Salt Lake Telegram | 1942-08-15 | Page 2 | Aleutian Defense Slipup Saved Nips Last June

I I I Aleutian Defense Slip S ff Saved Nips Last Jun 1 SEATTLE Aug 15 W Un P-Un Unto jt dl States bombers lost a chancel ti U IJ annihilate a Japanese force including an aircraft carri carrier carrir l 1 off Alaska last June because of ti th the l 1 unfortunate failure of army navy coordination I Dt Warren G G. Magnuson W. W D W va wj h said Saturday ill Magnuson a member of ot e house naval affairs commit g told interviewers on his rd J from an inspection tour of Al ka military bases that failure oi o f the part of ot one army command Ito t I tto to interpret liberally st standing 1 naval orders regarding enemy contact Con con- con j cono o tact resulted in a delay which g g v. v f the enemy an opportunity to n. n H Vi move Itself 1 i The army command responsible 0 he added has since been relieved relies d dof of duty and I am glad to sa say lay d that there is no possibility c ot of this happening again The arm I high comman command in Alaska h predicted would welcome a Japa t nese task force at this stage 01 t f b the game i iThe it The army command was wa lo located o o. o within operating distance of t r l' the Japanese task force M Magnuson Mag g. g f ft nuson said I r have bave information that It was notified soon slUr aft r the Dutch Harbor attack thai that J navy flying boats ha had hadi I Japanese carrier under continual continUa r observation and that they w were were e waiting for the arrival of l land nd 3 base aircraft to make the kilL n r I The army command however I believed its orders were not sufficiently broad to warrant sending out a bombing force at this phase of the battle without definite I lit lit- Japs Made Escape L As a result army planes i re mamed on the ground and beta befort naval authorities could straighter straighten d the matter out the Japs had slipped a away from observation 1 n Later the army did succeed J making contact but not under favorable circumstances as thi the might have bave found if the res pOll Jt e had bad been earlier f lilt Army and navy officers j i tk Alaska are now working in close uge ge cooperation he said S 1 et The naval command itself h Ut f been greatly strengthened wl WI iy I a anew new blood and experience Co Conf Poe are better our bas ba ri are rounding rapidly into shap a and all the time I 1 was there fg II never heard the word defens mentioned once Situation Not Alarming 1 7 FJ Magnuson who only a f ie fe weeks ago was in active n fl J with the navy as a lieutenant com cost commander mander said he felt the JEG situation was serious serious but jet net alarming and that the navy the battle battie of Alaska and the Ales Aleu eras well In hand I Of the battle in m the bol Aleutians he said Its like two small boys facing ice each other across a river Neither one of them has a boat and can cant can't ar 4 get to the other so they throw stones They occasionally hit on another but not enough to put either one out of the fight Rt