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Newspaper
Decatur Daily
Location
Decatur, Alabama, United States of America
Date
May 11, 1944
Page
1
The forecast called for continued mild weather with highs around 77 and lows near 57. Cotton prices in Decatur today showed strict middling 20.85, middling 20.70, strict low 18.85, and low 16.85 amid a busy local notices page.
Chinese reports describe another thrust on Loyang in Northern Henan and acknowledge Japanese control of the Peiping-Hankow railway segment. They claim repulsed a crossing at Menghsién but face battles near Yuanchu and Lunghai railway advances toward Yenshih. Tungkwan looms as a strategic gateway to the Northwest.
The piece notes D-Day preparations reaching a peak with Allied bombing and mobilization across Europe. It highlights Sevastopol’s recapture as a strategic precursor aiding Western invasion plans and outlines Soviet moves toward Romania and the Balkans, along with possible Polish and Baltic actions and Allied operations in Italy.
Japanese forces crossed the Yellow River from Shansi toward Loyang and another army neared Loyang from the east. Northwestern assault threatens to flank Chinese defenders near the former capital and push them toward Sian. Reports on the Peiping Haikow line and prison camps are mixed while Allied air strikes target New Guinea and Schouten islands.
Tito announces Yugoslav Partisans defeated a German general offensive in Yugoslavia. He warns of continued fighting in Macedonia as Axis forces try to wedge between his troops and Bulgarian Partisans. The bulletin accuses Chetniks in German uniforms of aiding the occupiers. Large areas of Serbia are under Partisan control, with deserters returning to villages unseen for months.
Allied forces report heavy German artillery and air raids over Anzio on May 11 as 4000 shellsstrike in half an hour. German fighters raid the beachhead port area with 15 planes. two are shot down. Meanwhile, Italian Liberation Corps expands from a small group to full battalions and fights near Monte Marrone.
Lt. Gg) Marvinn M. Eubanks of Decatur was aboard the U S destroyer Lansdale when torpedoed by a Nazi submarine in the Med April. He survived the sinking and reports his shipmates were rescued. relatives say he is well.
Funeral services for Henry Owen Grizzard 41 who died Wednesday at Baugh's infirmary will be held today at Center Springs church at three. Interment will be in the adjoining cemetery Brown directing. He is survived by wife two sons Tommy and Hobart his mother Mrs L L Grizzard of Decatur three sisters Trudy Hardy Arkansas Ola Belew Somerville Jewel Whitten Albertville and a brother Hoyt Grizzard of Decatur. Grizzard lived in Hartselle and worked at the Redstone Arsenal.
Lester Skinner a Baker's Grocery delivery boy suffered minor scratches and a head lump after his bicycle hit a street bump and threw him from the bike in the 300 block of Moulton Street at 5 15 P M on Wednesday. He was treated at Baugh's infirmary then sent home on Fifth Avenue South. The bicycle was later found in Ainslie Wyle's yard and appears to have been reclaimed by the owner.
Morgan County circuit court sessions shift from the first Monday in June to the third Monday in July as farmers need extra time for crops. J H Green the circuit clerk cited agricultural delays and attendance needs for the postponement.
The Marines endorsed the Navy stance that any congressional move to consolidate the armed forces must be studied carefully before action. The statement was issued in Washington on May 11.
London reports stress Allied and German efforts to siphon off French transport for D Day. BBC invasion instructions urge French civilians to keep highways clear for troop movements as Vichy says passenger train service will be cut Monday. German broadcasts claim sharper rifle sights target invading officers and that emergency English coastal towns are ready to shelter non combatants.
The Alabama Public Service Commission heard the Hammett proposal to run decatur to cullman bus service for war workers, with Goodyear and War Manpower officials supporting, and Greyhound opposing by offering similar transport. The case reflects Decatur housing shortages and essential worker mobility.
ERNIE PYLE reports from London that about 800 American correspondents prepare to cover D Day with plans to transmit up to half a million words daily. He notes varied press ranks and says correspondents may wear uniforms or civilian clothes. Some lack civilian attire.
A correspondent describes civilian life in wartime London. He explains lacking British coupons blocks topcoats, the difficulty in finding housing, and relying on a powerful contact to stay in a top hotel despite official limits. The piece ends with a hint of continuation on page five.
Allied prisoners tell of cruelties by Japanese guards in North New Guinea. Among 462 rescued were Sikhs from Malaya, plus Americans, Australians, Chinese and others. They spoke of beatings, deaths for illness, and forced labor while malnourished for years.
German dispatches say they neutralized a Russian bridgehead on the Lower Dnestr and push toward Sevastopol in Crimea, while Soviet reports claim Sevastopol is destroyed or ruined and two 4,000 ton transports sunk.
Republican senators warned that any statement by Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York on the poll tax question would be seen as a bid for the presidential nomination. Walter White of the NAACP urged Dewey to use his influence to push abolition of the poll tax, amid Senate debate on a closure rule to limit filibuster.
Official vote tabulation shows Senator Lister Hill defeating James A. Simpson by 25,196 votes in the May 2 Democratic primary, Hill 126,372 to 101,176. Albert Rains leads in the Fifth District for Congress, with Starnes and Shaddix also tallied. Other statewide and congressional totals for delegates and judges are listed.
American Liberator and Marauder bombers renewed the daylight offensive against Nazi targets as 1,500 sorties were flown. The raids struck rail yards in France and airfields near Paris with escorts and ground support from Thunderbolts and Mustangs.
Allied bombers from Italian bases attacked Budapest with heavy and medium bombers, part of a day and night operation that included strikes on Wiener Neustadt near Vienna and Knin in Yugoslavia. Thirty three Allied planes were missing. Luftwaffe losses included many destroyed on the ground and in air battles above Vienna.
Secretary Stimson announced a streamlined separation procedure to discharge soldiers faster and aid civilian readjustment. A Fort Dix center tests the method and it will guide similar centers nationwide, requiring about 48 hours from arrival to train departure. Soldiers receive orientation, medical and travel pay, and veteran rights guidance.
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