VOL. 3 NO 12
KODIAK, ALASKA MAY 22, 1943
PRICE 10 CENTS
Week’s News Highlights
pacific Front
Suffering only "light” casual
ties, D. S infantry troops com
pleted the encirclement of Jap
forces on Attu & pinned the
largest concentration of Nips tc
the sea in Chichagoff harbor, or
the eastern end of the island The
2 American forces which landed
oa Attu. one at Massacre bay &
the other at Holtz bay, joinec
this week after capturing Sarans
pass & the partially completed
enemy air field in the Holtz baj
area. At latest reports the Japs
hemmed to the sea, were undei
fire from light naval surface units
enone side & faced an Arm\
frontal assault on the other. Maj
Gen. Eugene Landrum, veteran
of previous Aleutian operations
commands me Aim expeanon.
The surprised enemy offered lit
tle resistance in the 1st phase of
tbe campaign when strong beach
beads were established. As the
invading forces pushed forward,
heavy concentrations of Japan
ese machine gun fire was met &
overcome Fog concealed initial
landing parties but has hamper
ed subsequent operations.
In New Guiana 100 enemy
planes attacked Allied troop po
sitions. Allied air base at Wau
was shot up by 34 Jap planes.
Allied troops repulsed enemy in
fantry attacking with aerial cov
er in New Guinea. Liberator
bombers attacked Wake island,
while other U. S. planes bombed
Rekata in the Solomons. Gen.
Mac Arthur reported that a Jap
nib sank a lighted Red Cross
hospital ship with a loss of 199
lives. Prime Minister Churchill
told Congress that Britain will
fight beside the U S against
lapan "as long as there is breath
in our bodies & blood in our
•eins” to retrieve all territory
lafeen by the Japs.
European Front
Unescorted U. 3. heavy bomb
w set afire the German sub
rards at Kiel. Photos show that
Nazi fort was pasted in the
*®ost accurate” bombing of the
Hr: 6 bombers failed to return
«>m the daylight raid. More
toan 300,000,000 tons of water
filled into German homes &
•ctories after RAFiplanes blast
'd open 2 of the largest dams
® the Ruhr & Eder valleys.
Morocco radio said that rioting
sged in Duisburg, Dortmund &
ther flooded cities. In what Lon
don termed the biggest America!
air attack against German, U. 8
daylight bomders rocked Emden
Nazi naval base. At the samt
time our fighters swept ovei
France & Belgium in diversion'
ary attacks. RAF crews continu
ed to step up devastating air as
saults against Hitler’s fortress
struck Berlin 3 times this weel
& ranged into southern German}
in what showed signs to som<
observers as being a pre invasioi
all-out aerial assault Stockholn
reported that recent Allied bomb
ing of Germany caused 9 pe
cent reduction of the Reich pro
duction. In ihe bombed area
production fell 30 to 50 per cent
Nazi transportation lost 60 pe
cent of its efficiency, with som<
western disti lets 90 per cent im
mobilized.
Mediterranean Front
Italy, Sicily & Sardinia quakec
beneath Allied air power this
week. In conquered Tunisia, Al
lied troops counted streams o:
enemy prisoners estimated t(
have passed 200.000. British Ah
Marshall Tedder announced thai
the Mediterranean is “really op
en” for shipping. Allied bombers
plastered Sicilian ports of Paler
mo, Messina & Comiso, & Sard
inian ports of Calesetta, Cagliari
& Alghery & destroyed 73 Axis
airciaft. U. S. Flying Fortresses
wrecked docks & fuel tanks at
Civitavecchia, Italian west coast
port only 37 miles northwest ol
Rome.
Russian Front
A large German force north
east of Kharkov was used as a
daily target for Soviet air force,
Red ai men destroyed 70 German
planes, 300 freight & 200 supply
truck in attacks on the massing
Naris in 3 days. Soviets lost 23
planes during the series in the
Kharkov seetor. where many
military experts expect Germany
to launch a Spring offensive.
Long range bombers set huge
fires & blasted the jammed Ger
man rail depot at Gomel, White
Russia.
Asia Front
Chinese reported U S. planes
downed at least 15 Jap planes
over Kunming, Burma road ter
minal. RAF continued assaults
against enemy communication &
transportation facilities in Bur
ma Jap General Araki said the
“home front will only be made
stronger by occasional reverses”.
