THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
NOME. ALASKA
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 618
$1.50 PER MONTH $16.00 A YEAR
W. A. Boucher .Owner-Publisher
Entered as second class matter October 14. 1943, at the postoffice
•t Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3. 1879.
Nome, Alaska, Monday, August 28, 1950
WE NEED MARKS AIR FORCE BASE
(Alaska Weekly)
Orders to deactivate Marks Ait" Force Base at Nome
should *be rescinded at once. Abolishing this field in the
so-called interest of economy was unjustifiable from
the beginning and in the light of the present situation is
little short of criminal.
It has been argued that the Marks base was small and
relatively unimportant in connection with any large
scale military operation. We have yet to hear ailyohe
maintain that it could not be built up into a base of ade
quate size and certainly we have not heard that the Sov
iet is abandoning any of its air bases on the Siberian
coast which are but minutes away from Nome.
Alaskans are not regarding the war situation with
any degree of hysteria, but neither do they nor inform
ed persons elsewhere discount the possibility of event
ual attack. This base is the only military establishment
on the Arctic coast and therefore has a significance
aside from the strictly military value.
Instead of its being abandoned it should be expanded
in keeping with its importance from a strategic stand
point.
ALASKA POPULATION — 131*,099
Final census figures, if preliminary figures can ever
be final, were reported recently by Clarence Keating in
the last round-up of population figures. Mr. Keating
says there are 131,099 people in Alaska, or 82 percent
more than there were here in 1940.
Official figures, which will come out of Washington
much, much later, aren’t expected to vary much from
the unofficial, preliminary reports.
WANTS TO BE INCLUDED
Turkey was one of the first United Nations countries
to offer to send ground troops to Korea. This act empha
sizes the strong and loyal stand that Turkey has taken
on the democratic side since the end of the last world
war.
The Turks, of course, know that they hold a key posi
tion for the Western world. Moreover, they know that
the Russians, having denounced the Turco-Soviet
Treaty of non-aggression, will, one day, make a strong
bid for control of the Dardanelles and to regain some of i
the Turkish border districts. i
Consequently, Turkey, which has moved toward]
Western democratic forms, is anxious to be included in;
MALIK, MAN OF THE MONTH—WHAT A MONTH!;
Korean Situation
At A Glance - - -
" ■ _ •
(Continued from Page One)
gressive act by giving naval pro
tection to Formosa,, Nationalist
Chinese island marked for “liber
ation” by the communists. The
communists directed their charge
to the U. N. Security Council. The
United States said it would not
object to putting Formosa on the
Council’s agenda for discussion
next week but will protest if any
attempt is made to put it ahead of
an American resolution aimed at |
localizing the Korean war.
If the communist Chinese forces!
in Manchuria move southward to j
aid the North Koreans, it would
mean a sharp revision of fighting
plans for United Nations forces
now hblding the North Korean
bridgehead. /
Along the east coast the South
Korean divisions opehed the sec
ond day of a coordiriated assault
-north of Pohang. The Third Divi
sion pushed the invaders back ift
the Mungae sector, five miles
north of Pohang, while to the west
another division was fighting to
regain two miles lost to a com
munist attack Friday.
On the south coast, weary Gl’sj
who have been under fire forj
nearly a week held doggedly to:
Mount Sobuk, west of Masan. The;
lofty position dominates a whole!
valley through which the Reds are I
attempting to pour toward Masan,
chief artery point for Pusan port.
A company of Doughboys blocked
1,000 Reds attempting to get;
through the valley in a wild hand;
grenade and small arms battle and
forced them to retreat.
In the Kumhwa battle, Allied,
forces knocked out 30 Red tanks.;
They piled up huge Red casualties'
with an intensive artillery barrage!
supported by effective air power. |
Field officers said the three North
t
Korean divisions were so badly
mangled their fighting strength
was “cut in half.” The retreating
Red divisions were the 15th, 13th >
and 3rd.
At Pearl Harbor, Adm. Arthur
W. Radford, Pacific Fleet com
mander said after returning from
Korea that “the low point has
been passed.”
It was one of the biggest days
of the war for airmen. They re
ported flying 600 missions of all
types—a new record and claimed
a bag of 15 tanks. Six tanks were
caught at the comrrfTmist capital
of 'Pyongyang. American Super
forts poured 600 tons of bombs on
four industrial plants in North
Korea.
Monday, August 28, 1950
The entire 45-mile northern
front of the United Nations beach
head in South Korea flamed to
day with a communist offensive
which inched closer to the import
ant east coast port of Pohang and
drove back the defenders north of
Taegu.
The Red North Koreans com
mittee 40,000 troops to the north
ern offensive all the way from
rubbled central front city of Wae
gwan on the Naktong River east
ward to the' Sea of Japan coast at
Pohang. The American command
said it signaled the “last gasp” at
tempt to drive the U. N. forces
out of all Korea.
The Reds hit the middle of the
Allied line by taking Uihong, 22
miles nort hof Taegu. The main
U. N. forward base, from South
Korean forces. Red infiltrators,
repeating deadly tactics they had
used to good advantage all
through this two-month-old war,
weer seen behind South Korean
lines north of Taegu.
