– News for August 25, 1945 – NBC Radio – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
News for August 25th in 1945 was about preparing for Allied Occupation forces set to land in Japan. Delayed over bad weather for two days, the Third Fleet was going ahead and was getting ready to sail into Sagami Bay, with troops scheduled to land in Tokyo some days later.
The decision to postpone landings was based on weather reports a Typhoon was heading to Tokyo and Sagami Bay was considered the best alternative.
Meanwhile, speculation over worsening relations between Argentina and the U.S. prompted many in diplomatic circles to point out that no replacement had been named to succeed exiting Ambassador Nelson Rockefeller, who resigned his post days earlier.
In Washington, the slow transition over to peacetime manufacturing was taking shape – even though Economic Stabilizer William H. Davis said all manufacturing plants seized by the government for the war effort weren’t going to be turned back over to peacetime use immediately, but over a period of time. This on the heels of an announcement from President Truman that all plants seized by the government for War manufacture would be turned back over to Private ownership as quickly as possible.
And the announcement that Veterans will be reaching civilian life at a faster rate in the very near future was greeted with a sigh of relief. Spokespeople for the Army said the discharge rate will rapidly increase, just as soon as it’s determined Japan will live up to the surrender terms. Those veterans with higher discharge points will be back in civilian life by November, while those with considerably fewer points will be sent to occupation duty.
Discussion on Postwar goals and aims was heating up on the Sunday interview shows. Opinion from Admiral R.S. Edwards, Deputy Commander of the U.S. Fleet was that control of the Western Atlantic and the entire Pacific ocean should be in American hands. He went on to say that control of the Pacific should be attained only if America used the islands which formerly gave Japan domination of the Pacific. However, Admiral Spruance, Commander of the 5th Fleet said it might not be wise to keep Okinawa as it could become a political sore spot with Japan. Navy Department officials were quick to point out that the two view expressed by Edwards and Spruance was not necessarily the opinion of the Department itself, and that details of the occupation plan were yet to be worked out.
And that’s a small slice of what went on this August 25th in 1945, as reported by NBC Radio.
