795.00/5–251
Memorandum by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Merchant)1
Late in the afternoon of April 27, Admiral Lalor2 came to see Mr. Matthews with an urgent Top Secret dispatch to General Ridgway for clearance. The dispatch was in reply to one just received from General Ridgway in which he requested authority for aerial reconnaissance over Manchuria and delegation to him of authority to institute retaliatory bombing of certain bases in Chinese territory in the event of a massive air attack on his forces.3 Mr. Matthews called in Mr. Nitze and myself, and after a few minutes’ discussion with Admiral Lalor, the three of us went to the Secretary, being joined later by the Admiral. It developed that Mr. Lovett4 had discussed this exchange with the Secretary over the telephone but the Secretary received the distinct impression that the JCS reply related exclusively to the question of aerial reconnaissance. The Secretary thereupon telephoned Mr. Lovett, and later General Vandenberg, who in the absence of General Bradley from the city had signed the dispatch for the JCS. By arrangement, the Secretary and General Vandenberg met with the President later in the evening. Mr. Matthews informed me later in the evening that the Secretary had just telephoned him to say the dispatch had been forwarded to General Ridgway with the President’s approval but with the addition of a final paragraph which emphasized the vital necessity of informing Washington instantaneously if there were not opportunity for consultation with the JCS so that our allies could be informed and the risk of dissension on their part over the action would be minimized.
During the discussion in the Secretary’s office it was pointed out that the 14 Ambassadors at their semi-weekly consultation and briefing that very afternoon had had confirmed to them, in a discussion of this general subject, that the final decision on retaliation would be made in Washington. It was recognized that they should be promptly apprised of the fact that under certain circumstances General Ridgway would now be authorized to react without communication to Washington. It was agreed that it would be unwise to call a special meeting and it was [Page 400] further agreed that this slight change in the situation should be put to them in such fashion as to avoid needlessly arousing their apprehensions.
On Monday, April 30, Messrs. Nitze, Hickerson and Merchant spoke individually to the Ambassadors or Charges of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Belgium, The Philippines, France and The Netherlands, all of whom at one time or another had raised the question with the Department individually. All of them accepted this clarification of the position without any apparent disturbance or objection.
At the regular meeting of the 14 Ambassadors on May 1, Mr. Hickerson unostentatiously clarified this point for the benefit of the entire group. Again, no objection or serious discussion was thereby provoked.
- This memorandum was directed to the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Rusk), the Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs (Perkins), the Assistant Secretary of State for United Nations Affairs (Hickerson), the Director of the Policy Planning Staff (Nitze), the Deputy Under Secretary of State (Matthews), and the Executive Secretariat of the Department of State.↩
- Rear Adm. William G. Lalor (ret.), Secretary of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.↩
- See the exchange of messages between General Ridgway and the JCS, dated April 27 and 28, pp. 385 and 386.↩
- Robert A. Lovett, Deputy Secretary of Defense.↩