Office of the Historian

810.20 Defense/1802: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Peru (Norweb)

Washington, December 20, 1941—noon.

540. From the Under Secretary.2 I have just received the following urgent message from General Marshall, Chief of Staff:

  • “1. The military situation now requires the support of Naval reconnaissance by long range Army land-based aircraft operating off the Pacific end of the Panama Canal.
  • 2. For this reason the War Department requests the Department of State, obtain from Peru at the earliest practicable date permission for Army aircraft to use Peruvian airports and their facilities in the Talara area and to station and maintain there, if desired, small Air Corps detachments in uniform, for servicing our planes and providing them with communication and weather data.
  • 3. If granted, Peru will derive the benefit of the incidental protection thus afforded the Talara petroleum installation.”

Please have this matter taken up as promptly as possible with the appropriate Peruvian authorities and telegraph me the reply which may be made.

In view of the statements made by General Ureta to your Military Attaché,3 as reported in your telegram of December 18,4 it may be that you will feel it desirable to have this question taken up, at least initially, with the General by the Military Attaché. [Welles.]

Hull
  1. Sumner Welles.↩
  2. Lt. Col. Uzal G. Ent↩
  3. Not printed.↩