22 NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS'
VOL..XLV1I, No. 60. NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY. MAY 18? 1945 PER. COPY — 15*
WASHINGTON, May 18—(/P)—
The Aircraft Carrier Franklin
which miraculously survived one
of the severest ordeals in this or
any other war, is home, and she
came home badly crippled, but
under her own power.
The charred and battered hull,
manned by a skeleton crew of
survivors is now undergoing re
pairs in the Brooklyn Navy Yard
and will resume her place in the
war against Japan.
Until now the Jap radio propa
gandists never knew how close
they came to being right when
* they boasted a twenty-seven thou
sand ton vessel of the Essex class
had been sunk. Without the in
credible stamina and strength
built into her, and without the
superhuman courage of her per
sonnel, their claim might easily
have been true.
As it was the carrier suffered
832 men killed and 270 missing,
which was more than one-third of
her total complement. Chance
played into their hands as the
lone enemy dive bomber streaked
suddenly out of the clouds within
^ sixty miles of the Japanese coast
on the morning of March 19, and
dropped two 500-pound armor
piercing bombs, released at low
altitude. Both scored direct hits.
One exploded beneath the flight
deck which was armed with
9 planes ready for the take-off. An
other went off on the hangar deck
where other planes were fueled
and armed and waiting to be
taken to the flight deck.
The attacking plane was
•downed a moment later, but the
bombs exploding where they did
started a train of fires and ex
plosions which for hours rdnded
the torture vessel. The ship was
operating as part of a fast carrier
task force in a strike against the
remnants of the Jap fleet on Jap
an's Inland Sea.
*’ Explosion after explosion fol
lowed the initial blasts, but with
out panic. Those who escaped j
death or injury moved in to fight |
the fires. A few minutes after the ;
first attack the light cruiser Santa
Fe came alongside and removed
the wounded. These operations
were interrupted however when
one of the carrier’s forward 5-inch
(Continued on Page Four)
Historic Battle Scene For USO
First act of Dr. Lindsley F. Kimball as new national USO presi
dent was to accept, on behalf of USO, the finished painting of the
now famous Iwo Jima Flag-raising photo from Artist and Coast
Guard Signalman Robert Diebboll of Detroit, Mich. A former student
at Detroit Art School, Signalman Diebboll is stationed near Asbury
Park, N. J., and painted the picture in the arts and crafts room of
the Asbury Park USO where the painting will hang permanently.
Based on the original photograph taken by Photographer Joe Rosen
thal of San Francisco, Calif., the painting is now on a display tour
for the Seventh War Loan Drive. USO is financed by the American
people through the National War Fund.
Okinawa Battle
Now Reaching
Decisive Stage
GUAM, May 18—iJP)—The bat
tle for Okinawa is reaching the de
cisive stage today as troops of
the Tenth United States Army
battled in Naha, the capital city,
and closed in from three sides on
Shuri, the keystone of the Japan
ese “little Siegfried Line.”
Elements of the Sixth Marine
division penetrated the heart of
debris-cluttered Naha yesterday,
after throwing a small bridgehead
across the Asato river.
On the west coast Fleet Admiral
Chester W. Nimitz reported a sur
prise night attack by the Seventy
Seventh Division drove' through
rough ground to the outskirts of
Ishimmi, the town within two
thousand yards of the heart of the
walled and moated city of Shuri
in the center of the line.
Yanks Close Jaws
On Trapped Japs
MANILA, May 18—</P)—For
ward elements of the Fortieth and
Thirty-First Divisions narrowed
to forty-five road miles Wednes
day the jaws on the trap closing
a sizeable force of Japanese in
central Mindanao in the southern
Philippines.
Today’s headquarters’ commun
ique disclosed gains of the Yank
divisions had squeezed the trap
along the Sayre highway. The
Thirty-First has pushed six miles
north to the Valencia air center,
01 t V»' * •
after putting in operation the cap
tured Maramag airstrip.
-The Fortieth is driving south af
ter emerging from the high pla
teau around the Del Monte air
base and has made slight prog
ress against a powerful concentra
tion of enemy defenses based in
Mangima Canyon.
Plot to Assassinate
Gen. Eisenhower
Was Nipped
PARIS, May 18—(/P)—Last win
ter a plot to Assassinate General
Ensenhower was one of the Euro
pean war theater’s top military
secrets for months, it was dis
closed with the capture of the
giant professional political kid
napper, Lt. Col. Otto Skorzeny.
Skorzeny’s picked gang of assas
sins kept the whole Western
Front in a state of alert for
months last winter during and af
ter the Ardennes battle for the
group having the mission of assas
sinating General Eisenhower.
Germans had trained a picked
squad for many months for the
assignment which included major
sabotage behind the Allied lines.
All were supplied with British
and American uniforms. Skorzeny
I himself was assigned to kill Gen
Big Power Veto
Nears Test Vote
At Conference
SAN FRANCISCO, May 18-^P)
—Outspoken opposition of many
small nations to the Big Power
plan to veto and the control of the
future peace keeping machinery
is nearing at the United Nations
conference. A test vote appears
possible. The Big Powers of
United States, Russia, China, Brit
ain and France may accept some
modification of the veto where
1 peaceful settlement of disputes is
concerned, although Russia could
block this.
[ eral Eisenhower.
Luckily, early in the Ardennes
battle the Americans captured a
small squad of these men. Ques
tioning revealed the plan so the
Allies were able to take steps to
(Continued on Page Five)
HUGE CROWD ANTICIPATED AT
FRONTIER NIGHT CELEBRATION
I _ _ _
I -
Many Prizes, Totaling In
Excess of $1100.00 Will
Be Awarded
Feverish activity has occupied
the “Frontier Night” Benefit Party
planning committee in anticipa
tion of one of the largest crowds
in many years at this function
Saturday night at the High School
Gym. Plans are now completed
and the night promises to be full
of surprises and fun.
Jointly sponsored by the 1469th
AAF base at Nome and the Odd
fellows-Rebekah lodges commit
tees, the proceeds will go to the
Nome Boy Scouts and the lodges
for the purpose of building a town
meeting hall.
The aid of many of the famous
characters of the gold rush days
has been enlisted to add to the
night’s commemoration of the dis
covery of gold at Nome and char
acters of the old days will be
there in person or will be repre
sented by those who knew them.
All of the old games of chance
and many fo the new will be
manned by these old time Alas
kans. Stage money will replace
the genuine “yellow gold” of the
old timers, and gamblers will pur
j chase their play money at the rate
of one dollar per thousand. Danc
ing will go to the music of the
Air Corps band, and the “Dance
Hall Gold Diggers” of the past
will be in attendance. Gambling
and door prizes and special
awards consisting of furs, a fur
coat, nuggets, cash prize of $50.00,
round and one-way airplane trips,
ivory carvings, ivory curios, Alas
kan pictures and works of art.
books and other awards as pre
viously announced, will add to the
festivities.
All military personnel, civilian
employees of the military, and
residents of Nome and vicinity are
invited. Admission is free to all.
Minors under eighteen will not
be admitted. Residents are re
quested to appear in the garb of
the miner if possible.
Activities will start at seven in
the evening. Refreshments of hot
dogs, ice cream and “Champag
nola” will be served during the
evening.