Office of the Historian

793.94/16933a: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Japan (Grew)

Washington, October 11, 1941—5 p.m.

650. Reference previous telegrams in regard to damage to the Tutuila and Embassy staff residence at Chungking during air raid of July 30.

1. The Department desires that you address a note to the Foreign Office in which, after making appropriate reference to the assurances conveyed to the Department by the Japanese Ambassador on July 31 in regard to indemnification to be made for damages sustained by the U. S. S. Tutuila and the American Embassy at Chungking as a result of Japanese aerial bombing, you inform the Foreign Office that the Navy Department has advised the Department that the damages sustained by the U. S. S. Tutuila are in the total sum of Twenty-seven Thousand Forty-five Dollars and Seventy-eight Cents ($27,045.78), United States currency.51

2. For your information the above-mentioned sum contains items of damage classified as follows, in the amounts specified:

(a)
United States Government: Twenty-five Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty-four Dollars and Thirty-eight Cents ($25,754.38).
(b)
U. S. S. Tutuila wardroom mess: Five Dollars ($5.00).
(c)
Commissioned personnel of the U. S. S. Tutuila: Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00).
(d)
Crew members of the U. S. S. Tutuila: Two Hundred Eighty-six Dollars and Forty Cents ($286.40).
(e)
Dry-docking charges: Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00).

The above itemized classification should not be transmitted to the Foreign Office unless such a statement is requested, in which case you may supply it in the form of an unofficial letter.

3. You may add that the Department has not yet received from the Embassy at Chungking a statement in regard to Embassy property damaged or destroyed as a result of Japanese aerial bombing, but that as soon as such a statement is available the Foreign Office will be informed.

Sent to Tokyo via Shanghai. Repeated to Peiping and Chungking.

Hull
  1. In telegram No. 1670, Oct. 22, 1941 (793.94/16953), Ambassador Grew reported that with regard to the Department’s telegram No. 650, a note dated October 20 had been sent to the Foreign Office.↩