18 Aug 1944
Page 1
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Newspaper
Somerset Daily American
Location
Somerset, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Date
Aug 18, 1944
Page
1
Allied advances near Paris put 35 miles to the capital while German broadcasts concede the Normandy front is liquidated. Patton’s tanks drive toward the Seine as German forces retreat to avoid encirclement amid barges and ferries massing for an escape.
Acting Secretary of War John J. McCloy declared the past two weeks decisive in the fight against Germany. He cited Allied victories in Normandy and South France, ongoing Soviet advances, and active resistance in Italy and France as signs the war moves toward a rapid conclusion. The report also notes a candlelight service at Acosta Church of God for the Young People’s Endeavor, with Miss Pearl Tunstall directing the program.
J Edward Gump, representing New York Life Insurance, appears in the listing. The notice highlights his role with the firm and the related insurance services.
Portner gun exploded killing housekeeper Mrs Marguerie McDermott and later his own family. He then shot himself, leaving a letter to his parents explaining the motive and urging burial with his wife Skippy. Authorities described the sequence after rabbit hunting.
Field Marshal Lord Wavell the Viceroy of India rejected Gandhi's request for a wartime interview to press for immediate independence Gandhi proposed a conference on July 17 and urged full nationalist support in exchange for a path to independence and a national government under a central assembly with wartime financial safeguards.
The weather bureau reports a tropical storm of near hurricane force in the Caribbean increasing in size and destructive power. It passed Grenada last night and now moves west northwest at 15 to 18 mph, about 1,400 miles southeast of Miami at 1 p.m.
The Ladies Democratic Club invites all Democrats to a 6:30 evening gathering at Edgewood Grove with a free roast corn a hot dogs coffee and cake dinner. Speakers include United States Senator Joseph F. Guffey Congressman J Buell Snyder and State Chairman David L. Lawrence. Free parking available.
A large force of allied heavy and medium bombers dropped 870 tons of bombs on Millair drome Halmahera Island destroying or damaging 23 aircraft. The raid, the fourteenth in August, aimed to reduce enemy strength in the Moluccas as Liberators and Mitchells swept the area. An army Liberator sank a 1000 ton freighter in Davao Gulf Mindanao the night before.
Swiss reports say Vichy ministers fled to Berlin leaving 5000 mobile guards guarding Laval-Petain capital. Maqui resistance and allies target German and Vichy defenses, derailing trains and cutting bridges as Brig Gen Koenig reports losses to German convoys and a 500-man garrison surrender at Brieve.
Supreme Headquarters reports the Fourth armored division under Major General John Wood the Sixth armored division led by Major General Robert Grow and the Eighth motorized division commanded by Brigadier General Donald Stroh are fighting in France. The Fourth armored division formed mainly from East Coast troops and activated at Pine Camp New York October 15 1941 after training in Tennessee California and Camp Bowie Texas with Brigadier General Henry Baird as commander until June 1942.
Charles Shelvin a 12 year old of Sewickley R D 1 Allegheny County died in a hospital from a fractured skull after falling from a pony during a county fairgrounds race. He was unseated shortly after the race began and a second pony trod on him.
Marine Sgt. Charles C. Bucek hung head down from a cliff to toss grenades into a Japanese cave with Tech Sgt. S. Murphy guiding his feet. The two men from a Fourth division engineering unit rigged a heavy charge, closing the cave mouth 30 feet below the top. Murphy also shot a Japanese sniper while en route to the cliff summit.
German reports say Allied tanks push east of Chartres and Dreux while fighting rages toward Paris. In southern France, Allies land at Cannes Toulon and push inland from St Raphael into the Argens valley amid heavy naval fire. Berlin claims Paris lacks gas coal transport and police strike signals unrest.
World War II battle casualties reported to next of kin total roughly 299,474 for U S forces through July 29. Army losses include 45 491 killed 113 977 wounded 57 956 returned to duty 42 102 missing and 43 205 prisoners. Normandy campaign June 6 to Aug 6 yielded 112 673 casualties with 16 434 killed 76 535 wounded 19 704 missing.
Cpl Wayne T. Friedline USMCR is wounded in action in the south Pacific, a war department telegram to his parents Mr and Mrs Harry C Friedline of Jenner township reports. He enlisted in the marine corps after Pearl Harbor and has served in the Pacific for almost two years.
Russian Third Army under Gen. Ivan Cherniakhovsky crossed toward East Prussia along the Szeszuppe river near Schirwindt in western Lithuania, threatening German Silesia as other units seized localities across central Poland and near Warsaw. No major advances confirmed by German sources.
Philadelphia attorney Michael Francis Doyle told the White House that General Dwight D. Eisenhower directed American commanders in France to take all measures necessary to protect the basilica of St. Therese and other shrines in Lisieux. Doyle, a member of the Hague tribunal, said he discussed with President Roosevelt plans to safeguard Roman Catholic cathedrals as Europe warfronts shift toward Paris. He noted Lisieux lies on the direct allied advance route.
Premier Ivan Bagrianov told an extraordinary Bulgarian parliament session that the government will remove all obstacles to peace. The Bul garian radio quoted him saying the government never wished to interfere in a major power conflict and fully recognizes this.
Governor Martin declared September 17 Constitution Day urging Pennsylvanians to observe the 157th anniversary of the U S Constitution with appropriate exercises at homes churches and schools.
Allied medium bombers strike along the Risle river for a second day aimed at sealing off the German Seventh Army retreat. Fighter bombers penetrate France Belgium and Germany while RAF raids hit Kiel Stettin and Berlin. Mosquitos hit Berlin as light forces target Rouen Brussels Reims and Orleans rail lines. Italian based planes strike Ploesti and Yugoslavia rail traffic.
The Willing Workers Sunday school class at Kingwood hosts a festival in Kingwood grove on Saturday evening August 19. The public is welcome.
American forces push a 30 mile arc behind the Riviera front seizing Le Luc Besse Cuers Vidauban and Draguignan as Cannes airborne actions and German withdrawals shape a widening front. Allies join beachheads with reinforcements and heavy guns amid coastal advances toward Toulon.
Allied forces push toward Paris within 35 miles as four fortress cities fall including Chartres, Orleans, Dreux and Chatillon. German Seventh army massed barges on the Seine while Canadians strike east of Caen and crack enemy defenses, threatening a near Paris breakout.
Temperature for the 24 hour period from 5 30 p m Wednesday to 5 30 p m Thursday shows a maximum of 80 with a minimum not specified. The report notes this is a weather observation by David Grove United States Weather Observer in Somerset.
Maryland and astern Pennsylvania anticipate cooler Friday with a pleasant weekend. Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia show Friday clearing and cooler conditions, followed by a pleasant and cool weekend.
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