The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1945-08-02
News From Those
In The Armed Forces
Continued from Page q


Saturday evening to visit his par
ents, Mr.. and Mrs. F. E. Peeso of
Libby. Harvey is in the navy, and
has been stationed at Jacksonville,
Fla, since returning last December
from l6 months service in the Aleu-
tians. He is an aerial ordnance man,
serving as an air gunner, and is
now instructing at Jacksonville. He
expects to spend about week at
home, but remarks that he would
not give one Montana hill for the
entire state of Florida.
West Palm Beach, Fla.-One Mon
tana soldier among the hundreds
of men assigned to the Air Trans
port Commands Pipeline Project at
Morrison Field, key base of ATC's
Caribbean Division is Pfc. Ace P.
Metcalf, son of Mr. and Mrs. c. F.
Metcalf, Star Route, Libby, Mont.
The Pipeline Project, one of the
biggest maintenance operations ever
undertaken by the Army Air Fore
es, involves the repair and overhaul
of huge fleets of C-54 Skymaster
cargo planes flying personnel and
vital war supplies via ATC routes
between Florida and India, and then
over the Hump of the Himalayas
into China to the doorstep of Japan.
Aboard the USS Mobile in the
Pacific.-Warren Coble, fireman
first class, USNR, whose wife, Mon
tia, lives at 811 Park Ave, White
fish, Mont, served aboard this light
cruiser which ducked dozen kam-
ikaze planes and evaded enemy
mines, torpedoes and suicide boats
in order to move in close and smash
more than $50 Jap shore targets as
her contribution to victory at Oki-
naWa.
Sometimes during the campaign,
the 9th major operation for the
Mobile in this war, she moved in
so close that her crew said they
could readily identify uniform in
sigma.
everything from 'hecklers' to at
tacks comprising a score or more
enemy planes. Once eight Jap sui
eide planes were splashed within
two minutes in sector covered by
the gunfire of the Mobile and sew
eral other ships.
Meanwhile, she was doing whole
sale damage to the Japs on the
island. She blasted 80 caves where
Japs were hiding troops and big
guns She knocked out 43 Jap NOR
tars with direct hits and, when the
Japs tried to supply their front line
by motor trucks, picked off Is
trucks.
Two dozen blockhouses and pill
boxes were smashed by her guns.
Fifteen times she stopped Jap in
fantry charges by killing and scat
tering troops with direct hits. She
swept clean whole areas or picked
off individual targets, as directed,
such as SIS guns and nine ammuni-
ton and supply dumps.
One of the suicide planes which
attacked her was picked off at the
respectable range of 5000 yards.
Another got in to a range of 1900
yards before being batted down.
Aboard the USS Birmingham in
the Pacific-Robert Leon Combs,
ships cook, second class, USNR,
Eureka, Mont, serves aboard this
ship which can look back on ILL.,
500 miles Of fighting the Axis from
the invasion of Sicily to the battle
Of OkinaWa.
The Birmingham struck at Oki-
naWa targets six months prior to the
landings and gave fire support to
minesWeepers clearing the APP
proaches to the island. During the
campaign, she sank thousands of
tons of shipping,
Operating with the famed 3rd
and 5th Fleets and Task Forces 38
and 3d. she bombarded Wake Is
land, participating in air strikes on
TaraWa, took three hits at Bougain-
vile, shelled Shorthand Island and
hurled her might into the assaults
of Saipan, Tinian and Guam.
At Mindanao, she sank 5000 tons
of shipping and assisted in the de-
struction of another 1900. At Bou-
granville, she blasted four Jap
planes out of the sky and scored
hits on IL others.
Following the battle for Leyte
gulf, the Birmingham was damaged
for The second time She had gone
alongside the USS Princeton to bat
tie fires resulting from direct hit.
The ships lay in trough of the
rough waters separated by about SO
feet when a terrific blast from ex-
ploding bombs and torpedoes in the
Princeton rained death on the decks
of the Birmingham.
After three months for repair,
the Birmingham steamed out again
to take part in the Two lima cam
paign operation and the battle for
Okinawa.