WITHOUT OR WITH OFFENSE TO FRIENDS
OR FOES WE SKETCH YOUR WORLD EXACTLY AS IT GOES." - Byron
ABILENE, TEXAS, THURSDAY MORNING,
APRIL 19, 1945 —
Brisk
Fire Encountered;
Magdeburg
Conquered
PARIS,
Thursday, April 19.-(AP)—
Infantrymen
and tanks of the U.S. Third Army, slashed across the border of
Czechoslovakia yesterday, cutting Germany in two geographically, while other
American forces conquered Magdeburg, 60 miles southwest of Berlin,
and
drove almost to the heart of Leipzig, the reich's fifth largest city. The
historic crossing into the Sudetenland, which Hitler annexed in 1938, was made
north of Asch by doughboys of the 90th infantry division riding in jeeps and on
the backs of tanks. Last night they were reported two miles inside
Czechoslovakia in the vicinity of Gott-Mannszgrun, 10 miles east of the German
city of Hof.
The
last eight miles of the plunge to the border was made without opposition —
symbolical of the present low state of Nazi arms—but a front dispatch
said
brisk fire was encountered after Lt. Gen. George S. Patton's men and
armor
had crossed the line southwest of Chemnitz, at the western tip of
Czechoslovakia.
As Patton's
veteran troops plunged into one of the last of Hitler's stolen nations, three
other American armies fought to clear the important cities of Leipzig,
Nuernberg and Duesseldorf, and Britisharmor closed within 18 miles
of the
great North' sea port of Hamburg at the apex of an advance along a 40-mlle
front.
Red
Guns Throwing
325
Shells a Minute
LONDON,
Thursday, April 19.—(AP)—
Millions
of Russians, spearheaded by new "break-through" tanks and automtatic
weapons throwing 325 shells a minute, were reported by the Germans today to be
pouring across the Oder an Neisse rivers northeast and southeast of Berlin and
directed into the city's eastern environs.
Moscow gave no official confirmation
of any assault toward Berlin. The Nazis, however, reported heaviest pressure on
a 10-mile arc 18 to 20 miles east of the city and said other powerful
armies had crossed the lower Oder below the Baltic port of Stettin toward the
plains northeast of Berlin and were across the Weisse river in Saxony south of
the capital.
CASUALTIES
ON OKINAWA
TOTAL
7,988, NAVY SAYS
By The
Associated Press
Invasion of Okinawa and ,
associated attacks on other Ryukyu islands and Japan itself have cost 7,988
casualties thus far for American Pacific fleet naval forces and Tenth Army
ground troops.
This toll was announced last night
by Adm. Chester W Nimitz,
Marines who reported U. S. had
reached the northern end of Okinawa.
Nimitz reported, on the basisic
information available yesterday that
1,482 Army, Navy and Marine personnel had been killed in action since the
Okinawa campaign started with Vice Adm. Marc A. Mitschner's carried plane
strikes March 18 against the Ryukyus and Japan itself.
The wounded total 4,750, the
missing 1,756. Naval losses were 989 killed, 2,22
wounded and 1,481 missing. Army and ..Marine casualties totaled 493 dead,
2,530 wounded an 265 missing.
PAGE SIX Tune In
on KRBC THE ABILENE REPORTER-NEWS Thursday Morning, April 19, 1945
Ernie Pyle, Now Dead,
Found Fun With Marines
Edltor's
Note: Ernie Pyle fell victim to a Jap sniper's bullet in the
Far Pacific.
Here is one of the last columns he wrote:
OKINAWA—(By
Navy radio)—After a couple of days with the headquarters of the Marine regiment
I moved to a company and lived and marched with them for several days. The
company Is a part of the first Marine division.
At first I introduced myself to
the company commander and he took me on a half hour's walking trip around the
company area before turning me loose with the men.
They had turned in for the night
and put out perimeter defenses so no infiltrating Japs could get through and
any big attack could be dealt with.
The company was on a hill about
3,000 yards long and about a hundred yards wide. The men were dug in down this
sides of the hill. There was is mortar
platoon at the foot of the hill,
all set up to throw mortars any direction.
Our part of the island had not
then been declared "secured," and we had even received warning of
possible attacks from the sea that night, so nobody was taking any chances.
This is the most perfect
defensive position we've ever had in our lives," the company commander
said. "One company could hold off a whole battalion for days. If the Japs
had defended these hills they could have kept us fighting for a week."
CAPTAIN
LIKED BY MEN
The company commander was a young
man with a soft southern tongue and his black hair was almost shaved. He was a
little yellow from taking atabrine.
He is Capt. Julian Dusenbury from
Claussen, S. C. He is easy going with his men, and you could tell they liked
him. It happened that his birthday was on April 1—the Easter Sunday we landed
on Okinawa. He was 24 that day. His mother had written him she hoped he'd have
a happy birthday.
"That was the happiest birthday present I
ever had," he said, "going through Love Day without a single casualty
in the company." While I was aboard ship somebody had walked off with my
fatigue and combat jackets. So the ship gave me one of those Navy jackets, lined
with fleece, which Is actually much warmer and nicer than what I’d had.
On the back of it had stenciled
in big white letters: U.S. Navy. I had it on when I first walked through
the company's defense area. Later that evening we were sitting on the ground
around a little fire, warming our supper of K rations. By that time I'd got acquainted
with a good many of the boys and we felt at home with one another.
MISTAKEN
FOR ADMIRAL
We had some real coffee and we
poured it into our canteen cups and sat around drinking it before dark.
Then one of the boys started laughing
to himself and said to me: "You know, when you first showed up, we saw
that big Navy stenciled on your back and after you passed, I said to the
others: "That guy's an admiral. Look at the old grey-haired ------. He's been
in the Navy all his life. He'll get a medal out of this sure as hell."
The originator of this bright
idea was Pfc. Albert Schwab of (1743 E. 14th St) Tulsa, Okla. He's a flame-thrower
and flame-throwers have to be rugged guys, for the apparatus they carry weighs
about 15 pounds, and also they are very much addicted to getting shot at
by the enemy.
But to
see Albert sitting there telling that joke on himself and me, you'd never know
he was a rugged guy at all. I'm not an admiral and I won't get any medal, but
you go get a lot of laughs out of this war business when things aren't going
too badly.
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