WEEKLY DIGEST NO.44

[Music] the Jeff drive down the Hancock Anton railroad forced the evacuation of Hengyang 375 miles southeast of Chongqing at June's end as the jet siege of Heng yang became imminent activities quickened at headquarters of the 14th air force to destroy and evacuate all installations the Japanese driving south from Hankow sought hang yank for the most important conquest since Canton and Hankow in 1938 capture of this important US air base and railway junction would put the Japs in control of the entire hand cow count on railway giving them a through north-south line and would be an important step in their offensive to cut China into [Music] as coolies dug holes in the runways they sweated to build gi's prepared bomb fuses bombs laborious ly flown over the hump blew up the very fields from which they were to have been delivered to the Jets half pound blocks of TNT were shaved to fit into the nose and detonate the thousand founders here the demolition squads blasted the field while a few days later American planes returned and dropped more thousand pounders on this field completing its destruction bought a master and a service command buildings hostels operations radio tower everything was set afire as jeeps and personnel were ferried to roads leading to safety the battered Chinese hung on to the city the raft was a section of bridge one of many that heavy rains had washed out landslides also blocked progress at Ling Ling airfield 79 miles southwest of Heng yang everything was made ready in case evacuation of this base was necessary to bombs were buried for demolition of the runway were placed in every culvert and bridge those not needed for demolition were taken to the river along with gas drums and loaded on Sam pants and all were moved again as the Jets continue to push south bypassing Hengyang after leaving strong forces to beleaguer it [Music] refugees and vehicles waited to be ferried across the swollen seeing River and proceeded by train to the safety of the city of quail in still father Southwest the ferry boat was swept downstream and damaged by the time it was an operation again this crowd had grown and it took many days to get the caravan across [Music] at Weyland provisional capital of kwang SI province chinese authorities had ordered evacuation also it had become a choked crossroads for refugees streaming from the east to escape the [ __ ] fences that were rapidly closing from hang yang to the north and can't on to the south locomotives were out of coal and many trains were stalled along the single track line leading Southwest on July 7 serious danger to guilin was removed when the Chinese managed to break the Heng yang seat but despite Furious seesaws for battle positions Heng yang fell to the Japs on August 9th after a six-week C coolies worked to repair the American held of Wei Lin base after a [ __ ] attack had damaged the strip and some planes parked on the field by the middle of August the Chinese still fought bitterly to retake hang Yang and keep the jets from closing the gap to Canton and the 14th Air Force fought with them [Music] on Guadalcanal a radio-controlled model plane gives anti-aircraft crews realistic target practice designed and produced by the Air Corps the oq2 a radio-controlled airplane target is one-third the size of a pursuit plane and develops approximately one-third the speed about a hundred miles an hour it's launched by means of a catapult and is flown by remote control from the ground the plane is wound back on the catapult and the release catch is fastened to hold it in position from the radio transmitting car in the background the radio man brings the control box to give the plane a pre-flight check it is only stabilizer and rudder controls and is flown at constant speed nevertheless it is extremely maneuverable sensitive to the slightest movement of the stick on the control box the parachute releases tested next the shoot button is pressed releasing a lid atop the fuselage where the chute is packed the planes radio is also contained here the plane can be landed on a runway but landing by chute is more practical the effects of torque are overcome by the use of contra-rotating propellers rpms are checked with a stroboscope the blades of the stroboscope rotated a known rate and when the props appear to standstill their speed is the same as a stroboscope this is the only means of bringing the engine to the proper rpm catapulted as the release cord is pulled the plane flies out over gun positions on the beach a 40-millimeter Bofors with forward area open sights gets the range of the plane 50 caliber machine guns and 90 millimeter anti-aircraft guns are also used in this target practice and the aircraft crews throughout this specific theater come to the any aircraft artillery combat Center for refresher courses and gunnery and to become acquainted with new types of weapons as tracer strike home the model plane spins in the sky before it goes out of control it's flown over the takeoff point at an altitude of about a hundred and fifty feet as the parachute is released the engine stops and the plane floats down generally intact except for bullet holes but this time it comes to grief in a palm grove [Music] however its carried back to a complete repair shop where the highly-trained radio playing group will put it back in flying condition [Music] [Music] knives Air Force engineers construct the first tarpaper landing strip in France trucks with trailers rigged is laying machines spread the tar paper over the runway after steam rollers have smooth the ground as the tar paper passes over a roller mounted on the trailer the underside is moistened with a solution of 75 percent gasoline and 25 percent diesel oil to make it adhesive the truck driver guides himself along the edge of the previously laid strip by a rod projecting from the bumper as the tar paper runs out fresh rolls are lifted onto the spindle the new paper is threaded through the rollers and the laying process continues as the paper streams from the trailer men follow to check and adjust it on the runway cross seams are closed with liberal applications of the adhesive mixture a rubber tyred roller