World War II Chronicle

World War II Chronicle: March 25, 1942

Chris Carter

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Henry Ford has offered famed aviator Charles Lindbergh a position at the new Willow Run, Mich. plant (see page two)… War Department communique no. 160 on page four, as is a report that the Army is re-forming the 77th, 82nd, and 90th Infantry Divisions…

Page eight mentions that Vice Adm. William Halsey has earned a Distinguished Service Medal for his leadership during the Marshalls-Gilberts Raid, and a crew who spent 34 days at sea in a life raft is also being decorated.

Pilot Harold Dixon of La Mesa, Calif., bombardier Tony Pastulas [i.e. Pastula] of Youngstown, Ohio, and radioman Gene Aldrich of Sikeston, Mo. sit on the raft in which they drifted 1,000 miles for 34 days after their land plane was forced down in the Pacific.

Sports section begins on page 19. Former heavyweight boxer Buddy Baer, now done with boxing after losing two matches to Joe Louis, is joining the Army (see page 19). Before hanging up his gloves, Baer defeated Abe Simon via technical knockout in 1937, who is set to rematch Louis on Saturday (page 20).

On page 21, former St. Louis Cardinals catcher Don Padgett is being processed for induction into the Army. Instead, he enlists in the Navy and spends the war playing baseball. Padgett batted .399 in 1939, but as he was backing up Mickey Owens that season his 299 at-bats were not enough to qualify for the batting championship.

Evening star. (Washington, D.C.), 25 March 1942. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1942-03-25/ed-1/

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