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 17 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Decatur Daily
Location
Decatur, Alabama, United States of America
Date
Aug 15, 1944
Page
1
Local column offers brief vignettes of community life. The writer notes everyday events, neighbors, and shared spaces reflecting town values. Through short sketches the piece highlights civic ties, stories, and everyday belonging.
Partly cloudy tonight and Wednesday with scattered thunder showers in the east this afternoon. Highs near 87 and lows around 72. Community notes report military updates, hospital admissions, ambulances, visits, and local social updates across Decatur and nearby towns including Florence and Birmingham.
U S bombers attacked Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands as 22 Liberators engaged fighters. Halmahera, a Japanese held island near New Guinea and Mindanao, was neutralized by air attacks, with bases and ground troops largely immobilized. Chinese forces pressed attacks near Hengyang and along the Hankow Canton railway to block Japanese advances. Premier Koiso called a special Diet session for September 5 to discuss the war outlook.
The Decatur Chamber of Commerce industrial committee targets new plants to consume farm and livestock products from Morgan county and nearby areas. Casto Jarvis is elected to the board, succeeding Robert T. Harris. The group cites local firms like Alabama Dairy Products, Home Oil Mill, Arrow Provisions, and Alabama Flour Mills as examples of successful locally financed industries.
The Senate military committee unanimously recommended confirming Lt. Gen. George S. Patton Jr. to the permanent rank of major general. The action followed his leadership of the American Third Army in Normandy and Brittany and came after a prior hold due to a Sicilian campaign incident. Senator Chandler said Patton had been disciplined and praised him as a great soldier.
London reports 2000 plus American and British bombers assaulting Germany Holland and Belgium while Italian and British planes carpet Nazi targets in France. Bases at Cologne Ostheim Wiesbaden Erbenheim Frankfurt Schborn and others hit. 8000 tons dropped to cripple Luftwaffe ahead of invasion routes. Allied raids target rail hubs and bridges to hinder troop movements.
The Defense Plant Corporation announced approval to supply equipment valued at 725000 dollars for a Kearney New Jersey plant run by Martin Dennis Co of Newark. The DPC also reported contracts with Goodyear De l Mills to supply a Decatur Alabama plant and with Aktor Ohio for a plant in Decatur.
General Eisenhower takes personal charge of Western operations with an American Army group led by Bradley on equal footing with Montgomery's command. Hodges leads the first army while Patton commands the newly formed third, as both groups report directly to Eisenhower from a France command post.
Allied forces landed across a broad front in less than two hours with minimal resistance. The invasion aims to drive Germans from the Rhone valley as Paris readiness wanes and Hitler’s defenses thin across western Europe. Allied command describes the operation as decisive despite ongoing hard fighting.
Allied armies push through the Southern French wall near Toulon with light opposition while 450 miles away the German seventh army is annihilated in a Normandy vise. Paratroopers, heavy air support, and a Mediterranean fleet support the drive as Von Kluge's forces collapse.
Fresh Patton tales spread after Gen. George S. Patton Jr. led Third Army into Brittany and promised tea in Brest. A local encounter with a traffic jam and an MP clash followed, while Gen. Eisenhower noted a telephone talk with Patton about speeding up.
Gen Sir Henry Maitland Wilson says the objective is to drive out the Germans and join Allied armies advancing from Normandy. Eisenhower says Germans on the Normandy front are taking a sound beating but notes a long road to the Rhine. A French army lands in France between Marseille and Nice to fight on home soil as the underground rises. Allied landings along the southern coast occur in calm weather with first objectives seized within an hour and little resistance. no enemy fighters oppose the armadas.
Allied forces press from the Mediterranean toward southern France with the German 7th Army near destruction in Normandy and Brittany. Reports indicate French forces and navy, aided by American air power, are shaping the liberation as Von Kluge concentrates divisions to oppose the Westward offensive.
General Patton and General Bradley orchestrate a rapid West coast push from Cherbourg peninsula into Brittany. Patton’s third army cuts through German pockets as French forces assist, driving toward Le Mans with unprecedented speed and audacity.
Allied forces led by France and reinforced by American and British troops struck Hitler with a large Mediterranean landing around Toulon. Beachheads along a 125 mile Riviera corridor were seized by mid-morning with minimal ground and air opposition. An immense fleet and airborne forces paved the way as Gen. Wilson urged France to reclaim its soil.
CBS correspondent Eric Sevareid reported from a pine covered hill several miles inland from the French south coast as Allied forces pushed inland during the invasion. He represented CBS and all American networks in the broadcast.
Allied air forces struck strongly across southern France as five days of bombing shattered rail bridges from Valence to Marseille and blocked lines into Italy. Liberators and Fortresses hit Rhone bridges and routes to Frejus, while Marseille airfields were degraded. French National Committee urged uprising against German rule as invasion pressed inland.
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.