News for this day in 1942 was anything but upbeat. The War in the Pacific had taken a much grimmer turn than was expected. With reports coming from Sydney Australia that, not only had Singapore fallen, but an invasion of Bali was imminent, as was Rangoon and heavy fighting had been going on in Burma and throughout the Dutch East Indies. Fears were now rife that, unless something happenened to stall the advances, an invasion of Australia was only a matter of time.

With Allied forces outnumbered on average of 10-15 to 1, finger pointing and laying blame were now in full bloom. Reports of excessive amounts of bungling, not only in miscalculating Japanese troop and air strength but mismanagement of Allied support were heard all over the Pacific region. From British fliers grounded over lack of orders to U.S. Naval gunners handed ammunition that had expired ten years earlier, the news was going from bad to worse and on-the-scene broadcast reports of the latest news were hard pressed to put an optimistic spin on any of it.

Meanwhile, a state of Martial Law had been declared in Hawaii with a total blackout and curfew being enforced as well as complete prohibition which had been in place since December 8th. Similar measures were being considered throughout the mainland U.S. and already mass internment of Japanese-Americans was taking place on the West Coast. News reports were quick to downplay the internment, saying it was strictly on "a volunteer basis", but reality proved otherwise. Likewise reports that what was going on in American cities was not to be considered Martial Law but a precaution against 5th Column activity and enemy raids, particularly on the West Coast. Even though blackouts and restricted civilian movement were heavily enforced.

On Capitol Hill, debate was underway regarding the War Powers Bill and appropriation of funds was being voted on to establish a Women's Army Corps.

And that's how it sounded, this February 21st in 1942. There are two broadcasts; one is a roundup of War news and the other is a special broadcast from Sydney, Australia by NBC Correspondent Martin Agronsky.

Not a terribly upbeat day, this February 15th in 1942. Seventy years ago the news was anything but optimistic for Allied forces fighting around the globe.

From Radio Tokyo came rumors the British forces in Singapore were asking the Japanese for an armistice, but no word of confirmation from London. Meanwhile, The Japanese were launching an offensive in Sumatra aimed at taking the oil fields in Palembang, which were the largest in the Far East and the main source for fueling Allied ships in the Pacific. The Dutch were readying destruction of the fields.

In Britain, further fears of a pending invasion were fueled by reports of the sighting of German warships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in the English Channel. Speculation had it the ships, largely unopposed, could provide cover for an invasion force as a sizable German fleet was now in the North Atlantic. For our part, it also fueled speculation that the Germans could conceivably stage a "prestige raid" of the East Coast of the U.S. since our navies were stretched way too thin to be effective. As one government official put it we were "fighting a two ocean war with a one ocean navy".

The only good news to be had came from the Eastern Front where Russian forces were pushing the Germans back to the old Polish border and had re-taken four towns in the process. German casualties were reported as heavy during this offensive.

All this had an alarming effect on Congress, who sent out calls for stepped up War production and an investigation as to why Synthetic Rubber production hadn't been increased before Pearl Harbor when just this scenario was considered. In the interim, a demand for the immediate conservation of rubber was issued as supplies were quickly drying up. And an investigation into the causes for the suspicious fire that destroyed the French Liner Normandie in New York was issued and a request the investigation not be handled by the Navy Department.

Labor was adding to the picture as some 600 workers at the nations biggest Aluminum production facility in Detroit went on strike over a demand for Sunday double-time pay.

All in all, a pretty dismal day (for a Sunday no less), this February 15, 1942 as reported by NBC Radio on their Weekend Roundup.

The news on this day in December in 1944 was all about Allied Advances. On the Western Front, General Patton's 3rd Army established a bridgehead at The Saar River. The 1st Army was advancing on the German frontier. The British 8th Army was busy advancing in Italy and capturing several towns along the way. Estimates the Germans had over 1/2 million troops poised for a counter-attack somewhere, but as of yet not known where. In the Pacific, the Philippines Invasion was plodding along. This morning's news report from the Pacific talked about mail delivery to the troops and the difficulties that entailed - but the mail was still getting through.

In Greece, rioting continued with a Civil War threatening. The British Army was trying to keep peace by keeping the warring parties away from each other, but that was looking easier said than done. And there was a shakeup and shuffling of positions and desks at the State Department.

All in all, a world deeply engrossed in the process of war, as reported on the NBC World News Roundup for the morning of December 5, 1944.

This post was slated for yesterday but got caught in the deluge of other news. Here are news reports for the day of December 1st 1944 with the war coming to, what was hoped, a swift conclusion. There was talk about it being over (at least in Europe) by the end of the month. But that was all before the last big German offensive started, known as The Battle of The Bulge, a few days after this broadcast.

Among other news were reports from the Pacific and the slow progress taking place there. And of course news of Capitol Hill where things are seemingly always in a state of struggle.

Just another day, only this one happened sixty-six years ago.