now smooths and seals it steel mesh is then laid over the tar paper to reinforce it called hash and runway after the name of the tar paper strips this 5000 foot field was covered in the record time of 17 hours it will be used by both the AAF and the RAF woman has lost everything but her life her four sons her house her garden even her shoes this mother is crying because her husband is dead she and her child are destitute these children have nothing left with the bundles they were able toward into a broken-down wagon these are the wonders of the world today they have no place to go just away from the blackened ruin which was once a home away from the stinking corpse which was once a father or a husband these people are refugees and refugees are a military problem in their tragic bewilderment they clog our supply and communication lines create confusion spread disease the very old [Music] very young the homeless the days [Music] the Germans have their own methods of dealing with such a problem bullets have been very effective so has barbed wire but we believe in different methods we believe in taking these homeless and weary people out of the storm of war we use ships built for attack on errands of mercy at first the refugees are timid our soldiers and sailors in the past uniforms have spell disaster for them black shirts brown shirts now olive drab but no stormtrooper ever helped a mother often LCI this man who made a good living as a pottery worker in San Pietro didn't object to the delousing gun he had no desire to bring germs and lice to the men for fighting the army which had destroyed his Factory and home family the kids aren't quite sure what's happening all they know if the dreaded noise of bombs their plans is missing and their elders don't cry as much as they did and yet many of them can't understand where their father or mother is the friend of the family who is taking care of them doesn't want to explain after a while the machinery to help begins to move sweaters pants skirts coats from attics and closets in England and America these people will not forget [Music] meg comes questioning names dates places when did you last see your son what does your daughter's first name families are brought together enemy agents are ferreted out the mass of refugees finally food food at a table warming and comforting the grandmothers the mothers the children they eat and slowly the nightmare begins to disappear the little things of life go on again the woman myths the big things go on - a woman has a baby [Music] after posting the refugees move on to resettlement camps in the south of Italy where they will wait until the day comes when they can return to rebuild their towns and their houses and their lives these men and women in Italy however a handful of the millions of refugees will meet in France and Holland and Belgium and forever the Nazis of concrete and in each country will solve the problem in the same way a man named Hitler put tears and this little girl dies now millions of men are fighting put a smile back on her face [Music] Nazi heads look normal enough on the outside but what makes these heads different is what goes on inside this little thinking machine specializes in perfecting methods of disruption and it's dished up some unease [Music] with these they destroy men ships and cities but the most ingenious weapon that this brain is perfected is this the Nazis developed this weapon in peacetime the German citizen was the guinea pig they poured the stuff on and if his right arm went up he was certified as a member of the great master race others weren't eligible inferior races not good enough to breathe the same air is out old Hitler the church was opposed to this so the church was removed and a new thing was worshipped with a lot of mumbo jumbo about nordic aryans supermen the weapon had worked at home now it could go to work abroad prepare the ground for military conquest fertilize the soil for the quislings a weapon of war played country against country look out look out for that country behind you look out for the poles will come for the French don't trust the English beware the Russians a weapon of war play religion against religion turned Protestant against Catholic and both against Jews a weapon of war play race against rais'd Aryan Aryan Aryan Aryan Aryan Australian race this race race this race race this race and fear and suspicion prejudice and hatred had done their work in Europe split up for Nazi conquest and as the great blonde Superman rode victoriously through Europe is great blond Aryan friend from Rome and his great super blue-eyed nor daguerreian friend from Japan joined him in great blond super thoughts of conquest to come the United States ignited a hodgepodge country of all races sixty-one nationality and 259 different religious Creed here they thought were jealousies and prejudices to play upon here was the perfect setup for their plan divide and conquer here was the stuff first dress up the product for the American market and then step right up ladies and gentlemen and get your bottle here the one and only dr. Hitler's blood tonic every drop this guaranteed is your system sluggish try the world's most famous purge take home a bottle are you high-strung and irritable do you lie awake nights and worry about Armenians Peruvians Scandinavians and Greeks try a bottle and you'll lick any foreigner in town you know those poles who live on Cedar Street the Irish down on Hickory Street the Swedes who live on Chestnut Street the Negroes out on Maple Street that Mexican family on Mulberry Street take a bottle you'll be amazed what you can do friends don't forget that's you and you and you are much better people and you and you and you two of us take advantage of your easygoing nature are you chronically annoyed by Catholics Baptists Methodists or perhaps Episcopalians are Jews or Presbyterians our constant irritation friends this bottle is the answer to all your aches and troubles step right up it's the buy of your lifetime did I say boy friend it's a gift step right up folks get em while they last well folks how about it come on folks what do you say what do you say what do you say [Music]