The Wrangell sentinel., 1942-06-12
Enemy Sub Sinks
 American Ship
 l Off Puget Sound
tByZAssociated# #Press

Jnlted states merchant ship has been sunk by enemy submarines in action off the Pacific Coast. One seamen died from exposure in a life boat and two men are in serious condition one crushed in his bunk 50 feet from where the torpedo hit. An other suffered oil in the lungs. The rest of the erew reached safety aboard two life rafts lashed togeth- CT after 3S hours at sea.
 Senator Homer T. Bone said the freighter was sunk last sunday night off Neah Bay, Wash. and that in formation leensored9.
 From the vast Pacific thea ter of war there came the breath taking complete accounts of the smashing Of the Japanese enemy's powerful fleet off Midway Island by eager young L. $ Army. Navy and Marine pilots Said Clark Lee the narrator. the moral is that Amer iean planes alone may not win the war; the boys flying American planes will
 Salient points of the great battle of Midway, as disclosed in Clark Lee dispatches from General Elm mons headquarters- the Japan ese sent two huge fleets against Midway Island one consisting mainly of transports. the other strong battle force. L. $. Army bombers first contacted the trans port fleet the afternoon of June 3 and hit a cruiser or battleship. destroyer and transport. The [. s. forces were ready for the attack from the battle fleet which came on the morning of June with d raid by at least 1S0 enemy planes
 Marine fighters engaged the Jap aRese and Marine anti-aireFaft fire cut loose The Japanese and Mar ines cut loose.
 The Japanese spared runWays. ap- parently hoping to occupy Midway for an air base. Army. Navy and Marine planes attacked the battle fleet. Flying fortresses hit one car rier in the attack, refueled and re- armed and damaged one heavy cruiser and possibly another. No flying fortresses were lost.
 The critical point in the whole fight for the land-based planes came when they returned to Midway to re-fuel and pick up bombs and ammunition. but by that time the Japanese fliers had withdrawn and were so busy protecting themselves that they did not come back.
 All reports have not been reeeiy- ed and the full story of the battle is still to be told.
 Probably half of Japanese invas- ion armada of more than 3Q wal ships were. casualties in the running sea battle. Final results Of the bat tle last week still haven't been tal- lied but Admiral Chester W Nim- itz, Commander-in-Ch Of the Pa cific fleet, indicated thousands of Japanese must have perished, left to drown by their shipmates on the run before the Americans.
 The battle ended Saturday when pursuing Americans lost contact with the enemy in the darkness Nimitz listed American losses as one destroyer, one aircraft carrier dam aged, and an undiscIosed numbf@ of planes lost Against this, repori- ed Japanese losses were two. and perhaps three, aircraft carriers sunk with all their planes, one destroy,r sunk and three battleships and eight to II other ships damaged
 While Americas fly1ng. fighting men of Midway and Hawaii were telling of the victory over the Jap anese transport and war fleets, Ja- pans leading civilian naval expert, Masanori Ito, made a slip of the tongue in broadcast interview which must have distressed him la ter. He told the Japanese they should not be disappointed at the loss of two aircraft carriers" The Japanese had admitted only the loss of one and heavy damage to the second.
 Actually, on the basis of U. S. an nouncements, three enemy carriers probably were destroyed.
 IN CHINA
 In eastern China the forces of free China still had the walled city of Chuhsing, main Japanese object at present in their offensive aimed at getting control of all the rail- ways.
 Moreover. regular and guerilla forces of Chiang Kai-Shek were men, acing the advanced enemy's positions in western Chekang with repeated attacks behind the Japanese forward lines which are thrown around Gnu sing.
 AUSTRALIA FRONT
 Allied headquarters in Australia Continued on page four)