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Newspaper
Decatur Daily
Location
Decatur, Alabama, United States of America
Date
Dec 05, 1944
Page
1
Cloudy rain and a warmer night with strong coastal winds forecast across the state. Local figures report a 49 degree high and 37 low, while war news includes Pfc Wilks Turney in Germany and Lt Graves arriving overseas. Community notices cover hospitalizations, tax distributions, Civilian Patrol updates, and chamber housing appeals.
American heavy bombers with fighter escort drop almost 2000 tons on Berlin and Tegel, hitting munition and tank plants. Over 80 Luftwaffe planes shot down as Berlin endures the first daylight raid in two months.
American and Japanese ships clashed at Ormoc in Western Leyte as a small U S squadron fought three enemy vessels. A U S destroyer sank in minutes after torpedo or mine damage while Catalina pilots rescued many sailors. More Japanese ships and several transports were sunk or damaged in other Pacific actions.
Ernest H. Barnett a longtime Decatur hotel manager died Monday night about 6 30 in the lobby of the Cornelian Hotel While affiliated with the Cornelian Court Apartments he supervised the construction of the Cornelian Hotel He was born August 9 1883 in Ripley Mississippi and later managed several clubs and hotels including The Georgian Terrace Hotel Druid Hill Golf Club and Ballum Springs Club He was a member of First Presbyterian Church and Rotary Club of Decatur Funeral services Wednesday at Four at the First Presbyterian Church with interment in Decatur.
Alabama Baptists gather in Birmingham for a special meeting to map a 1945 members drive in observance of the Southern Baptist convention centennial. Dr. T. L. Holcomb, executive secretary of the Baptist Sunday School Board in Nashville, will speak.
The Decatur Daily informs readers of December policy changes due to paper shortage. Renewals by mail only. no new mail subscribers. Check expiration dates. expired subscripts will be treated as new. Armed forces subscriptions allowed. Carrier circulation frozen. transfers to new addresses permitted within service area.
Coroner H C Laughlin in Madison County returns a verdict that James H Pressner aged 54 harvest farmer was found dead at his home Monday and died of natural causes. He had two sons in the Army and surviving brothers Joseph and Thomas Pressnell reside in Limestone County.
Western front distance stands at 301 miles from near Duren. Eastern front shows 304 miles from north of Warsaw. Hungarian front remains 420 miles from Budapest. Italian front measures 557 miles from Ravenna.
An Associated Press report states a B 24 Liberator crashed during a combat training flight near Courtland Army air field, killing three officers and an enlisted man. Names listed include Lt. Joseph L. Huelster, 23, Pitron Street, Vallejo, Lt. Stanley E.K., 320, Hollister California, and Clarion Oxendine.
Premier George Papandreou offered his resignation and proposed a coalition cabinet with center and right groups possibly led by Themistokles Sophoulis. In Athens a general strike persisted while ELAS withdrew from police headquarters and 20 of 25 precincts remained under its control. One more person died and three injured near the railway station during dispersal of funeral march demonstrators. British tanks dispersed ELAS at Piraeus after an attack on the naval college, where three Britons were wounded and a British officer’s interpreter was killed.
Prime Minister Churchill told the House of Commons Britain would not hesitate to use the army to aid Greece and maintain order as Athens faced civil strife. He said Greek government authority must be enforced, warned against private armed groups, and noted left wing ministers quit rather than implement security reforms.
The United States informs Britain and Italy that Italians should build their government without foreign meddling. The State Department clarifies it has no opposition to Count Sforza and contrasts British stance on his inclusion in the Italian administration amid Allied supervision after World War II.
The column assesses China's peril as Japanese advances sever vital air bases and links from Manchuria to Canton. It notes internal split between Chiang Kai-Shek's Kuomintang government and the Chinese communists, with a fragile truce masking recurring clashes and vast armies idle rather than fighting the invaders.
Daily Mail dispatch from Noel Monks reports American soldiers dying as German tanks shell them with no allied artillery support. The tone describes the final assault on a town with US infantry under heavy fire and a collapsed artillery response due to exhausted ammunition quotas.
Soviet forces led by Marshal Tolbukhin mass along Lake Balaton as they drive toward Austria. Reports say 2,000 enemy troops killed and 3,000 prisoners taken in three days of fighting around Kaposvar and Nagybajom with advances toward Budapest and Szigetvar. Mitrovica captured northwest of Belgrade.
Decatur merchants plan December store hours from 8 30 AM to 8 30 PM on December 21 22 with discretionary closing for December 23. Night watchman policy remains unchanged as merchants will continue funding the city watch effort under the current system.
County war bond officials report Seakeeen te thle Grants show only $231,481.25 invested in Say e bonds toward a $741,000 quota. The overall bond total stands at $1,198,370 toward $1,509,000.
General Eisenhower bluntly tells the German people they cannot count on food fuel or clothing from the military government. He warns that Nazi scorched earth policy will worsen suffering and urges salvaging food seeds and machinery to avoid hunger and economic collapse as Allied forces advance. The proclamation states the German army will be defeated and larger portions of German territory occupied until surrender.
Ravenna, a key Adriatic fortress with about 81 000 residents, fell to British eighth army units after a brilliant enclosing maneuver by Princess Louise's Dragon Guards. The Canadian forces reportedly cut a route inland as the German defenders withdrew to avoid encirclement.
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad, Morgan County’s largest taxpayer, paid the annual tax of 30 721.59. President James B Hill authorized J B Jones of Montgomery to arrange state county school district and municipal taxes and to release tax funds for salaries before the holiday season. The tax bill lists a total of 668 196 98 for the Nashville area as tax collectors.
Paris dispatch says Patton’s 95th Infantry Division pushed beyond Saarlautern into Siegfried line defenses, with Roden and Fraulatern futures captured. U.S. Seventh units seized Selestat area in Alsace as German resistance stiffened along the Saare river front.
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