World War II Chronicle: January 24, 1942

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War Department communiques 72 and 73 are on page four… Page five features a story of a Dutch sailor who swam for 35 hours to reach safety after his submarine was sunk last month in the Southwest Pacific Theater… Page six mentions a former U.S. Naval aviator named “Pete” who became an ace-in-a-day over Rangoon. John E. Petach, Jr. does become an ace, but is officially credited with three victories during the engagement (the Chinese paid American Volunteer Group pilots $500 per confirmed enemy plane destroyed). While researching who “Pete” was I found records of at least 50 American pilots flying for the Royal Air Force that became aces and 20 AVG aces… Sports section begins on page 20

Evening star. (Washington, D.C.), 24 January 1942. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1942-01-24/ed-1/