June 29, 1945; BUNKER HILL SYMBOL OF VALOR

THIS WAS REPORTED TODAY, JUNE 29,  1945:

Smoke fills the skies.as it rises from the flight deck of the USS Bunker Hill—another gallant ship that refused to die. The carrier was hit. twice within 30 seconds by two Jap suicide planes just as she was ready to send off a flight of gasoline-filled and bomb-loaded planes on a mission over Okinawa. Resulting catastrophe cost lives of  392. With '264 wounded. Ship survived to limp into a West Coast repair yard where she is being refitted for further duty.'

Neither "flaming gasoline from the tanks of planes on the flight deck nor exploding rockets and bombs

daunted the valiant crew members of the USS Bunker Hill as they successfully fought to bring near disastrous
fire under control. Victim-of an attack by Jap suicide planes off Okinawa, the carrier "was
saved to sail back—a mass of charred and twisted wreckage—to a West Coast yard for rehabilitation.

 

Aircraft Carrier Will

Soon Be Back In Fight
Two Jap Suicide Planes Turn Ship Into
Flaming Holocaust; - 656 - Casualties

 

U.S.Airmen

Blast Foe in

Home Area

By Associated Press

GUAM, June 29.—Twenty, three enemy surface craft were sunk or damaged on Wednesday and Thursday by American planes off Korea, in Japanese home waters and in the southern Ryukyus, headquarters reported today.

Off Korea and in e m p i r e waters on those two days, search planes of Fleet Air Wing  sank a small tanker, a small cargo ship, an unidentified vessel, four small craft and a freighter. A small freighter-transport, five small cargo ships, a small coastal cargo ship and a lugger were damaged.

Hit Amami Group

On the same dates, marine and army planes of the tactical airforce hit the Amami Island group north of conquered Okinawa and the Saskishima group to the south.

500 B-29s

Set Fire to

4 Jap Cities

By Associated Press

G U A M, June 29.—Marianas-  based American Superfortresses spread their incendiary destrction to four more Japanese cities Friday. Between 450 and 500 of them rained more than 3,000 tons of fire bombs on Sasebo, Nobeoka,

Moji and Okayama.

The predawn raids brought to 18 the number of Japan's cities hit in the B-29s' campaign to burn Nippon out of the war.

Two previous raids this week, one Tuesday and Thursday, were explosive bomb attacks on specific factories and oil refinery centers.'

Split Four Ways

This first large-scale incendiary mission since June 20 split four ways to hit at Sasebo, Moji and Nobeoka, Kyushu Island ports, and the vital industries of Okayama on Honshu Island. The blows were a continuation of attacks on industrial areas on which Japan is more dependent than ever since destruction of great areas of Tokyo, Nagoya,

Yokohama, Osaka and Kobe.

Sasebo, with a population of 206,000, ranks with Kobe, Kure and Yokosuka as homeland naval bases. It is located on northwestern Kyushu, north of Nagasaki.

 

U.S.7th Fleet Prowls

Hostile Macassar Straits

By Associated Press

MANILA, June 29.—Presence of the U.S. 7th Fleet hi the hostile waters of Macassar Straits between Celebes and southeast Borneo was disclosed today by General Douglas MacArthur. He announced that surface craft had shot down three Japanese planes there Monday.

There was no further report Pontianak, on Borneo's west on the action and no confirmation of persistent Tokyo radio reports that an Allied fleet had been bombarding Japanese positions around the Borneo southeast, coast port of Balikpapan since June 15.—The Japanese have contended landing attempts already had been made on that coast.

Attack Dutch Borneo

MacArthur's communique did disclose that planes of the U.S. 5th and 13th Airforces and the Royal Australian Airforce continued heavy neutralizing attacks on gun positions and airdromes on the coast of Dutch Borneo

 

Casualties

Now Total

1,030,679

By Associated Press

WASHINGTON", June 28—Combat casualties of the Armed Forces since the beginning of the war reached 1,030.679 Thursday, a rise of 7,226 within the past week. Army losses on the basis of names received here through June 21 amounted to 908,025 and navy casualties totaled 122,654.

A breakdown on army losses as reported Thursday by Undersecretary  of War Patterson and corresponding figures for the preceding week follow:

Killed 190.277 ,and 189,294; wounded 564,302 and 560,836; missing , 39,255and 39,956; prisoners (before liberation) 114.191 and 113,615. Patterson said that 338,646 of the wounded are back on duty.

Similar figures for the navy: Killed, 46,438 and 45.417; wounded 60,986 and 59,196; missing 10,985 and 10,908; prisoners 4,225 and 4,231.

 

WAR

IN THE PACIFIC

JAPAN — Huge force of B-29s drop more than 3,000 tons of fire bombs on four Jap war production centers. Page 1.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC — U.S. 7th Fleet steams into hostile water of Macassar Straits between Celebes and Southeast Borneo. Page 1.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC—American planes sink or damage 23 Japanese surface craft off Korea, in enemy home waters. Page 1.

 

 

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