The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1945-01-23
Xanks Aduance
Half Way to
Manila
CBy the Associated Press

American warplanes beat oomD
trail from Formosa to the main
island of Japan, American and jap
anese sources reported today as
the 18th Army Corps rolled past
the halfway mark on its way to
Manila.
Some 20 Marianas-based Super
forts struck at the Nagoya aircraft
center on Japan's Honshu Island in
their first mass flight under COM
manC OF youthful Maj. Gen. Curtis
E. lie May. Tokyo said they were
over the oft-bombed city for two
hours.
Japanese lroadcasts reported
100 Liberators and Lightnings-
presumably from the Philippines
| raided Formosa in the wake of the
fifth carrier strike against the
island this month. 1t was the first
report of such a land-based raid on
''ormosa where Third Fleet car
rier planes destroyed 140 Japanese
planes. damaged 100 and heavily
damaged shipping and shore Install
atoms Sunday. One major U. S.
ship was damaged.
Tokyo said the carrier planes
swept on toward Japan the next
| day sending $50 sea-borne aircraft
tasainst Okinawa Island in the
| Ryukus for nine hours. A Formosa
army communique claimed IS car
rier planes were shot down and 65
| damaged in the two raids. Dam
age TO ground facilities was ad-
/ mitted
Losses Light
Adm. Chester w. Nimitz said
| American air losses were light, The
damaged ship was the first Third
Fleet vessel officially reported as
| badly hit in two months of raiding
Formosa and the China coast.
= The two-pronged American ad-
vance on Luzon Island in the Philip.
pines rolled almost unopposed to
points within "a miles of Manila
and IL from important Clark Field.
| They are more than halfway TO
Manila from the Lingayen Gulf
shores where they landed two
weeks ago.
Gen. Douglas Macarthur chose
this moment to announce the COM
position of Sixth Army forces on
Luzon-five full battle-tested divi-
sions and attached units. Only
one group-the Sixth Rangers
previously saw action in the Philip
pines where seven other divisions
have been employed.
The spearheading 14th Corps,
composed of the 37th and 40th Divi-
sions. advanced more than ten
miles from torch-destroyed Tarlac
to capture Capas and Santa Mont
ca.
A coastal column swept down the
road toward Bataan to Infanta,
beyond Dasol Bay.
1t is the First Army Corps that
has been meeting all Japanese OPP
position along the eastern flank.
The Sixth and 25th Divisions beat
off small Japanese tank and infil-
tration attempts to extend new
finger reaching toward an inland
road to Manila. The 43rd Division
and 15Sth regimental combat team
inched painfully closer to heavily
offended Rosario.
Seize Islands
1t was disclosed that the Sixth
Ranger Battalion seized two small
islands at the entrance to Lingay-
en- Gulf in advance of the invasion,
duplicating the maneuver they
made in Selling three islands of
Leyte Gulf to protect the original
Philippine invasion Armada.
In Burma a long truck convoy
was ready 10 roll out OF Myitkyina.
carrying the first war supplies over
the Burma Road to China in two
years. The Ledo-Burma Road was
declared officially open for mill
tary traffic with the junction OF
Chinese forces from Burma and
China.
General lie May, 3S, set BIO
record when he flew 400 miles
from Calcutta to Guam in II hours
and 81 minutes to take command
OF the 21st Bomber Command, sue
ceeding Brig. Gen. Haywood s.
| Hansell.
Brig. Gen. Roger II. Ramey, 81,
succeeded lie May as commander
OF the goth Bomber Command
operating B-29s from China and In
dia.
w, will hit Japan more and
more" lie May said. until they de-
eide they have had enough