And ironically, March 23rd in 1945 was a Friday too. But on that particular Friday the news was moving very fast. Even while this newscast was on the air, reports came in that Allied troops had crossed the Rhine and events were moving faster than they could be reported.
So most of the news on this day was about the Allied advances into Germany with cautions not to break out in celebration just yet - there was still some 300 miles to go until Berlin and it promised to be no picnic.
In other news, there was still the Pacific and fighting there was continuing. Reports came in of massive air raids over Tokyo which succeeded in destroying some 20% of that city's industrial capacity, at least for three months, and further reports of devastating raids on Japanese air bases, destroying some 731 planes in three days.
On Capitol Hill - Congress voted overwhelmingly to extend the Draft, with not a single "no" vote to be had. The State Department reported that it had given the upcoming UN Meeting in San Francisco a special name. From this day in 1945 on it would be known as The United Nations Conference Of International Organizations.
And the Senate voted overwhelmingly against confirmation of Aubrey Williams to the post of Rural Electrification Administrator.
But the news on this day was predominately about the War and its progress and the cautious optimism that went along with it.
And so ended that week in 1945, as reported on The NBC Alka-Seltzer News Of The World for March 23rd.