Ivan A. Bosman, Michigan,
®A engineer, is a business visi
)r in Kodiak this week. An ex
6ft on electric generation and
‘ansinission he is making a sur
*y of local equipment needs in
«nectiou with pending acquisi
tion of two new units and in con
nection with a new powerhouse.
John L. McCormick, Territor
ial director of Selective Service,
left Kodiak this week after a
short business trip in connection
with matters of his office.
Storage Data
Expected
A final decision on the water
system is expected shortly, Baird
Snyder, assistant administrator
of the Public Works Agency,
Washington. D C., advised in
a wire received this week.
The wire follows:
"Final report on available
, storage in certain depressions
, north of Kodiak and a short line
( from this source to distribution
: system expected shortly. This
office is not in any respect re
• moving responsibility for this
. water system from Seattle office.
s Delays in decision due to diffi
culties in transportation and
• differences in engineering opin
. ion. Final decision likely by end
. of next week."
The wire was received Mon
day.
Clarence Cole, project engin
i eer, left this week for Seattle to
present data in connection with
the water system.
Graduation
Cancelled
Graduation exercises of the
Kodiak High School, scheduled
for Wednesday, were cancelled
this week after notice was re
ceived at the last minute that
the Army chaplain chosen as
principal speaker was called
away.
Four students comprise the
class: Max Owen, valedictorian;
William Taylor, salutatorian;
Mary Frost, who was to have
read the class poem; Charles
Hartman, who was to have pre
sented the class history.
City Lends
Money To School
A special meeting of the city
council was called Tuesday to
meet with the school board and
as a result the city granted a
loan of $7200 to the board to
meet final salary and debt ob
ligations of the ending school
year. The loan was required be
cause Territorial refunds to
meet teachers’ salaries are not
made until all teachers are paid
for the entire year.
The 1943-44 school budget is
$38,385, with the city’s share to
be between $12,000 and $13,000.
The council also instructed the
Public Buildings & Improvement
committee to meet with the
board and to report at the next
regular meeting with recommen
dations on school building im
provements.
C. C. Nauachton received no
tice this week of his reappoint
ment as school tax collector by
Territorial Treasurer O. Olson.
The school tax law has been al
tered to include requirement of
payment of the tax by working
women, and the new rules are
included in a notice carried in
this issue. The tax became due
Janua.y 1.
A fill of dirt required by sewer
construction between Rlinn’s
pool hall and liqin r store build
ings looks like a street so the
Blinn brothers were inspired to
put up signs labelling the ingress
as ‘ Palm Drive” and to com
plete the picture placed two
fronds of palm on each side of it.
Helsel Photo company was
closed 3 days this week while
Harvey Edwards repainted the
interior of the store.
Conference
Asked
Late yesterday afternoon a
letter was sent by Mayor Nick
Miell to officials at Fort Greely
and the Naval Operating Base
requesting a joint conference be
tween them and a committee
consisting of the city council and
six representative business men
to seek to resolve any differences
which may be involved in the
recent cancellation of passes of
all servicemen.
The mayor’s action fallowed
a special council meeting called
Thursday night by the mayor at
the request of Councilmen W©d
linger and Sholl, where, after
lengthy discussion the action,
was decided upon
Also at the meeting L. F.
Nachweih reported on a confer
ence held at the base Tuesday
between military officials and a
group consisting of himself, L. K.
Wodlinger, H. F. MacDonald,
Ben Kraft, Harry Pinch and R.
H. Chadwick. He said the trip
wa-5 made not, to seek closing if
the “line”, which has been an
actuality since May 2. but to
discover why servicemen wee
not allowed in town after ibe
closure. He also said that after
the conference the group leturu
ed and asked Mayor Miell and
Police Chief .James Pierce to
answer a previously unanswered
letter from the base that request
ed cooperation in the closure.
Both acceded to the request
Because of subsequent and
continuing conflicting reports of
the true status and issues invol
ved the final ac ion of seeking the
joint committee-official confer
ence was decided upon.
Attu Now Battle Scene
After occupying Attu village in the Aleutians the Japanese made the strategic spot bristle with
military installations. Note network of roads, circular installations, the seaplane base (lower left).