093.612/25
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador of the Soviet Union (Gromyko)
My Dear Mr. Ambassador: I wish to refer to your notes of September 6 and October 1147 regarding the desire of the Soviet Government to award a number of orders and medals to outstanding members of the armed forces and the Merchant Marine of the United States.
As I informed you on September 9, the Department submitted the matter to the appropriate military authorities of the United States Government for their approval. The Department has now received replies from the War and Navy Departments and the War Shipping Administration in which are contained lists of the Army, Navy, and Merchant Marine personnel who have been nominated to receive the awards so kindly offered by your Government. I am enclosing herewith copies of these lists.48
The Department will communicate with the Embassy in the near future regarding the arrangements which will be made for the presentation of the awards.49
Sincerely yours,
- Neither printed; in the latter note the Soviet Government, in response to an inquiry of September 30, specified the orders and classes of medals it proposed to confer upon 25 men of the U.S. Army and Air Forces, upon 15 men of the Navy, and upon 10 officers and seamen of the Merchant Marine (093.612/26).↩
- Not printed.↩
- A further delay ensued in the presentation of the Soviet awards to United States personnel, while the policy of their acceptance was considered and the possible appropriate recipients were designated. The first awards were conferred on April 11, 1944.↩