This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
This newspaper page contains 25 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Athens Messenger
Location
Athens, Ohio, United States of America
Date
Mar 21, 1945
Page
11
Army air units reported heavy strikes against Japanese fleet positions while Allied forces push toward Ludwigshafen Mannheim. Reports describe industrial centers falling and combat near Karlsruhe as the Rhine resistance weakens.
Fragmentary wartime item reports Hodges extending a bridgehead near the Rhine. The Remagen bridgehead is described as wrecked with the army consolidating positions after an advance that netted prisoners. Details are garbled but refer to 6,040 prisoners and continued efforts to expand crossings.
The report notes multiple pockets behind Allied lines with a Saarland pocket near Saarbrucken under 80 square miles. Vanguards of Patton’s tanks aimed for Ludwigshafen Mannheim before dusk while other German cities lay within artillery range. Allies expected swift end to the war but wary officers doubted quick German surrender.
U S Army forces in the South Pacific review notes the 147th Infantry Regiment of the Ohio National Guard, led by Lt Col Walter N Davies. Since April 7 1942 overseas, the unit earned five Legion of Merit awards 19 Silver Stars 43 Bronze Stars one Soldier's Medal and 91 Purple Hearts. It served at Tongatapu Emirau Fiji Guadalcanal and remains stationed abroad.
The report notes four colored WACs received year sentences in the capital due to their color. It mentions two Negro officers and two white WAC officers serving on the seven man court, illustrating racial and military authority tensions.
Washington report says bituminous coal operators and United Mine Workers have made no progress on two new contracts. Ten days remain before the old pact expires and a strike vote has been ordered. UMWA president John L. Lewis said, we still hope to reach an agreement.
A force of 2000 American bombers and fighters attacked nine air fields in Northwestern Germany and a tank factory near Plauen while British planes bombed a large Bremen refinery. The U S 15th Air Force also bombed rail lines from Vienna to Munich. Dresden was struck by a heavy bomber force as night raids continued on oil refineries and Berlin.
A White House advisory group begins a nationwide study to assess guaranteed annual wage proposals for postwar job security. The plan, once urged by CIO United Steelworkers, was rejected as unworkable by the War Labor Board. President Roosevelt asked OWMR to explore feasible steps.
An unclear report notes Air Force officials voicing caution as war production weighs on civilian life. Sentences imply measures impacting workers and families, including energy shortages and race track closings, with government leaders urging public restraint during wartime.
Senator Chandler urges realism and public restraint as victory over Germany approaches. He says Americans have done well in production and should be allowed to relax after VE Day. He notes officials cannot force the public but trust in their judgment, while debates over VE Day holiday status continue.
Moscow reports the First White Russian Army breaking enemy lines along the Oder and eliminating the Altdamm bridgehead. Zhukov probes for springboards east of Berlin while Konev charges Breslau and Glogau. Vasilevsky leads the Third White Russians toward Braunsberg, with 4,000 prisoners, amid finds of engines, an assembly plant, and a torpedo factory at Altdamm. Russian groups push toward southern Germany and Austria as Tolbukhin drives toward Komarom and northern Hungary.
The War Department ordered all military personnel to depart entertainment venues by midnight, a move seen as the first government countermeasure to Mayor LaGuardia’s curfew extension. In New York City soldiers faced the order as bars and cafes bristled. Police and soldiers moved through the Stork Club to enforce the rule. Axis sabotage blamed for fires aboard Chilean ships with potential loss of 101 lives reported from Santiago.
Pvt. Harald Lee, Cleveland native, describes his Army service from Pearl Harbor to Hollandia New Guinea Leyte and Mindoro. He shipped to Hawaii ten days after enlistment and spent nearly four years in combat before returning home on rotation furlough.
Washington report on the War Labor Commission policy to move workers to high priority war jobs. Officials fear disruption after a New Bedford demonstration cited to justify national service legislation. The National Labor Management Committee, representing labor, industry, and agriculture, urged action while McNutt dismissed the committee's national service points.
Washington officials announce that state agriculture commissioners nationwide will be enlisted in a senate agriculture subcommittee inquiry into current food shortages. Chairman Thomas D. Okla says the probe is a meaningful effort to seek solutions, noting widespread cattle activity yet meat and butter fail to reach dining tables.
Columbus reports say heavy March rains have not damaged crops but warn the next two weeks will be critical for Ohio farmers. Authorities note farming remains a gamble as crop outcomes hinge on rainfall amounts and any potential late freezing after unseasonably warm weather.
A partially garbled New York report claims a fugitive speaker alleges that Hitler faced assassination attempts linked to the July 20 bombing and subsequent purges. It suggests Hitler fears a loyal opposition of nobility, military leaders, bankers, and intelligentsia, and notes alleged hearing loss and injuries from the blast.
Lord Wright, chairman of the United Nations War Crimes Commission, told the House of Lords that major war criminals including Hitler would be treated as murderers, assassins, thieves and torturers, with no mercy.
The Associated Press reports that at least 17 Japanese warships including a 45,000-ton battleship and eight aircraft carriers were crippled as over 1,000 American carrier planes struck the Inland Sea. Japan claims heavy anti aircraft fire and asserts fortifications are rising while the navy plans countermeasures.
Allied forces reported major naval victories including the sinking of the Musashi, the 45 000 ton Yamato class battleship, in the Leyte Gulf area. American planes destroyed air facilities, shipyards, and arsenals while mopping up Japanese fleet units. MacArthur announced advances on Panay and Luzon, with San Fernando garrison crushed and Bauang seized.
CATLETTSBUR G Ky UP The towboat Julius Fleischmann capsized near the Ohio shore while towing 12 empty barges from Cincinnati to Point Pleasant West Virginia All hands were saved said Captain W D Kimble of Portsmouth pilot Charles Simmons at Ashland refinery saw a flash but could not confirm an explosion Small boats rushed to the scene and secured the barges The Julius Fleischmann operated by Hatfield Campbell Creek Coal Co has decades towing work on the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers Captain Moten Stanley of Point Pleasant is master of the vessel Continued on Page 5
Reports say Churchill denies a huge stock of food, while conservancy districts may be made permanent. In Congress debate, estimates show 700 million tons under referendum, with current stock nearer six million tons, and projections dropping to 4.75 million by June as aid to liberated countries wanes.
Washington AP reports the submarine Barber went overdue on patrol and is presumed lost with all hands. About 65 officers and men were aboard when contact was lost, prompting defenses to search for survivors and determine the vessel’s fate.
In the first death claim suit from the East Ohio Gas Co. fire of Oct. 29 Mrs. Eileen Moran seeks 100000 damages from the Pittsburg-Des Moines Steel Co. and the city of Cleveland alleging tanks were erected in violation of local ordinances and caused her husband Patrick J Moran to be killed.
In Paris the 78th Division men from Ohio Illinois Pennsylvania and New York overran Beuel and cleared the eastern part of Bonn. They occupied Putzchen and captured Hangelay two miles northeast of Bonn. Ohio planting heavy: 1,336,000 acres planned for 1945 soybeans.
We want people to find what they are looking for at NewspaperArchive. We are confident that we have the newspapers that will increase the value of your family history or other historical research. With our 7-day free trial, you can view the documents you find for free.
People find the most success using advanced search. Try plugging in keywords, names, dates, and locations, and get matched with results from the entire collection of newspapers at NewspaperArchive!
You can also successfully find newspapers by these browse options. Explore our archives on your own!
Browse by location and discover newspapers from all across the world.
Browse by date and find publications for a specific day or era.
Browse old newspaper publications to find specific newspapers.