Radio Tokyo announced the Americans had lost six aircraft carriers off Leyte. Nobody believes it of course, but a task force there explains the failure of the last-ditch Japanese plan to reinforce Leyte. The eighth Japanese convoy, 13 to 14 ships including 4 large transports of 8,000 to 10,000 tons, planned to land on Ormoc on December 7 while their airborne troops attacked the Burauen airfields. The Americans, however, had their own plans that day: a landing just south of Ormoc near Albuera with air support from the task force. Finding themselves under air attack, the Japanese transports made a dash for the beaches, where they were destroyed. MacArthur "conservatively" estimated Japanese casualties at 4,000.

Notwithstanding this debacle, the Japanese tried again on the following day with a convoy of 21 small ships, the largest estimated at 1,500 tons, and again the Americans destroyed most of the vessels. While all this was going on, American troops at Limon and Albuera advanced toward Ormoc. The news all day today was that it had fallen.

Our House: We haven't heard from the Embassy for two days. They originally offered us a house at Santa Mesa Heights, a lonely house I'm told. The joke now is that residents there are beginning to get the gate.

A rumor that Swiss residents of Baguio are being kicked out suggests the Japanese might put up a fight there. The belief is Yamashita will will set up his headquarters in Tarlac. Getting kicked out of Baguio would involve horrendous transportation expenses. Alcohol is scarcer than gasoline, which is still available in small quantities — stolen from the Japanese by "entrepreneurs." Manny Sotelo is using Aviation Blue for his trip. The trick is to mix-in some alcohol to disguise the scent. Incidentally, he's now overdue so the family is worried.