ncxLX I?, 11!/~ . Here's a news dispatch · that m ay have a ~ sensational meaning. It states that a gre a t allied invasion fleet bas b e en ~ f the coast or Sicily. Tba word come s from the ena1117 r a d i & a ; ... ;•t specific ln stating that tba invasion A A includes landing barges loaded with tro o ps If this be true, what is the meaning? It does'°'~t seam likely that we'd be sending a big t ■ 1w1t ■ q invasion armada, with landing boats and all - to Sicily. That would be rather odd on the very day when the largest ot headlines tell us the Sicilian victory is complete, the isiand entirely in allied bands. - One can only surmise that the alleged inva&ion ta fleet is aeant tor the Italian peninsula - a drive against the mainland launched on the very day that the Sicilian battle comes to a n ~ end~ . ~~ - The precise position ot the amphibious forces given ,\ . . is interesting. The Home radio places the fleet off the east coast of Sicily, off Catania, at · a pdl n t about tift1 miles trom the Italian mainland. To what part of the Italian mainland would ~ . it seem to be going? An exp edi tion would hardly be on its way " to some northern point on the coast ot Italy. For that would take SICILY - 2 it through the narrow Bt~aits of Messina - onl7 three miles wide and the Germans on one side. The logical guess would be that such a force would be bound for the south coast - som e where between the toe and heel. It would be dramatic if all this turned out to be it:J. true, although, or course~ based on aoth1ng ■ore than a bulletin !lash b7 them Rome radio - and the jitterr Italians ■ight poHiblJ have llJ.staken an ordinary supplJ convo7 tor an 1nva•ion fleet. The final act of the S cilian campatgn was performed • s, I' ~ by the Americans. This morning, .l~lll~t:a•t-4'1t~&APIWII~~ al'llored units pushed into Messina, the cit7 ■lctlt• at the eastern tip ot Sicily, the l:att last bit of land the Axis forces bald in any There was little opposition, ~capt one sharp clash with a German battalion that p ut up a desperate last ditch fight cln the fought until outskirts of Messina. The German soldiers there their cartidges were e x h a u s t e ~ all was - over but the shO\\ting, the procession of American forces into - A the bombed shattered harbor, the capture of which marks the completion of victory in Sicily. SICILX - 3 The British have been slower in getting t h e r e - ~ Eighth Army held up by the ew,Nll!e dirticulty of the terrain in which they had been operating. The British had the toughelt n u t • to crack all along. lot that the last stage or their own · adTance to Messina is attended by any violent fighting. lbat hampers the British mostly 1-s the way the Oenians demolished roads and bridges in the craggy mountain countr,. After the tall ot •essina, save the cleaning~ut ot some isolated German positions - the usual mopping-upclle caapaign ends triumphant~ thirty-eight days after American and British forces staged their spectacular surprise landings on the southern and eastern coasts ot--eie island. The Geraans claim to baYe got out the bulk ot the troops they bad left -- m evacuating thell across the narrow amt Straits 0£ Messina. And allied sources believe that a considerable portion of the garris~n that fought the stubborn :1:■w•.::p !!!!: guard action may have succeeded in escaping. Berlin claims the fleeing Nazi troops mamge _ d to evacuate all their equipnent; but th i s is jm not likely. A dispatch from Madrid ) SICIL! - 4 gives us the statement, apparently from inside Axis sources, tbat the Germans got out their li g ht armament, but bad to l eave their heavy equipment behind - the larger guns and tanks which they destroyed. And now what? Ytell, we have that story ot an 1nvasion fleet on its way right now. And even it that particular report does not happen to be true, there is 'no doubt that blows against the Italian peninsula will be struck Without delay. A late a story troll London gives us the prediction that the Allies are prepared to strike swittly tor a knockout of Ita1y. _ London observers point out that it wouldn't be General Eisenhower's way to give the ltw)I•• Italians a breathing spell - not while the whole peninsula is clamoring tor peace, especjfi.ly the people or the heavily bombed cities or northern Italy. nJRII BOMBING FOLLOW SICILX ""R.a. F: Last ni g ht""bomb e rs ot ttw I ,111~ Royal &la Pezce- assailed the north Italian city or Turin, swinging their aim fro• de•astat e d Milan. The ne w s dispatches describe llilan as a scene ot utter havoc - all a part or ldla the explosi•e maa argument to hasten Ital.J in getting out ot the nr. Last night the great industrial city ot Turin bore its share ot the arguaent - high explosive raining down. mMBINQ Today Americ a n flying fortresses launched a bold d ayl i g ht raid - and a lon g distance affair it was. Plying from North Africa, the fortresses wing d for more than five hundred miles a cross the Mediterranean and bombed Nazi targets in southern ., ~ Fran 1 .:e - ~smashfMl up two strategic airports northwest ot /l Karsei-1les. . Bwit 1 erland g ives u~ a story ot two American hea~ bo m bers forced down - on ..., I I Lfp 11 l 'l;,ay • took part in the great raid across the llediterranean. 