Office of the Historian

811.42793/489

The Secretary of the Navy (Knox) to the Secretary of State

Washington, November 24, 1941.

Sir: As a result of your letter of November 21, 1941, RC, the Navy Department sent a despatch to the Commander-in-Chief of the Asiatic Fleet50 stating that ten to twelve members of the Chinese Faculty of the College of Chinese Studies, are to be brought to California, and that names of individuals may be obtained from Reverend Earle H. Ballou, Peking. It was further suggested that they be brought to Manila on the transport which evacuates the Marines from Peking51 and that they be given further transportation where practicable, subject to the usual reimbursement for subsistence. It was stated that the Navy Department is interested in this project in order to provide a continuance of Chinese language instruction.

Respectfully,

Frank Knox
  1. Adm. Thomas C. Hart, U. S. N.↩
  2. The U. S. Marines from Peiping were taken prisoner by Japanese military forces in China before they could sail to Manila.↩