795.00/2–2752
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Johnson)
Subject:
- U.S. Position on Forcible Repatriation of Prisoners of War
Participants:
- The President
- Mr. Acheson—Secretary of State
- Mr. Lovett—Secretary of Defense
- Mr. Snyder—Secretary of the Treasury
- Gen. Vandenberg—Chief of Staff, Air Force
- Admiral Fechteler—Chief of Naval Operations
- General Hull—Department of Defense
- Mr. Matthews—G, Department of State
- Mr. Johnson—FE, Department of State
Following the Secretary’s return from Lisbon this morning, a meeting of the foregoing persons was held at the White House to discuss a telegram just received from General Ridgway urgently requesting the final U.S. Government position on the question of exchange of prisoners of war.1 Except for Admiral Fechteler, all those present expressed themselves in favor of the U.S. not accepting any armistice agreement which would require forcible repatriation of prisoners of war held by the UNC who had violently opposed such repatriation and whose lives would be jeopardized if they were returned to the Communists. Admiral Fechteler expressed the view that from the purely military standpoint it was important that no position be adopted which would give the impression that the U.S. was abandoning to the Communists U.S. prisoners held by them in favor of the lives of persons captured while fighting against our forces. Admiral Fechteler, however, expressed the view that the question also involved larger issues of a broad political nature and that the decision was therefore primarily one for the President and the Secretary of State. General Vandenberg expressed the view, with which there was general agreement, that the policy of not agreeing to forcible repatriation should be carried out in an unmistakable manner by quickly removing from the POW camps and POW status those individuals who could be expected violently to resist repatriation, whereupon we would offer to the Communists to enter into an all-for-all exchange on the basis of the revised lists of POWs. In reply to a question Mr. Matthews stated that we had consulted with our key allies (U.K., the participating Commonwealth countries, and France) concerning our position on forcible repatriation, and that although sufficient time had now elapsed for them to do so, none of them had indicated [Page 69] any disagreement with our position on this question. In connection with discussion of possible Communist retaliation against UN prisoners, Mr. Johnson pointed out that in the opinion of GHQ, Tokyo, which he shared, there was a considerable number (possibly not less than 532 regarding whom there was some definite information and possibly somewhat more) Americans alive and in the hands of the Communists and not included in the lists of prisoners received from the Communists.
The President expressed his decision that the final U.S. position should be that the U.S. would not agree to forcible repatriation of POWs and that State and Defense should draft appropriate instructions to General Ridgway for the President’s approval.
Note: At 1:30 p.m. a meeting was held with the JCS at which Mr. Matthews, Mr. Bohlen, Mr. Johnson, General Vandenberg, Admiral Fechteler and General Hull were present, at which a telegram to General Ridgway on the subject was discussed and agreed to. The message was subsequently approved by the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State and by the President and was despatched as JCS 902159.2
At the same meeting with the JCS, telegrams to General Ridgway on the subject of Communist nomination of the Soviet Union as a member of the neutral supervisory organ and a reply to General Ridgway’s telegram CX 64241 of February 253 concerning ROK attacks on armistice negotiations were discussed and agreed to and subsequently approved by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense and the President and despatched as JCS 9021604 and JCS 9021585 respectively.