NEW YORK: The Japanese News Agency declared that all Japanese planes on Luzon had been formed into “suicide squadrons” which crash to death on the decks of Allied ships. Reuter’s special correspondent Luzon island cables: General MacArthur’s men have linked up all their beachheads along the southern end of Lingayen Gulf within 24 hours of landing. They, thus, formed the largest beachhead perimetre yet seized in this theatre in so short a time… Allied air forces have spotted Japanese reinforcements being brought from Batangas, south of the central plain of Luzon on which Gen. MacArthur feels certain that the battle for Manila and Luzon will be fought. Allied planes wrecked bridges and roads in the path of the Japanese forces, then turned guns and bombs on troops and their supply laden vehicles.

[Meanwhile, as reported from Washington,] President Roosevelt is anxious to be on the way to the meeting with Mr. Churchill and Marshal Stalin. Mrs. Roosevelt having seen that Mrs. Churchill has accompanied the British Prime Minister on some of his trips has hinted she would like to go with the President, but the White House has [given a] “thumbs down” according to newspaper reports.

Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2020