740.00119 Pacific War/10–345
The Under Secretary of State (Acheson) to Representative Hugh De Lacy 75
My Dear Mr. De Lacy: I have received your letter of October 3, 1945,76 in which you express concern over the sending of United States [Page 578] Marines to north China and inquire as to the policy which prompts the despatch of our Marines to that area.
The movements in and to China of United States armed forces, including Marines, are being carried out in pursuance of instructions of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The purpose of these movements is to assist the Chinese authorities in the task of concentrating, disarming and repatriating the Japanese in China. It is estimated that this operation will ultimately involve the repatriation from China to Japan of approximately four million Japanese, about half of whom are members of the enemy armed forces and the remainder enemy civilians. It was clear that the number of United States armed forces in China at the time of the Japanese surrender was insufficient to cope with this immense task and that the lack of transportation from west to east China was an insuperable obstacle to its accomplishment. It was for these reasons, therefore, that elements of the United States Marines, who were available in nearby areas, were sent to north China. The utilization of United States Marines in north China is expected to speed up materially completion of the task of concentrating, disarming and repatriating the Japanese in north China. I think it will be clear that the sooner we and our Chinese allies are able to complete our task, the sooner the members of our armed forces will be enabled to return to the United States.
I should like to assure you that our armed forces are in China not for the purpose of assisting any Chinese faction or group, but for the purpose which I have set forth above.
Thank you for your courtesy in writing. Please feel free to let me have the benefit of your views at any time.
Sincerely yours,