May 25, 1945; FLAMING TOKY0 HIT AGAIN/ UN GUARDS VETO POWER/ Destroyer Laffey Survives:

THIS WAS REPORTED TODAY, MAY 25, 1945:

THE RACINE JOURNAL-TIMES

RACINE, WIS., FRIDAY AFTERNOON, MAY 25, 1945.

 

 

Flaming City

Hit 2d Time

Within 2 Days

 

W A S H I N G T O N — (AP) —

Twentieth Airforce headquarters announced the loss of 12 B-29s in Wednesday's record attack on Tokyo. It was the heaviest loss yet suffered by a B-29 mission. A "heavy concentration of antiaircraft fire" was primarily responsible, headquarters reported, adding that fighter plane opposition was less severe.

(Earlier Story on Page 2)
GUAM, Saturday, May 26.
—(AP)—A force of about 500 Super-Forts dropped more than 4,000 tons of bombs on Tokyo's Marunouchi business district and imperial government center this morning in the second big fire bomb raid on that city in less than 48 hours.

The Nipponese capital still was burning from the record 550-plane fire raid early Thursday (Japanese time) in which, preliminary reconnaissance photographs

showed at least 3.2 square miles of the Shinagawa industrial center was damaged by fire.

Additional Damage Likely.

Haze and smoke obscured pictures and Maj. Gen. Curtis  E. Le -May's headquarters said considerable additional damage probably was inflicted

 

Pincers Pulled

Tighter Around

Shuri Fortress

 

GUAM—(AP)—The 10th Army's flanking pincers on Shuri in the

center of t h e Okinawa front was pulled tighter today as 7th Infantry troops expanded their bulge below Yonabaru.

The 32d Regiment pushed ahead to 1,800 y a r d s of the east coast seaport, while the 184th moved into positions 1,500 yards southwest of the town to maintain t he

pace Maj. Gen. Archibald V. Arnold's units have set, despite clinging mud which mired every thing on wheels.

Japanese movements indicated the enemy would attempt to set up another defense line two miles to the. south.

Shuri Half Encircled.

Shuri was more than 50 percent encircled, although Maj. Gen. Andrew D. Bruce's 77th Infantry Division, attacking  from the northeast, still was more than half a

mile away. Mud combined with Japanese and mortar fire slowed it’sprogress.

 

'Big 5'Line Up

Votes to Guard

Own Veto Power

 

By JOHN M. HIGHTOWER

SAN FRANCISCO. — (AP) — T h e big powers are reported today to have  lined up enough votes in the  United Nations Conference to block any change in their absolute control of world machinery designed to preserve peace.

This issue—the veto power of any of the Big Five over settling international disputes or using force to smash an aggressor—is the  most critical problem remaining for t h i s assembly of 49 nations.

The decision hour comes as Secretary of State Stettinius returns from talks in Washington with President Truman. Many committees are striving  to

wind up their work by this week-, end in order to allow public discussion of their reports to begin in the four big conference commissions early next week.

Outlaw Secret Treaties.

Among their latest accomplishments are agreement on provisions designed to strengthen the economic and social work of the new league, and to outlaw secret treaties once the world organization is functioning.

In the veto dispute many small nations are demanding that the authority of the big powers in a projected world organization be

Restricted sharply so that an 11-nation security council could try by peaceful means to settle troubles between nations even over big power objections.

 

Ship That Refused to Sink

Survives 6 Suicide Raids

Aboard Vice Admiral Richmond , K Turner’s Flagship Off Okinawa, April 18—(Delayed by Navy Censor)—(AP)—The gallant little destroyer Laffey took everything the Japanese could throw at her from the air for two hours and survived.

Six suicide planes hit her—the; engines of three were recovered' on her fantail. Two bombs hit her and two more scored damaging j near misses.

Thirty-one members of the Laffey's crew were killed and 60

others wounded.

With her guns going until the last enemy plane disappeared, the Laffey shot down at least eight Japanese planes and saw one friendly plane crash nearby after

chasing another Japanese craft into the sea.

20 Jap Planes Attack.

" I’ll never abandon ship as long as a gun will fire," the Laffey's skipper, Com. Frederick Julian Aboard Vice Admiral Richmond ,

 " I’ll never abandon ship as long as a gun will fire," the Laffey's skipper, Com. Frederick Julian Becton, of Hot Springs, Ark., declared. He kept his promise.

The destroyer's communications officer, Lt. Frank Manson, 24, Tahlequah, Okla., related the epic battle of two days ago at a news conference today.