394.115 Panay/148
Memorandum by the Secretary of State
The Japanese Ambassador called upon his own request and proceeded to say that the reports reaching his Government indicated that neither the Panay nor any of its survivors were fired upon by Japanese military boats with machine guns. He had no particular facts, and before he got through I said that there was evidently no question about the fact that two of such military motorboats did fire on the Panay, and some of their crew then boarded the Panay; that we have incontrovertible proof to that effect.
The Ambassador then backed away from this phase and spoke a few words to me which he asked to be kept off the record. I did not interpret them as of any particular significance or importance. They related to one of his officials.
I said that if Army and Navy officials in this country were to act as the Japanese had over there, our Government would quickly court martial and shoot them, and I was wondering whether his Government would take charge of this military situation and deal with it or whether it would not; that I was saying this in the interest of everybody concerned. The Ambassador endeavored to indicate his concurrence in the sentiments I was expressing.
He then said that the Navy at Shanghai had undertaken to correct the statement of the Ambassador to me some days ago to the effect that the whereabouts of the Panay had been made known in advance to the proper Japanese military and naval officials; that in point of fact the latter did not receive such notice on the occasion of this trip of the Panay up the river. I replied that it must have been difficult, in the first place, for the proper Japanese officials not to know that the Panay had left from in front of Nanking and retired up the river for some distance; that that was not a matter of the same importance it would have been if the reported order of the Japanese to fire on all vessels in the Yangtze had not been in operation; that in any event the officials of the United States Government at Nanking and on the [Page 530] Panay had sought at all times to make known in advance its movements to the appropriate Japanese officials at Nanking, Shanghai and Tokyo, according to my present recollection.
I again expressed astonishment at the occurrence and again referred to the question of whether these wild, runaway, half-insane Army and Navy officials were going to be properly dealt with.