394.115 Panay/124: Telegram
The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 17—7:23 a.m.]
647. Department’s 350, December 16, 1 p.m. I have just carried out your instructions at noon today and after oral representations I left with the Minister for Foreign Affairs an aide-mémoire precisely and fully embodying the contents of your telegram. I talked to Hirota in the strongest possible way regarding the seriousness of the facts presented, which beyond peradventure disprove the allegation that a mistake had been made in bombing the Panay, and the seriousness with which my Government regarded this new evidence. I pointed out that according to this evidence Japanese naval and military forces were [Page 529] both clearly guilty of deliberate attack carried out from points from which there could be no question whatsoever as to the visibility of the colors flying from the American ship. I read the aide-mémoire textually to the Minister, informing him that I would later communicate such further facts as might come to our attention.
Hirota said that he was totally unaware of the facts which I had presented and that he would immediately take up the matter with the naval and military authorities. He was visibly upset by the facts communicated and the gravity of the manner in which I presented them.