123 [Hurley, Patrick J.]
The Secretary of State to the Secretary of War (Stimson)
My Dear Mr. Secretary: Major General Patrick J. Hurley, who has been serving in China as the personal representative of the President, took his oath of office as Ambassador and assumed charge of the Embassy at Chungking on December 11, 1944.
General Hurley has suggested that he remain on the Army payroll for the present and that he retain his Army status in order to facilitate certain phases of the work he has been doing in China. However, the statutes are very clear on the subject, and General Hurley is being informed that it will be necessary for him to assume completely his diplomatic status. He will accordingly be considered as having transferred to the State Department service as of December 11, 1944, and his name will appear on the State Department payroll as of that date. It is understood that he has been transferred to the inactive rolls of the War Department.
Sincerely yours,