however, that among the
iMT--- ns evacuated were Indians.
\ 'gla-Indians. Burmese, Anglo
Buimese and Europeans.
01 a total of 8,tilti persons ev
acuated the American Ferrying
Com nand transported 4.228. Tin
British Royal Air Force, the War
Department sated, not only car
ried its share of those evacuated
, but also dropped 100.000 po.unds
of food to refugees, apparently
groups of civilians endeavoring
to flee before the advancing Jap
a nest-.
Buy Delen.se Bunds a.iu stamps
Maritime Day was observed throughout tlie United States with the launching of
28 new ships. Here the Washington Irving, first of 3 labcrty ships to <
Portland, Ore., is ready to slide down the w ays oi the Oregon Shipbu. ding Co.
Shortly after midnight. Work continued on the 38th ship built up to launching time.
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C. S. ARMY AIR CORPS C* T 3110 MAY OFFICERS
... * M J
Picked enlisted men who completed a 10 week military course saw 500 of their
number become officers in the Army Air Corps in an open air graduation ceremom
at Miami Beach. Fla. Majj. Gen. Walter K. Weaver, chief of the training program,
told the men they would participate in the Allied Victory.
THEY SMASHED JAPS AT MIDWAY
Heroes of the battle of Midway return t > an airfield on Oahu in an Army trail -
port plane. Flying buddies, who were forced to stay behind, gather round the b ,r
plane to greet them. This picture by the *th a'rpo- -e was radioed from llonolul i
to San Francisco.
U. S. SIB LAUNCHED WITH Bid SLASH
' *** ^. • *
Hitting the water with a mighty splash, the J ,500-ton submaiine Peto is launched
at the Manitowoc Shipbuilding company yards al Manitowoc, YVis.. the first sub
marine built for the Navy on inland waters. The sub, completed ahead of schedu! *
was put into the water sideways, the first in the United States to be launched i;»
this fashion.
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