File No. 867.22/18
The Secretary of State to the French Ambassador ( Jusserand )
Excellency: In reply to Your Excellency’s note of the 12th of April last2 with further reference to the matter of permitting Armenians who have enlisted in the American Army to join their fellow countrymen in Cyprus to fight for the liberation of their co-religionists in Turkey as a part of the French contingent now being assembled in Cyprus, I have the honor to state that the War Department informs me that many of the Armenians in the American Army, who have declared their intention to become American citizens, now form a part of the United States forces, and that their removal from their present organizations can not be effected without seriously impairing the efficiency of the units with which they are connected by making unexpected replacements necessary and thus delaying the process of training.
[Page 891]With reference to Armenians who have not declared their intention to become American citizens, I beg to state that while the United States Government finds it impracticable to comply in form with so much of the request of the French Government as pertains to the actual transfer of such persons, it is able and willing to comply with it in substance by granting prompt discharges to all non-declarant Armenians on condition of their desire for discharge and their volunteering for service in the French Army. It is suggested that action by the War Department upon requests of your Government for the discharge of such Armenians would be greatly facilitated if the requests were accompanied by information as to the names of the persons and the numbers of their respective companies and regiments.
Accept [etc.]