Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1944, China, Volume VI

123 Ludden, Raymond

The Secretary of War (Stimson) to the Acting Secretary of State

Washington, November 22, 1944.
[Received November 24.]

Dear Mr. Secretary: I refer again to your letter of November 8, 1944²¹ in regard to the release of three of the four Foreign Service Officers who have been attached to the United States Army Forces in China, Burma and India.

Your need for the restoration of these officers to regular foreign service duty is very evident. It was presented in full to Generals Sultan and Wedemeyer, the Commanding Generals of the India–Burma and of the China Theaters, respectively, and their views on the matter have now been received.

Unfortunately the only officer who, it appears, can be spared is Mr. Ludden, and General Wedemeyer indicates his regret at losing his services. Nevertheless when he returns from the field in approximately two months General Wedemeyer states that in accordance with your request Mr. Ludden will be given prompt air transportation to Washington.

As for Messrs. Davies, Service and Emmerson, who, as you know, are all detailed for duty in China, General Wedemeyer indicates that it is his conviction that unless these three officers are retained, military activities will be hampered. I therefore hope that their assignment to the China Theater need not be changed.

There is no political adviser assigned to the India–Burma Theater at the present time. General Sultan speaks of the former China–Burma–India Theater as having been full of political complexities and of your Foreign Service Officers having been an indispensable link with the State Department in connection therewith, as well as of the superior manner in which they performed their duties. Being without a political adviser not only would hamper our military activities, he states, but the British, who have a regularly assigned political adviser at Southeast Asia Command Headquarters and thoroughly understand such a position, would not comprehend General Sultan’s having to secure advice from the American Mission in New Delhi. On the basis of the assignment of a really qualified political adviser to the India–Burma Theater being a necessity, he earnestly requests that Mr. Max Waldo Bishop²² be assigned by the State Department to the India–Burma Theater. At the same time he appreciates your need for having the services of all possible Foreign Service officers and will keep the situation constantly in mind so that as soon as the need for a political adviser is at an end this will be reported.

I am very aware of how great your need is to have as many of your Foreign Service officers as possible returned to regular duty. At the same time, these two theaters (India–Burma and China) have the most unusual political problems confronting them constantly, and your help in the matter is a real necessity.

In view of the above I trust that the request of General Sultan to have Mr. Max Waldo Bishop assigned to the India–Burma Theater, and General Wedemeyer’s desire to retain Messrs. Davies, Service and Emmerson in the China Theater can be acceded to.²³

Sincerely yours,

Henry L. Stimson

21. Not printed, but see memorandum of November 3, by the Chief of the Division of Chinese Affairs, p. 187.
22. Consul at Colombo.
23. In telegram No. 2064, December 26, 8 a.m., from the Appointed Ambassador in China (Hurley), John P. Davies, Jr., reported General Wedemeyer’s agreement to release him for assignment to the Embassy in the Soviet Union (123 Davies, John).