29 Apr 1945
Page 1
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Newspaper
Decatur Daily
Location
Decatur, Alabama, United States of America
Date
Apr 29, 1945
Page
1
The weather forecast calls for a cloudy Sunday with showers in the East and far South, Monday partly cloudy and warmer. Local reports note a maximum of 6 percent? and a minimum of 54. Community updates include military mentions, hospital news, and local engagements from Decatur to Hartselle and Joppa, with several residents undergoing medical procedures and others traveling or returning from service overseas.
Allied advances in Northwestern Italy push through Brescia Bergamo and Genoa as German escape routes to Brenner pass are blocked. 6,000 prisoners taken. Graziani captured. Mussolini reports unconfirmed. French forces move into the Maritime Alps. Clark urges patriot support amid a broad push toward Turin and Milan.
American soldiers freed from German prison camps will guard and run prisoner of war camps holding enemy soldiers in New York New Jersey and Delaware. Enlisted and commissioned former prisoners will serve in administrative and guard roles, with experienced captivity deemed highly qualified for duties.
Cedric Beddingfield and Elsie Lee Crow were crowned Morgan county 4 H King and Queen before more than 450 people Saturday morning at the Decatur high school auditorium. The King and Queen will also serve as president and vice president for the hex. Carolyn Isley and Barbara Ann Owen won first place in dress review. Mary Lee Corum and Mary Davis Russell won second and third in elementary. Jo Ann Childers and Jerry Morris won second and third in junior high. Several entrants were listed. heavy rain caused cancellations including the Delano park parade and a milking demonstration.
Japan marked Emperor Hirohito's 44th birthday amid continued war reverses. Allied advances in Okinawa and the Philippines, a major British push toward Rangoon, and a large Superfortress raid on Kyushu airfields contrasted with Tokyo’s invasion jitters. Baguio in the Philippines fell to MacArthur’s 33rd Army, signaling further Allied momentum.
Ernie Pyle writes a heartfelt tribute to Fred Painton, war correspondent who died of natural causes on Guam. The piece recalls Painton’s modesty, honesty, and long career, noting his plans for a six year postwar home life and his rugged wartime experiences.
Severe storm rips through Alabama causing high winds and heavy rain. One injury, a Pratt City janitor, as doors slam and a tree falls. Power lines down, communications interrupted, and brief downtown darkness observed in Birmingham. Montgomery and Anniston also report hail and heavy rain.
Senator Connally asserts his stance on the Berlin crisis as Soviet forces press a final stage. Reports from Moscow describe mass German surrenders amid scarce supplies in a burning city with heavy Allied bombardment and massive searchlight coverage. Russian troops advance under Zhukov as the capital nears collapse.
U S seventh army tanks reach the Austrian frontier days after a Munich revolt signals wider collapse of Nazi control. Allied forces press toward Munich with advances by the 10th armored division and the 44th and 45th infantry divisions, while reports of negotiations and uprisings ripple through London and Berlin.
Hamburg radio said April 28 that German troops withdrawn from the middle Elbe line faced the Americans and concentrated remaining forces against the Bolshevik advance into Berlin, while Russian penetrations into the city continued.
Soviet units linked to Marshal Konev pressed west from Tempelhof toward central Berlin and closed on Unter den Linden and the Tiergarten. Khukov’s contingent neared the Reichstag as German defenses collapsed. inner-city fighting swirled near Alexander Platz and Hallesches Tor with the 35 square mile pocket shrinking rapidly.
Swiss radio said Mussolini was brought into Milan by Italian patriots and handed to a court martial of the Italian national liberation committee. Cardinal Schuster urged the public to refrain from violence and leave judgment to proper authorities.
Residents across six TVA states await President Truman’s decision on reappointing David E. Lilienthal to the TVA board. In Alabama, thousands plan petitions to Sen. John H. Bankhead urging Lilienthal’s return, with support from Sen. Lister Hill and Rep. John Sparkman and other lawmakers.
In San Francisco on April 28 delegates at the United Nations conference debated rumors of a German surrender bid. They split time between speeches and small groups to review reports that Nazis offered unconditional surrender, rejected due to Russia's omission. Officials urged speed toward a peace plan, while Secretary Stettinius avoided confirmation.
Tech Sergeant Herschel McKelvey, freed from a Japanese prison camp after over a thousand days of hardship, returns home to Decatur with his wife and mother. He bears malnutrition and nerves but is eager to recover his health during a 90 day furlough and plans to visit relatives in Dothan Enterprise and Florida before resuming duties.
Army newspaper Stars and Stripes in Paris carried Eisenhower’s statement that he has no information on any German surrender. Reports circulated from Moscow and Stockholm claiming surrender offers, while President Truman and Admiral Leahy dismissed rumors as unfounded.
The supreme headquarters reported before 3 am that no German surrender announcement was received and that General Eisenhower was likely still asleep. Headquarters kept the view that the war had not ended and no official surrender word had reached the public relations division. A press chief said the commander slept through any surrender news. Acceptance of a surrender remains an Allied government matter, not military headquarters.
Senator Connally maintained his forecast of an early Nazi surrender despite President Truman and White House aides denying any foundation to the peace rumors. Truman announced no surrender had occurred as reporters crowded the Oval Office awaiting a war end proclamation.
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