0 During the past few days there bas been a co■parative 1e$"-up in the bombing of Germany, but the Nazis themselves know that the lull is not due to last long. The evacuation ot threatened German cities goes on apace, Berlin especial.ly. Stockholm today tells us that virtually all the government departments of the Hitler regime have already been moved. Kost of them !tQQINQ - 2 haTe been transterre/to towns 1n the nearby Prussian proTince of Brandenburg. Another storr states that the Bitler foreign office bas been r.aoved to Vienna. i l l or which-. indicates that the lads expect Berlin to becoae a second K ~ a n t l c l p a t e -~ ~ ... ~ a concentratA.ppl6nU1 ■ of boabing ~wipe out the German ~~ ~--:....-.•~ ~ °"'""' capital/\.tt w-rsz•~'.!1- aee~seapW'rt-was a mocked out or the war. · BPBBIA In the Russian war we hear or what is called - a super-offensive. Berlin uses that term in describing a Russian assault launch e d southe~t of Kharkov. Moscow 1s not so clear about the Red Army super-otfensive, and speaks a o lltly or German counter attacks in the Kharkov area. emphasize The Ruasian1A4■1k11t1+ increasing ene111 resistance, with the lazis f ighting desperately to hold the p a great Ukrainian city. This • ,ptt:M in contrast nth the melodramatic Berlin headline telling or a Soviet super- orrens1ve. Way to the north ot Kharkov, on the front racing llcscow, the Russians are stepping.up their drive aimed at Bryansk~~ the key tortress to the whole German tront in that area. Moscow tel l s or r1ve fted Army columns converging toward Bryanslt, capturina scores or towns and ~illages. RICKERBACKER A sobering ord to put a c hec k on a11C"opt1m1sm come~Capt in Eddie Rickenbac o ha s just re urned fro a titty-five th o usand mile tour of all the fighting fronts. Rick has been on a official mission for Secreta17 la or War Stim on, has things at first band, and bas bad access to the beat opinion ot the leaders at the scenes or fighting. "Genaany•, says he, "will not even crack be~ore the tall or lineteen Forty-four at the best - at our present rate of progress toward total victory•. In other words, oennaDJ 111 not only last this year but most of next year. has ti../ Then, we have .Japan to deal with) ~ r Bazi Gel'IIBD1 ~~~ been overthrown.~~ will take another year - or more. Add it all up and you have several more years of war at least. ~ wanly a miracl~can ing victory sooner", says Rickenbacker. " < L ~ ~ - 1£_, J~-4-• "the stern realistic statements made • last night by war Kobilization Director Byrnes, who gave the President as an authority for warnings against over-optimism. !esterday a lo t of peo p le were glibly Mferring to an alleged statement made by Prime Kinister inston Churchill, who !\lCOftBACW - 2 ns said to have predicted that the Bu . ropean war would end in siX months. It now turns out that Churchill didn•t say anything or t h e sort.-/le declares that he was misquoted. At bis news conf e rence today, Captain Rickenbacker bad still. another s t rikin g thing to aa,y, this in connection with Soviet Russia, w ere be spent a good deal or time and looked things over a lot, Bow collllWlJ.stic is Russia? Rick answers this al follows:- WRussia" says be, •11&1 coae out or th ~ s war the greatest deaocracy in the world, while it.!!!.. continue to • move to the left as we are doing, wa may easily be Bolshevik - at the end or thew rw. That certainly would be a strange r - ~ reversal. . . , 18M ~Stalin uttering grave warnings against . -&.P the Red ■enace ot the u.s.A. { ~ ~ fr- ..xj) C ~~ _ . ......,. .... , 600TB PACIFIC - 2 a ground battle or it. Thia ia predicted b7 Ad.airal Wilkinson, co~der or t h e Amphibious forces in the South Pacific. So all • ., oot be so lyric and idyllic OD Vella LaTella. ,,- SOOTH PAFICIC l RETAKE Fro m alll , !d headquar te r s in the southwe s t Pacific, we h ear that the Americans e xpect trouble at Vella Lavella. That place with the lilting, by ~ ' 1 o r c e s over I\. liquid name i s the island seized the weekend. Vella Lavalla is a strategic ~ lace, lying to the north of Kolombangara. our ~ • " ; • u n d a by-passed ~olombangara in seizing Vella Lavalla. In other words, they skip ad a Jap-controlled island in a bold thrust. ~~.