On Christmas Day Boeing Flying Fortresses made their first 1,120-mile round-trip flight from Guadalcanal to the Jap base at Rabaul. They hit one large ship, damaged three smaller ones. On the day after Christmas 26% of Boeing Airplane Co.'s employeswho had had Christmas Day offnever showed up.
That startling statistic is not startling to the operators of most U.S. war plants it is too typical. In Detroit on the day after Christmas one large auto plant engaged in vital war production had 3,000 welders A.W.O.L., which cut production 70%; in California 11,000 Douglas Aircraft workers (12% of the total payroll)...
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