In the Philippines… On Luzon, units of the US 37th Division, part of US 1st Corps, reach Aparri, on the north coast. With the occupation of the whole of the Cagayan valley, the campaign for the recapture of the island is now effectively complete. The remaining Japanese forces are isolated in remote parts of Luzon and lack supplies or medical care.

In the Ryukyu Islands… The American carrier USS Bunker Hill is struck by a Kamikaze plane, killing 373 men.

In the Greater Sunda Islands… On Borneo, the preparatory naval bombardment, at Balikpapan, continues.

In the Soviet Union… Stalin is appointed to the new rank of Generalissimo.

In Liberated Czechoslovakia… Dr. Emil Hacha, the former president of the German sponsored “Bohemia-Moravia Protectorate,” dies in Prague prison hospital, at age 73, while awaiting trial.

In Washington… Edward Stettinius resigns as Secretary of State to take up the post of ambassador to the United Nations.