World War II Chronicle: June 8, 1943
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The front page reports that Axis forces might be preparing to use gas attacks… On page two Winston Churchill has disclosed that an Allied invasion of Europe is approaching, and the following page tells how proficient the Americans have become at amphibious operations. Also, the Germans are supposedly expecting signs of an invasion any time… Page three also gives more details of a B-17 crew trapped four months on the Greenland ice cap that we reported on back in May…
On page four Col. Arman Peterson, 78th Fighter Group commanding officer, is pictured with King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Pictured below are Peterson and Brig. Gen. Frank Hunter, commanding general of VIII Fighter Command. The 28-year-old Peterson will score a kill later this month before he leads his pilots over France on July 1 for his 43rd and final combat mission…
General Hunter was a fighter pilot during the First World War, briefly serving in Eddie Rickenbacker’s 94th Aero Squadron before transferring to the 103rd. There he shot down nine enemy fighters, earning five Distinguished Service Crosses during the First World War. Hunter will soon be relieved of command for not following an order to install wing tanks in the P-47s. He is sent home and named commander of the First Air Force. Hunter was the only airman to have a field named after him while still alive — Savannah, Georgia’s Hunter Army Airfield. The royals also met with the B-17 crew of Memphis Belle, one of the first American bomber crews to complete 25 combat missions…
On page five, the air mail pilot that covered Charles Lindbergh’s route for him during his Transatlantic flight has perished in a plane crash. Col. Phillip R. Love was one of 11 men who perished when Love’s C-67 Dragon hit a mountain west of Austin, Nev. Love shared the “St. Louis to Chicago” air mail route along with his friend Charles A. Lindbergh, who was the route’s chief pilot. The two also served together in the Missouri National Guard’s 110th Observation Squadron.1Lindbergh was a captain in the 110th when he crossed the Atlantic. In fact, after Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight he chose Love to fly escort on his three-month tour of the United States in the Spirit of St. Louis. Not only that, Lindbergh allowed Love to fly the famous plane — one of only two besides Lindbergh to do so…
George Fielding Eliot discusses the difficulties of a potential Allied invasion on page 12… The Sports section begins on page 17, and only four of the 10 National Football League teams look to have enough players to field a team so far. Both Chicago clubs are in a tight spot, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia are looking at a possible merger, and Cleveland has already folded. Meanwhile in baseball, the top hitters in both leagues — Babe Dahlgren and Vern Stephens — are looking at being drafted soon…
The Naval Academy’s Class of 1944 graduates tomorrow and they have announced their Honor Man: George D. Prestwich goes on to earn a master’s degree in nuclear physics from MIT. Runner-up Thomas J. Christman serves on a destroyer in the Pacific, and retires in 1974 as a rear admiral. After serving aboard the battleship USS Missouri, second runner-up Earl Isaac Jr. starts Fair, Isaac, and Company (FICO), the company that came up with assigning credit scores. All-American lacrosse man Gordon H. Ochenrider Jr. got top athletic honors and will be named to Annapolis’ Athletic Hall of Fame. He serves as a fighter pilot and goes on to become a vice president at Grumman. The Thompson Trophy Cup was presented to Alan R. Cameron, who played basketball and was captain of the football team.
Evening star. (Washington, D.C.), 8 June 1943. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1943-06-08/ed-1/