Photo of the Day

Reading the paper on December 28, 1941.

Japanese aircraft have bombarded Manila despite General Douglas MacArthur’s declaration that it was an ‘open city’ which would not contest Japanese occupation.

MacArthur’s declaration was a tacit acknowledgment that he lacked the resources to defend Manila, and was made in an effort to spare the city’s cultural landmarks and civilian population from Japanese attack.

The bombing of Manila's Santo Domingo Church on December 28, 1941. The Church was built in 1590 and contained documents and relics dating to the time of the Spanish arrival in the Philippines in the 1500s.

MacArthur has withdrawn US and Philippine troops to the Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor Island on the far side of Manila Bay.

The Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, has described the Japanese attack on Manila as ‘fiendish’ and ‘barbarous’ and Senator Burton Wheeler, formerly a supporter of the isolationist America First Committee, called the Japanese “an inhuman and half-civilized race.”

Churchill and FDR meet with reporters, December 23, 1941. When Churchill was asked how long he thought it would take to defeat the Axis powers, he replied, "If we manage it well, it will only take half as long as if we manage it badly.”

President Roosevelt has announced the agreement in Washington of twenty-five Allied nations to the joint marshalling of military and economic resources in the world-wide war against the Axis powers.

[He will later announce that the Allies created an unprecedented, combined command structure for prosecuting the war in these meetings, which will be called the Arcadia Conference.]

Left: Soviet forces advance through a Russian village in a counter-attack against German invasion forces. Right: A Junkers Ju 87 'Stuka' dive bomber releases its bombload over North Africa.

The Soviets report success in their drive west in pursuit of German forces retreating from positions near Moscow.

Abandoned Nazi leaflets found in their wake urge German soldiers to stuff newspapers inside their clothing to fight the cold Russian weather.

Meanwhile, British forces continue their assault against Axis positions near the Libyan port cities of Benghazi and Tripoli.

But sources claim that, despite heavy sea losses, reinforcements are being rushed across the Mediterranean to Afrika Corps commander Erwin Rommel for an eventual German counterattack.

Scrap tires in Oregon, 1943.

The federal Price Administrator has announced a rationing scheme for vehicle tires which will prohibit most vehicle owners from purchasing new ones.

Among civilians, only doctors, visiting nurses, veterinarians, and commercial truckers engaged in designated essential delivery services will be permitted to purchase new tires.

This action was made necessary by the elimination of natural rubber imports from the Far East.

Drivers are urged to conserve by driving less, retreading worn tires and driving no faster than forty miles per hour.

Left: "Waiting for the Signal From Home," an anti-Japanese cartoon by Dr. Seuss, 1941. Right: Manzanar Relocation Camp for Japanese-Americans in central California. Ansel Adams photo, 1943.

The US Attorney General has ordered all Japanese, German and Italian aliens living in seven West Coast states to turn in to local police their shortwave radio sets and cameras.

The order came as the Army reported unauthorized radio messages being sent and received along the Pacific Coast and unrestricted alien use of cameras there.

Failure to comply with the order will result in arrest followed by internment in an Army relocation camp for the duration of the war.

Left: barbed wire blocks direct passage from the beach into Honolulu. Right: the Navy seized Honolulu's luxury Royal Hawaiian Hotel and restricted its use to military personnel.

Honolulu is said to show few signs of the Pearl Harbor attack three weeks ago, except for a step-up in military activity at the bases, sandbags in front of newspaper and radio offices and new shelter trenches in city parks.

The loudest complaint from Honolulu residents seems to be the ban on alcohol sales, which Army authorities say will remain in place for the near future.

Left: Prisonersat the Dachau concentration camp raise a homemade American flag to celebrate liberation by the 42nd and 45th Infantry Division. Native Americans comprised 1/5th of the 45th. Right: Navajo code talkers Cpl Henry Bahe Jr. and Pfc George H. Kirk, Bougainville, 1943.

The federal Office of Indian Affairs reports that Native American enlistments have exceeded draft quotas by more than forty percent.

[Native Americans will have the war’s highest rate of voluntary enlistment of any ethnic group. In some tribes, 70 percent of the men will enlist.]

And finally…

Last night, four thousand Allied servicemen were the guests of honor at the New York City Christmas Dance at the armory on 34th Street.

Three thousand young women, the employees of the City’s department stores, modeling agencies, factories and broadcast companies, acted as hostesses.

The evening began with dancers from Arthur Murray’s Dance Studio leading couples in a Grand March across the armory floor — a strange custom to the British servicemen in attendance.

The British also scratched their heads at the conga line — said to have been enormous — and hillbilly-style barn dancing.

But during the long evening, there was only a little trouble.

Some girls insisted on dancing only with men from West Point or from Britain.

Some of the British boys had difficulty believing they were free to ask any girl to dance.

And lots of young men said there was too much jitter-bugging.

But the food was great.

It was provided by the City’s leading hotels and restaurants whose head chefs managed the buffet lines.

******************************

I’ll see you on Monday.

— Brenda

Stories from the New York Times.