June 13, 1944

The Times reports the death of pilot Maj. Joseph D.R. Shaffer, 26, of Long Beach, who received the Silver Star and the  Distinguished Service Cross for shooting down a Nazi bomber near Reykjavik — the first German plane downed by an American in the European theater. Shaffer was killed in a plane accident over Salisbury, England, officials say. Pilot Elza Shahan also received the Silver Star for attacking the German plane on the same mission with Shaffer.

Howard Whitman of the New York News files a delayed report on German atrocities during the D-Day invasion. Troops told Whitman that Nazi troops executed captured Americans by shooting them point-blank in the face. Other Americans had their throats slit by German troops.

Columnist Tom Treanor, who will be killed in August in a jeep accident during the liberation of France, files a radio broadcast on the invasion.

One of the sights I saw was a little group of German prisoners walking peaceably down a little side lane guarded by a soldier with a fixed bayonet. They looked tired, dirty and generally without spunk. Here, as elsewhere, they certainly fought hard before they surrendered.

In the theaters: “Are These Our Parents” with Lyle Talbot and  Helen Vinson. Produced by — hey it’s Donald Wolfe’s stepfather Jeffrey Bernerd!