The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-02-21

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 planes sank an entire convoy of 22 enemy ships. ...~
 Successful Attack
 The successful attack cost the American armada only IT planes lost and moderate damage to one warship.
 "The Pacific fleet has returned at Truk the visit made by the Japanese fleet to Pearl Harbor on December T, 1941, and effected partial settle ment of that debt,' Ninitz said in his triumphant communique yester- day noon.
 He listed Japanese losses specific ally as follows:
 Sunk-Two light cruisers, three de- stroyers, one ammunition ship one seaplane tender, two oilers, two gunboats and eight cargo ships. Probably Sunk-one cruiser or large destroyer, two oilers and four cargo ships.
 Shot down in combat-120 planes.
 Destroyed on the ground "A planes; shore installations. Damaged on the ground-more than 50 planese; airdromeS.
 George Jones, United Press war correspondent who accompanied the task forces in the Truk attack, said in dispatch sent before the raid l that the WarShipS included a num- Der of battleships and added, per- haps significantly:
 We might see our surface strength make a bold thrust into the outer edges of Truk's intricate shoreines for an audacious bombardment. Aircraft will make the initial assault and they will carry the re- sponSibility of inflicting the initial damage on which other surface craft can capitalize"
 Base Neutralized
 The attack, carried out under the overall command of Adm. R. A. Spruance with Rear Adm. M. A. MitScher, former commander of the USS Hornet, in charge of the car- rier raid, neutralized temporarily Japan's biggest naval base outside home waters and prevented the Japanese from sending reinforce ments to Eniwetok.
 Combat teams from the 22nd Marine division, swarming ashore after a three-day air and naval bombardment literally had leveled enemy defenses, captured their ini- tial major objective in Eniwetok atoll, Engebi island at the northern end, in six hours and five minutes Friday Hundreds of the defenders were killed in the preliminary lombard ment, which included 1000 tons of aerial bombs. Richard w. Johnston, United Press war co~rn4> ~ with the invasion forces, said not a single building was left suanoIug and even the skeletons of the de- lenders were hammered down."
 'The island looked as though it had been run over by a giant lawn mower that sheared of palm tops i. Few feet from the ground" John ston wrote.
 The occupation of Engebi and 10 small fianking islands, the latter WlCnouG tnel oSS Of a single Ameri- can life, wiped out enemy opposi- tion at the northern end of the atoll and paved the way for the assault on the southern end, where Eniwe- tok island was the key objective. Opposition 7, | Elements of the 106th Army in fantry regiment, supplemented by Marines, smashed ashore on Eniwe- tok against opposition and in a quick thrust wrested possession of the western half of the island from the Japanese.
 Although obviously doomed. the Japanese continued to fight stub- bornly as the invaders hammered them back toward the eastern cor ner of the island with tanks, fiame-throwers, grenades and bay onets, backed up by the big guns Of covering warships.
 The only other island left in enemy hands, Parry, was cut off from all hope of supply and rein- forcement by the landing on Eniwe-