DEPARTMENT OF STATE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
January 12, 1951
MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD
Meeting in the Cabinet Room at 10:30 A.M. with the following present:
The President Secretary Acheson Secretary Marshall The four Joint Chiefs of Staff The three Service Secretaries Mr. Symington Admiral Souers Mr. Matthews Mr. Lay Mr. Wilson Mr. Rusk Secretary Snyder Mr. Jessup
General Marshall read aloud the incoming telegram from General MacArthur. He then said that the Joint Chiefs particularly wanted to ascertain at first hand the state of the morale of our forces and proposed that General Collins and General Vandenberg leave for Tokyo this afternoon at 2:00 o'clock. Meanwhile, the Joint Chiefs wish to send a message to MacArthur which General Marshall read aloud.
Secretary Acheson pointed out that the message did not seem wholly clear in some respects and General Bradley and General Collins undertook to explain the meaning of the message. General Collins said that the question was not on a decision to evacuate or not to evacuate but of the timing of the issuance of orders to begin the evacuation.
Secretary Acheson said he understood from these explanations that it was the intention of the message to conform to the views expressed by the President in his talks with Mr. Attlee. He suggested that it might be desirable to give General MacArthur more information on the political bases of American policy.
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General Collins and Admiral Sherman argued for the separation of military and political questions.
The President referred to an estimate which had just been given him by the CIA which he thought was very helpful. He repeated the view which he had expressed to Mr. Attlee that he was unwilling to abandon the South Koreans to be murdered.
General Collins and General Bradley summarized the proposals they had in mind for the evacuation of the ROK forces and the prisoners of war, including the use of Cheju-do Island.
Secretary Snyder wondered whether a representative of the State Department should be sent to Tokyo with Collins and Vandenberg to explain political aspects to General MacArthur.
Secretary Acheson thought it would be unnecessary to do this. He then referred to the possibility of leaving some ROK forces on other islands and peninsulas along the Korean coasts in order to develop opportunities for learning effective methods of counter guerrilla and other unconventional types of warfare which could harass the Chinese Communists.
General Collins thought that Cheju-do Island would suffice for this purpose.
The President indicated general approval of the idea of arranging for appropriate evacuation of these forces but said that he did not want to pass on the operational details.
There was then discussion of General Bedell Smith's proposal to go to Japan and the President approved his plan to go at once. General Smith said they had facilities for doing the kind of thing which Secretary Acheson had suggested. The President also approved the trip of General Collins and General Vandenberg and initialed the message to General MacArthur.
Philip C. Jessup Ambassador at Large
Copy to: The Secretary Mr. Matthews Mr. Rusk
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