<~~ 9"' amphibious torces encountered little opposition at Vella Lavalla - although they found three hundred and titty Japs ashore. These however, were survivors of Jap warships that had been sunk nearby. Fe• had any weapons, and were quickly rounded up. So all was smooth and easy - but not tor 1111 long. Jap air attacks began illmediately - a series of bombing assaul.ts launched against t h ~ ~ on Vella La,.ella. These, ~ / however, were beaten off in violent air battle~ our ground rorces sut£ering only minor l o s s ; : ' : . . ~ ~ - is expected to coatinue the attacks from the sky. Ja&llot only that 1 - the Americ a n command believes the Japs will try to sneak landing t'•tw•1 pa r ties to Vella Lavella and p.1t s ome troops ashore - to make SOOTH PACIFIC - 2 a ground battle of it. Thia is predicted by Admiral Wilkinson, commander of the Amphibious forces in the South Pacific. So all 0 may not be so lyric and idyllic on Vella Lavalla. LOIS liffOX MILLER - INFANTILE - S,A. We hear a lot, at least I do, abou t the ditticulty er.:,.- ~ S ~ ~ 'flt ever establishing really friendly relations With_. Latin ~ ~ J.mer1 e an neighbors. That is, we hea . r that they are interested - ~~-~ ' in our Lend-Lease policy -- what they can get out of us -- , '-I ~~~~~~~ sf t ~ the two continents have I JI ttle in comon, Well, there !!:!_ wa . ys in which we can be good neighbors, ways that we can do much toward establishing strong bonds ot triendship~counter~d one of them today. On a train I ■et A three young women fr011 South America who have just arr1Ted in this countrJ to study Infantile Paral71i1 -- methods ot treataent. These three are a part of a larger group ot titty-two 1 so■e ot whoa are already here and the rut cm on their way, fitt,-two South American nurses who are to study in this country under the taaous .lustra1ian Jurse EeDDJ, at the University of Minnesota. These nurses are all the guests ot the Readers Digest, which r e markable magazine sent one of its statt editors, Lois Mattox Mille1)on a four month• iour of South America to extend this invitation, and arrange for the sending ot the nurses. lliss Miller, b , the way, was in Brazil just at LOIS MATTOX KILLER - llFAITILB - 8.A. ~ the time when the President•s son died trom this dread aaladJ. I\ So it was all much in the 111.nds ot the Brazilian people. And no one can tell ■e that cooperation ot that ld.Dd can do an,thing but i11pr0Te relations between north and south - uerica and help create a lasting bond ot friendship between 1f.: J/J tbw two continents. We are doing many things like that. lot A all Just Lend-Lease. True, the1'e was a ti■e when South aerlca was auch nearer Burope than :tt "I ■ to us. But the two. blmd.red-1111•.......,.n-bour aub-1C-atosphere plces ot Pan aerican and Panagra haTe changed all tbat. COIFER£NCE I is likely enough that ri g ht now President RooseYelt is in Quebec, and that so o n he'll be sitting down to dinner with _ . a distinguished company headed by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill I and the Earl or Athlone, - . GoYernor -oenenl ot Canada. The supposition is, in tact, based on the presence ot the Earl or Athlone 1n Quebec. Ile arriTed there todaJ - tro■ Ottawa, the Canadian capital. As the Governor General or d the Dollinim, it would be his duty to welcome the President or the United States on an otticial Visit to Canada, the lar~ acting 1n be halt ot the soYereign, King George. The word ls that he will retuJ"D to Ottawa tonight - atter·be m has completed his task 1IIIDlll ot welcoming the President and entertaiD.ing hill at dinner. The late s t from Quebec, a dispatch Just in, tells us that the newest Roosevelt-Churchill conferences "111 begin immediately, tomorrow'- the President and Prime llinister having w>t■■WJ already had so■e prellmi . na17 talks at Hyde Park. It is beli e ved that the discussions will feature large diplomatic an g les. Tb s opinion 1s based on the fact that among those to CONFERENCE - 2 ---------- participate in the conversations will be Cordell Hull, American Secret a ry of State, and Ant~ony Eden, British Foreign Secretary. Q uebec gives us the opinion that ! one immediite topic will be the action of the Badoglio government in declaring Rome an open city. le may•have a Roosevelt-6hurchill decisio~ on that point as early as tomorrow. ' . . And now, Bugh, What have you to say? What's on your mind tonight? I '