Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense: Public Statements of the Secretary of Defense (Record Group 330)

These records consist of transcripts of the speeches and public statements of Secretaries of Defense James Forrestal, Louis Johnson, George Marshall, and Robert Lovett, from July 1947 to January 1953.

Size: 3 linear feet, 1 linear inch (about 5,600 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: Records created by U.S. Government employees in the course of their official duties are in the public domain.
Processed by: Philip D. Lagerquist (1969)
Updated by: Mary Louisa Williams (2013) as part of the Truman Library Internship Program.
Supervising Archivists: Randy Sowell and David Clark.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense (Record Group 330) was created in 1947, when the National Security Act combined the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Army, and the Department of the Air Force into the National Military Establishment (NME), under the Secretary of Defense. In 1949, further legislation transformed the NME into the Department of Defense.

This collection consists of seventeen bound volumes containing transcripts of the press releases, public statements, and speeches of four Secretaries of Defense: James Forrestal, Louis Johnson, George Marshall, and Robert Lovett, all of whom served during the Harry S. Truman Administration.

James Forrestal was appointed the first Secretary of Defense in September of 1947 and served until March of 1949. Included in the collection are his statements and press conference remarks, speeches advocating adequate resources for the United States armed forces, and other speeches before various organizations.

Louis Johnson was Secretary of Defense from April of 1949 to September of 1950. Included in this collection are his press conference remarks, statements in support of the North Atlantic Treaty, comments on the formation of the Department of Defense, and other speeches and press releases.

George Marshall was Secretary of Defense from September, 1950 to September, 1951. The collection includes his statements, transcripts of his radio broadcasts, several speeches to the American Red Cross, and speeches to other government agencies and civic organizations.

Robert Lovett was Secretary of Defense from September, 1951 to January, 1953. In this collection are his comments on the Universal Training Bill, defense appropriations, and the Mutual Security Act, in addition to other speeches and press releases.

These materials are duplicates of original records in the holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland.

The Truman Library also has the public statements of the Secretary of the Navy from 1945 to 1947 (Record Group 80) and the public statements of the Secretary of War from 1945 to 1947 (Record Group 107).