124.93/562
The Secretary of War (Stimson) to the Secretary of State
Dear Mr. Secretary: Political factors have proved to be of major importance in the prosecution of the war in the China–Burma–India Theater. Lieutenant General Joseph W. Stilwell, Commanding General of the U. S. Army Forces in that theater, is therefore urgently in need of having trained political observers assigned to his command to supplement the work done by his military intelligence.
General Stilwell has indicated the names of certain Foreign Service Officers who would be of assistance if sent to the theater for this purpose, as follows:
To be sent to the U. S. Embassy, Chungking, China for detail to the Commanding General, U. S. Army Forces, China–Burma–India:
- Raymond P. Ludden
- John S. Service
- John K. Emmerson
To be sent to the U. S. Mission at New Delhi for detail to the Commanding General, U. S. Army Forces, China–Burma–India:
- Kenneth C. Krentz
The duties of these officers would not only be to collect Chinese, Indian and Japanese information of interest to General Stilwell, but also to be of service to commanders in the field in matters affecting relations with the various Burmese factions, British colonial administrators, the Free Thais, the French in Indo-China and the Indo-Chinese.
Any assistance that you can give in connection with this matter will be greatly appreciated.81
Sincerely yours,
- In his letter of July 26, the Secretary of State replied that the War Department’s request for detail of Raymond P. Ludden, John S. Service, and John K. Emmerson was approved, but that Monroe B. Hall was substituted for Kenneth C. Krentz for reasons of health.↩