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This June day in 1942 offered a lot of sobering news regarding the War. RAF Bombers attacked the Ruhr and Rhineland areas of Germany with a reported 8 bombers not coming back. Meanwhile, fighting in Libya continued as German forces commanded by Erwin "Desert Fox" Rommel continued to frustrate Allied attempts at creating a second front. On the Eastern front, reports from came in from Moscow on fierce fighting around Sevastapol with the Russian Army hanging on and the people of Sevastopol moving underground to keep the effort going. The War in the Pacific was background to grim assessments by Australian Prime Minister John Curtin who warned listeners in a radio address that "Australia can be lost", and on the Middle East that the "news from Libya is not good". His remarks drew criticism for their pessimistic tone, but it was agreed the sentiments were ultimately grim but not defeatist.
The news from Australia didn't damper spirits on the Domestic U.S. Rubber Drive however, with Americans by the millions scouring garages, attics and back yards, collecting mountains of rubber tires, hoses and "anything that stretched". Utah claimed distinction of being the biggest collector of surplus rubber with Colorado pledging to rival Pike's Peak in mountains of worn-out tires. All of this was proof America was in the war and had no intention of quitting anytime. And FDR called for a Total Physical Fitness of America if it was going to win the war. He did call for closure of all "red-light districts" around Military bases and training camps, leading one to assume that wasn't the physical fitness he had in mind.
All this and World War 2 for June 17, 1942 as reported on the Red Network of NBC.