The Reds drove to within 2Vz
miles of Pohang port,, which the
Allied only recently rewon. They
inched ahead despite a severe
pasting from Allied warships off
the east coast and from U. S. war
planes, U. S. officers said they
though the airstrip, six miles
southeast of Pbharig, would be
held.
6-20’s took off ag&ift on their
punishing offensive into . North
Korea dropping 366 tons of
bombs todky oil Songjin, 180
lhiles north of the 38th parallel.
Other Wafplahes all around the
front lashed heavily at enemy
troops.
Lt. Gen. Walton H. Walker, U.
S. Eighth Army commander, told
Americans and South Koreans:
“it is my belief the over-extended
enemy is making his last gasp.”
All around the 120-mile defense
perimeter some 64,000 communist
troops lunged at American and
South Korean lines. But a spokes
man at Gen. MacArthur’s head
quarters said despite the appar
ent desperation of the northern
drives, the real big Red push was
not yet under way. The key to it,
the office rsaid, is the Red 2nd Di
vision, which is reported refitting
somewhere around Kumc h o n ,
northwest of Taegu.
The Second Division is within
a day’s march of either the Taegu
or the northeast front. When it
gets into action, the spokesman
said, the big Red push will be un
derway against Taegu, the U. N.
forward b&se, and Pusan, the
maift Allied supply base on the
southeast coast.
On the southern front, the iteds
hit American lines near Hwman,
about 35 miles west of Pusan. iU.
S. planes battered at a column of
30 vehicles and artillery pieces
there and an American artillery
barrage blasted it.
A naval operations summary re
ported carrier pilots destroyed 11
new Russian-type Yak fighter
planes at Yonpo on the North Ko
rean east coast.
FLEMISH KNOT DUE IN NOME
TOMORROW NOON
J. J. Dillon Nome agent for the
Alaska Steamship Co., was ad
vised today by Captain M. R.
Parks that his vessel, the M/S
Flemish Knot, is scheduled to ar
rive at Nome about noon tomor
row. August 29, 1950.
Perishable goods and a small
amount of general cargo will be
discharged, and the ship will then
proceed to Kotzebue Sound ports.
Upon completion of her dis
charge in the northern ports the
ship will return -to Nome to un
load-the balance of her cargo con
signed to this port, and will then
proceed to St. Michael, Unalakleet,
Golovin and Solomon.
the North Atlantic Pact and to secure a seat on the Sa
I
curity Council of the United Nations.
While it might look like a novel idea to include Tur
kay in the North Atlantic Pact, there is some room for
the argument that it is as logical as to include Italy. The
Turks have a formal treaty with France and Great Bri
tain, guaranteeing aid if Turkey is attacked by a Euro
pean power. Moreover, the Truman doctrine of military
aid to Greece and Turkey has been tremendously, valu
able and effective.
Truman Cracks
i Down Hard On
*
Gen. MacArthur
i
i ■ ■ i
!
I (Continued from Page One)
“another in the long series of ef
forts to keep the truth from the
American people.”
I Just how MacArthur himself
j felt about it was not known here, *
i but Ross said there was no thought
! of relieving the general as the oc
! cupation commander in Japan,
i MacArthur also commands the
United Nations forces in Korea.
The whole thing developed in
this manner:
Last week, MacArthur sent a %
long statement to the VFW in
| which he said “We may have
peace** by holding a Pacific island
defense line — including Formosa
—but “lose it and war is inevita
ble.”
He said also that President Tru
I man’s June 27 order for the Arher
jican Seventh Fleet to preveht the
•Chinese communists from invad
ing Formosa, the last stronghold
of the Chinese Nationalist forces
did this:
I “Swept aside in one greet mon
(umental stroke all of the hypoc
risy and the sophistry which has
confused and deluded so many
people distant from the actiial
scene.”
The statement was to be read to
the VFW’s encampment at today’s
session.
But yesterday, MacArthur sent
the VFW a message withdrawing
the statement. He said he regret
ted to inform the Veterans group
that he had been “directed” to
withdraw it.
Since President Truman alone
could have given MacArthur such
orders, it was pretty plain all
along that the directive had come
from the White House,
i RosS confirmed that today. _
If the hope was to keep Mac
Arthiir’fc statement from becoming
public knowledge it was a lost
hope.
The text of the statement had
already been distributed widely to
newspapers and magazines.
One magazine—the U. S. News
and World Report—had already
sent to the presses an issue con- /
taining the text. The magazine
said it had received permission
from the VFW to go ahead with
this procedure.
Under the circumstances, a
great many newspapers published
the text today.
One was the Chicago Tribune
which said it had twice telephoned
MacArthur’s headquarters in Tok
yo before reaching its decision to
print it.
In the first call, the newspaper
said, it informed MacArtfcur’s '
spokesman that the U. S. News
and World Report had printed the
text in its issue placed in the
mails Saturday. It was due to go
on sale at newsstands tomorrow.
The spokesman asked that the
Tribune call again later.
On the second call, the Tribune
related, the spokesman said he
was in no position to comment on
publication but added: “When a
story has been published and cir
culated, it seems to me that news
n^o^rs would pursue the usual
practice of printing the news.”
Charles D. Jones left for An
chorage Saturday to represent the
City of Nome at a meeting called f
by Mayor Loussac of Anchorage of
mayors from all over the Terri
tory for a discussion of municipal
problems common to all the cities
in the Territory.
The meeting opens today in An
chorage.