Evening star., 1945-06-01

Our strategic bombardment Of
Japan is now well beyond its initia
phase. The missions of the Goth All
Force are mounting in size and in.
tensity. Substantial portions oi
Japan's key industrial centers have
been leveled to the ground in 8
series of record incendiary raids
What has already happened te
Tokyo will happen to every japanese
city whose industries feed the Japa.
nese war machine. I urge Japanese
civilians to leave these cities if they
wish to save their lives.
Our tactical air forces, experienced
and battle-wise, will soon be rang.
ing over the japanese homeland
from nearby bases.
The Japanese air force will bt
shattered by our Army and Navy
flyers as surely and relentlessly as
the Luftwaffe. The concentration
of japanese industry, so long an ad.
vantage, will now contribute ma.
terially to Japan's downfall.
The Army Air Forces began its re.
deployment last December when 9
heavy bomber group returned te
this country from Europe and re-
ceived B-29 training before moving
to the Pacific. The following month
BIS medium bomber group came
to this country and proceeded, after
training, to fly A-26 attack bombers
against the japanese.
During the last month 20 bom-
bardment groups have received Or
ders to move from Europe to the
Far East by way Of the United
States.
Ground Troops Following
Best American Tradition.
Our ground armies, our corps and
our divisions have followed the best
traditions of the American soldier
for courage and skill; and their
leadership has been Of the uniform
ly high quality which results in vic
tory.
The United States has been for
tunate in having as the chief of
staff to the commander in chief of
the Army and Navy man of so
great experience and ability as Fleet
Admiral Leahy.
We have also been fortunate in
having at the head of our land and
air forces men like Gen. Marshall,
Gen. Eisenhower, Gen. Macarthur
and Gen. Arnold. They have pro-
vided the inspiration and the lead
ership for all our Army operations.
The American soldier of this war
is as brave and as magnificent as the
American soldier has always been
He has the initiative and ingenuity
he has always had But in this war
he is a better soldier and a more
successful soldier than he has ever
been before. For in this war he has
gone into battle better trained, bet
ter equipped, and better led than
ever before.
In the face of the formidable Nazi
hordes which had secured a stran-
glehold on Western Europe, our
armies, shoulder to shoulder with
those of our Allies, forced landing
on the shores of France. In the
short space of II months they drove
the enemy from France, Belgium,
Luxembourg and Holland and forced
him to unconditional surrender in
the heart of his own homeland.
To the south our troops and those
OF the Allies wrested North Africa
from the Axis, fought a dogged sd-
vance through italy from Sicily to
the Alps, and pinned down a force
that otherwise could have brought
substantial aid to the enemy on the
eastern and western fronts.
Heroism Of Our Troops
Was Matched by Allies.
The heroism of our own troops in
Europe was matched by that of the
armed forces OF the nations that
fought by our side. They and the
brave men in the underground
movements of the occupied coun-
tries-all gave their blood to wipe
the Nazi terror from the face CT the
earth. They absorbed the blows of
the German military machine dur
ing the many months in which we
were building up our expeditionary
forces, and they shared to the full
in the ultimate destruction of the
enemy.
The same courage and skill which
brought about the downfall of the
Nazis are being displayed by our
soldiers now fighting in the Pacific.
Many Of them are veterans of the
grim months following Pearl Har-
Dor.
Since 1912 our Army troops and
Marines in the South Pacific have
thrown the enemy back from his
furthermost advances in New Gui-
nea and the Solomons, have tray
eled 800 miles up the New Guinea
coastline, have conquered the Ad-
miralty Islands Biak and Morotaf
Meanwhile, Marines and Army
troops have been cleaning up in
the Solomons and the Palaus. In
October of last year these magnif1-
cent achievements eliminated in
the landing of our troops in Leyte
Four months later they freed Ma
Mia.
Westward across the Central Pa
cific other Marines and Army units
in hard-fought battles, have forced
the japanese back 1000 miles. Tara
wa, Kwajalein, Saipan, Guam, Two
Jima have been the stepping stones
Today Army and Marine divisions
are slowly but steadily sweeping the
Japanese from Okinawa.
Campaigns Have Depended
On Long Communications.
All Of our campaigns in Europe
and in the Pacific have depended on
long lines of communications and
upon quantities of supply unheard
of in prior warfare. One of the
marvels of Allied achievements has
been the organization, guarding and
operation of these world-girdling
supply lines.
For this we have to thank man
agement and labor in our war in
dustries, our farmers and miners
and other Americans-whop produced
the equipment and supplies for our
sale a