17 Dec 1941
Page 1
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Newspaper
Portsmouth Herald
Location
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States of America
Date
Dec 17, 1941
Page
1
DeWitt MacKenzie reports that U S submarines have achieved two successes and hints at rising offensive action in the Pacific theater. Adm. Halsey notes submarine wins while Japan tries to defend the Philippines and push toward Singapore. The outlook suggests intensified naval activity and potential battles as American air and sea forces converge.
Fragmentary OCR notes list times for sunset rise and twilight on December 12. Mentions a Jaguars game tonight and a 433 pm sight, but details are unclear and many words are garbled.
Congress explores drafting ages with House favoring a floor of 20 and a Senate bill permitting 19. War department requests shape, with Roosevelt endorsement influencing support. Both would register men 12 through 64, about 41 million total, affecting 17.5 million already registered. Debate centers on active service eligibility and exemptions for married men with dependents.
Kittery citizens are called to a civilian defense mass meeting at Swett Memorial Building Traip academy Sunday at 3 PM. Leslie Patfrath of the New England civilian defense organization will speak along with a Portsmouth Navy Yard representative and a British navy representative. A Portsmouth civilian defense representative may attend. The meeting aims to consolidate defense information and coordinate among Kittery Portsmouth Eliot and the navy yard, with the Train academy band in the program.
Concord April 17 AP Brig Gen Charles F Bowen state selective service director announced strict censorship on selective service operations in New Hampshire. Instructions were issued to prevent disclosure of organization details and names of men drafted. Bowen halted efforts to form a private home guard unit, citing federal and state laws prohibiting private armed forces.
Kittery offers free sand to all households for fighting incendiary bombs. Road Commissioner Samuel F Knight dumps sand at multiple points for convenient pickup. Civilian Defense Chairman J E B Seegar warns residents to dry damp sand at home. Sand distributed at Safford, Mitchell, Austin, Wentworth Dermott, Harriet Shapleigh schools, and Woodlawn entrance to Admiralty Village.
Knights of Columbus Portsmouth council heard Capt Reginald P. Kennard discuss wartime safety measures. He detailed what to do during raids and blackouts and how to prepare homes for air raids. The meeting also voted to close top floor activities for air raid precautions and approved a metal cabinet for Daughters of America robes.
Canadian five flyers express gratitude to Portsmouth citizens after a forced landing at Port City airport Monday night. Air observers and police aided the crew, whose quick actions likely prevented a crash in a field. The five men thanked local authorities and residents for their assistance during their brief stay.
Buenos Aires reports a German plan to halt Bolivian metal exports to the United States by sabotaging railway lines to Chilean ports Arica and Antofagasta was foiled. The Bolivian government imposed strict censorship, unclear if linked to the plot. Bolivia produces tin and reads all of it goes to the United States under a purchase agreement.
Newington men and women are to assemble in Town Hall at 7 30 tonight to hear Reginald P Kennard civilian defense speaker A World War veteran and graduate of the Air Raid Warden school will discuss emergency activity Other speakers will follow Town Defense Chairman Manning Hoyt will preside
Soviet forces mounted a broad winter offensive across the Russian front, capturing hundreds of towns and villages from Leningrad to the Volga region. In Kalinin sector six German divisions were driven back, while the southwest saw 70 villages and 41 settlements retaken. Reports say heavy German casualties and large Soviet booty as remnants retreat under fire. General Strauss killed in action near Kalinin.
Washington Des. 17 AP Enlistment of 11 303 men in the navy in the eight days after the Japanese attack on Hawaii was announced by the navy today as indicating the response of the nation's small power to the threat against the nation.
Plane observers at Portsmouth airport now have a glassed in shelter to watch for hostile aircraft. The shelter was completed this morning by Hart Caswell, chief of the Greenland Police Department, and leader of the observers at the airport.
Air ministry says Japanese use Messerschmitt 109s and 110s in Malaya air battle. British bombers strike Wilhelmshaven and western German towns, with docks at Wilhelmshaven heavily burned. Attacks target Ostend Dunkerque and Brest on the occupied coast. Berlin reports RAF raids on Plymouth and Dover. German coastal attacks on northwest Germany. Italian submarine sunk en route Libya to Italy. Japanese claim midget submarines and tanks used in Malay peninsula fighting. Italian high command confirms British raids on Brindisi and Catania. British pressure on Rommel’s North African forces continues amid bad weather and sandstorms.
Exeter town hall will host a public meeting at 7 30 tonight led by defense chairman F Le vay Jenkins and four air raid wardens trained at Concord. They will outline defense program work including air raid warnings blackouts and the reporting center and explain how residents can assist in emergencies.
Japanese retaliation spiked as U S submarines reportedly operated in Japanese waters and attacked. Adm Hart announced U S subs had actioned in two of three strikes with unknown victims. Manila HQ said 26 Japanese planes were destroyed at Vigan as US efforts tighten a blockade around Luzon.
A. Dover resident Pauline Flowers was brought in Fortsmouth Municipal Court this morning on a speeding charge. She was fined $5 and costs $4.70. Two persons were fined for drunkenness.
Portsmouth Red Cross launches its Christmas War Relief Drive to raise at least its $16,000 quota for national appeal Remember Pearl Harbor The campaign opens with an address by Chairman John H Greenaway at the Portsmouth Rotary Club Rockingham. Headquarters at 48 Daniels Street open 9 am to 8 pm with volunteers and Motor Corps on duty. Contributions and information via 3539. A large thermometer will track progress central location to be erected tomorrow.
Gloucester Massachusetts dispatch reports Sterling Hayden a Gloucester skipper aged 25 walked out on Hollywood after rapid stardom while his latest films Virginia and Bahama Passage had made him a leading star. A message from Iceland, army stamped, ends speculation on his whereabouts and confirms he is on duty.
Jefferson City Mo Dec 17 AP The west bound Katy Flyer crashed head on into the standing east bound flyer four miles north of here early today killing three railroad men and injuring five others No passengers were hurt seriously By dawn all wreck victims were accounted for Two locomotives were hurled from the rails into an embankment baggage cars were torn open and hurled end over end An additional locomotive and several passenger cars remained upright The standing train carried two locomotives.
Japan has landed forces at Sarawak on Borneo as part of a broad South China Sea offensive. The move targets British and Dutch positions and sea lanes, aiming to seize resources and halt Allied reinforcements. Dutch planes report a direct hit on a Japanese destroyer near Miri, with oil objectives thwarted and port facilities damaged.
Portsmouth firemen were summoned to extinguish a chimney fire at the home of Charles Simpson on Schuman Road at 7 03 this morning.
All Kittery and Eliot residents interested in air observation are urged to attend a public meeting at the Legion hall in Kittery at seven o clock this evening. Dr Trndolph Tomes, organizer of the post, announced the event today.
In a New York dispatch dated December 17, Neal O'Hara discusses postwar plans. He ridicules Hitler's promises to Japan and Mussolini, notes Soviet forces pursuing Nazis, and mocks Nazi retreats as winter tactics. He references song lyrics and dismisses Berlin's statements as evasive propaganda.
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