Evening star., 1944-04-20
Bombing Mistakes
Public Insists on Knowing
Why News Was Withheld
By David La,Urence

Why News Was Withheld
By David Laurence
Trials and tribulations of the armed
services here in handling public relations
are revealed conspicuously in the latest
episode wherein it now is disclosed that.
In addition to the 400 Americans killed
by our own gunflre on 23 transport
planes during the invasion Of Sicily, 10
more transport planes with A officers
and men were similarly lost on differ
ent occasion.
It develops now that the A Americans
were killed in British theater of OPP
erations and 1t is estimated officially
that so per cent Of the g,,nfire came
from the enemy.
The incidents took place in July, 1943.
Disclosure Of the first came after leak.
A sergeant on leave told the story to an
audience in San Francisco. The second
disclosure, which was wrong as to dates
and as to the number lost---it was al
legged that 400 had been killed-came In
the last "a hours in a newspaper article.
Public Wants Explanation.
The public is interested, of course, In
what mistakes were made and who made
them, but it is also interested now In the
reasons for withholding news of this
kind. The explanation Of the War De-
partment for withholding the first item
was that the local commander did not
approve Of its release. It appears that
mistakes could be made by a local COM
fnander and he would have the authority
to suppress them. This now has been
changed and the facts must be sent to
Washington, where decision will be made
as to what should be made public.
The Navy has always had the rule
that the local commander must forward
to headquarters the facts and decision is
made in Washington as to whether mill
tary security requires suppression Some
times formal inquiry or investigation
cam be hampered by premature pub
hcity, but customarily news of these ac-
cidents have been promptly given to
the public by the Navy.
The Army has had a different prob
lem. In this instance, for example, the
feelings of the British had to be con-
sidered. 1t was in their area of opera
tions and naturally there is hesitancy
to make public anything that might
stir up i'll feeling. This is the reason
usually given, though in answer to that
objection it is probable that the British.
would be as quick to seek the reasons
for mistake affecting our troops as
they would be their own
Earlier In this war the news was given
out of the sinking of transport which
carried many American troops. The
implication was that this transport was
manned by the American Navy. The
reference in the public prints was to
an Allied transport. For reasons con-
cerned with the same international diff.
flculties, 1t never was disclosed Just
which country manned the ship.
Losses in Solomons.
Similarly in the Southwest Pacific
when the American Navy lost three
cruisers in a harbor in the Solomons,
there has never been an official dis
closure as to which country's COM
.ylander was in charge of that opera
along appeared to be assuming the
responsibility for having three of its
cruisers caught in a pocket by the Japa.
nese. III
1t is a difficult thing to Judge what
should be suppressed for reasons OF
international feeling rather than mili-
tary security. Also 1t is doubtful how
much real advantage is gained by
hushing up any mistakes In the
long run the items that are suppressed
leak out and became magnified in i'm
portance, and the reasons for suppress
sion becomes more important in the
discussion than the mistake in military
operations.
It Is not unusual in warfare for
troops to be fired on by their own
artillery, and it is nothing short Of
miraculous that in night actions sur
face ships do not fire on friendly craft.
Certainly mistakes in bombing our
own submarines and ships have been
made by the Allies in this war and,
if it be any comfort to any one, some-
what the same kind of mistakes have
been made by the Japanese and the
Nazis and the Italians The difficulty of
identifying ones own planes and ones
own targets in warfare has not been
made easier by the necessity of putting
Allied armies alongside of one another,
and 1t is especially complicated when
proper planning of these dangerous
operations is not possible in emergencies.