393.115 China National Aviation Company/22: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Japan (Grew)
298. Your 554, August 25, 6 p.m., and 555, August 25, 9 p.m.66 On the basis of Hong Kong’s August 25, 10 a.m., and August 25, 1 p.m.,66 please present a formal note to the Foreign Office in regard to the attack on the CNAC67 plane. You may state that the attack upon the plane has aroused public feeling in this country. You should point out with reference to the attack in question that not only was the life of an American national directly imperiled but loss was also occasioned to American property interests as the Pan American Airways has a very substantial (45 percent) interest in the CNAC. Please also call special attention to the following points in the account of pilot Wood: the CNAC plane was pursued by Japanese planes which started machine-gunning; after the CNAC plane had successfully landed it was followed down by Japanese pursuit planes which continued to machine-gun it until it had sunk; and when pilot Wood started swimming across the river he was followed by one of the Japanese planes which continued to machine-gun him. You should express the emphatic objection of this Government to the jeopardizing in this way of the lives of American as well as other [Page 452] non-combatant occupants of unarmed civilian planes engaged in clearly recognized and established commercial services over a regularly scheduled air route.
You may in your discretion orally mention that a high official in the American Foreign Service (Mr. Peck68) had planned to take passage from Hong Kong to Hankow on the same plane on August 26.
Please telegraph the Department the time of presentation and text of your note to the Foreign Office,69 adding such comment in regard to your call at the Foreign Office as you feel would be helpful.
Repeated to Chungking.