26 Dec 1944
Page 1
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Newspaper
Corry Evening Journal
Location
Corry, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Date
Dec 26, 1944
Page
1
Fragmentary OCR describes a domestic scene with a man named Delafirst and references to a wife a son and travel. It mentions a yard, a chicken, a train and a dam having family ties, with scattered dialogue about an anti and a push toward a party. The readable parts are chaotic and partly nonsensical.
Rain sleet and new snow kept streets in poor condition overnight but city and county crews kept main arteries open. Extra buses ran late and routes near Union City and toward Columbus remained passable, though some delays and stalled vehicles occurred on routes east and west of town. Forecasts warned of more cold, but clearing skies and limited additional snow were expected.
Paris dispatch notes two German armies hurled into a slowed offensive with a possible third in reserve as Hiller allegedly planned the drive. Rome says Canadian troops advance from their bridgehead and capture a town near the Adriatic front. London reports sustained American airpower pinning the German push with bombers and fighters for a fourth day.
Moscow dispatches say ten German divisions and Hungarian units were trapped in Budapest with escape cut off except by air as Soviet forces push west. The capital’s panic grows as Red Army shells two airports while stormoviks and bombers strike. Germans reportedly seized available cars and ordered Hungarian drivers to standby with blankets. Separately, Red Army advances in southern Czechoslovakia near Leva push toward Vienna and Bratislava, now under 98 and 65 miles away.
Normal conditions were rapidly returning after the holiday rush caused heavy passenger volumes and winter weather. A 19 car P and E Division special train operated from Harrisburg to Erie and Buffalo. Erie Railroad freight activity briefly tied up eastbound tracks in Corry, but operations continued. Corry post office cleared most inbound mail in town, with parcels still arriving, aiming to return to normal soon.
Erie police report Officer Theodore HoMatetter aged 82 wounded in shoulder during gun fight with two women trying to rob a closed bar. Police Chief George Christoph said the officer fired at the fleeing pair then summoned help. four suspects were detained.
The Associated Press survey reports 332 violent deaths during the Christmas holiday period, similar to 1943. Highway accidents led with 198 fatalities, while total motor vehicle deaths were about 275. California recorded 97 fatalities, including 34 on the roads, followed by Pennsylvania 27 and New York 22.
A high ranking American officer said February will unfold more details as U S servicemen face charges for selling cigarettes, gasoline and other military supplies to the French black market. He cited tanks empty of fuel and drivers robbed on lonely roads as penalties rise and supply lines weaken amid widespread seizures and investigations.
Prime Minister Churchill arrived in Athens to help end the Greek civil war as street fighting raged between ELAS partisans and government forces aided by British troops. A ton of dynamite was found under curbs opposite the Grand Bretagne hotel as officials planned a conference with Greek leaders to quell the conflict and restore Greece to the UN fold.
Det 26 A Phoenix Arizona says Nazi celebrations at Papago Park camp were broken up as about 200 prisoners demonstrated. Six submarine officers escaped. Lt Col Burger Wattenberg leads the group. Escapers used an eight foot double wire fence. Prince Prien, famed U-boat commander, reportedly escaped but authorities later report he is a prisoner. Also an Erie death: John Turcovich, 62, Cleveland, dies after being struck by a train in Pennsylvania.
General MacArthur hailed the Palompon harbor seizure as the last major Leyte port captured, marking a decisive phase in the Leyte operation. U S 77th Division advanced from Ormoc under heavy fire, Tokyo labeled Leyte the decisive battle for homeland defense, with Japanese losses totaling tens of thousands and Allied casualties numbering in the thousands.
Kenneth Paulson, son of Mr and Mrs Writers, has been promoted from first lieutenant to captain while serving with the Army Air Forces in Italy. He has earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and other awards and saw active combat in the European theater last June. Support from the chaplain was also noted in a commendatory letter.
Wiley and his wife Miss Durtin escaped a fire that destroyed their farm home on Spring Creek Road east of Sprit Creek. Wiley suffered first and second degree burns to face and hands. Mrs Wiley and her sister leaped from a second floor window to safety before help arrived. The family sought care at Garland and Spring Grove hospitals with several others assisting. The cause tied to an operated stove remains under investigation.
U S bombers and warships struck Iwo Jima with a second coordinated assault described by Admiral Nimitz. Tokyo was also targets as incendiary bombs were dropped on Tokyo Yokohama and Shizuoka prefecture. Nimitz gave no task force size or bomber count.
Navy Secretary Forrestal said Japanese air and naval actions in the Pacific aim to disrupt U S plans for large offensives. He acknowledged some damage to naval forces in the Philippines but refused to detail losses, stating announcements are delayed to avoid signaling Japanese intentions.
Army officials opened a Board of Inquiry into a Christmas Day air disaster near Harrisburg. A heavy transport plane en route from Jacksonville Florida to Minneapolis crashed into Roundtop Mountain, killing several soldiers and injuring many others. First responders faced a rugged rescue as fire and smoke hampered access. Nearby residents described a long circle before the crash and a brutal explosion. The investigation aims to notify next of kin before releasing confirmed fatalities and injured. Also noted is the death of Mrs. W B Crow in Uniontown after a fall on an icy sidewalk.
The city marked its fourth wartime Christmas with quiet home gatherings and reduced activity. Churches held large services while most businesses and industry remained shut. streets were deserted as snow and rain set a somber mood. Many families faced absence of service members, and no community tree or public event took place.
Powerful twin German drives push 40 miles deep into Belgium near St Vith, merging into a bulge toward the Meuse. American forces rally under Bastogne siege threat, with counterattacks gaining ground and Eisenhower’s reserves driving to halt thej onward push as Christmas battles rage in the Ardennes.
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