890F.20 Mission/5–445
The Minister in Saudi Arabia (Eddy) to the Secretary of State
Sir: I have the honor to report upon a visit to Taif to attend the graduation of the third class of ninety Saudi Arabian officers, which constituted at the same time the final public review, of the U.S. Army Military Mission at Taif, Hejaz, Saudi Arabia, April 30, 1945.
Accompanied by Foreign Service clerks Carl E. Forkel and Roland T. Morel, Mr. Karl Twitchell of the Saudi Arabian Mining Syndicate, Mr. Clifford Lee of the Arabian American Oil Co., and Mr. Maynard Owen Williams of the National Geographic Magazine, I left Jidda by jeep and command car at 11:00 a.m., Sunday, April 29, arriving at Taif soon after sunset. The Acting Viceroy, Amir Mansour Ibn Abdul Aziz,91 had insisted on sending three sedans from Mecca to transport to Taif officers whom Colonel Shomber92 expected from AMET93 Headquarters, and representatives of the American Legation. Having heard nothing at the Legation about the coming of officers, nor their number if they did come, we proceeded with the local army cars, leaving the sedans for the visitors if and when they might arrive. None came, and after waiting all day and half the next, the three sedans returned to Mecca.
No one who attended the exercises could have any doubt of the professional success of the U.S. Army Military Mission of Instruction, nor of the gratitude and goodwill they have earned for themselves, for the U. S. Army, and for the United States. By contrast, the British Mission, having exhausted their display of wares in a single public exercise in February, folded up recently and left Taif without any ceremony. This third and final graduation of a class at the American Military Mission showed remarkable progress over the excellent performance at the first graduation which I also attended and which was reported to the Department in Report No. 3 of October 16, 1944.94
The exercises began formally at 9:00 a.m., Monday, April 30, with the arrival of the guest of honor and reviewing officer, Amir Mansour Ibn Abdul Aziz, Acting Viceroy of the Hejaz, as well as Minister of Defense for Saudi Arabia. Brief addresses were made by the American Minister (in Arabic), by Mr. Twitchell, by the Commanding [Page 889] Officer of the Mission, Colonel Garrett B. Shomber (both in English and translated by Captain Mossawir), and by Amir Mansour (in Arabic, translated and repeated in English by one of his Arabian liaison aides). The prince’s remarks will be commented on below.
Most impressive was the snappy, alert, intelligent performance of the cadet officers themselves, who (in marked contrast to the British parade in February conducted mostly by British enlisted men) conducted the exercises, explained and demonstrated the arms and technical equipment, and demonstrated accurate fire and field manoeuvres without prompting by their U.S. instructors. The pride which they took in the execution of assignments augurs well for the permanent influence of the Mission upon the morale as well as the efficiency of the Saudi Arabian army.
At the conclusion of the firing demonstration of machine guns, Amir Mansour left his reviewing stand to fire the 50 calibre machine gun himself, in the presence of the throng of Arabian courtiers and officers, and in full view of the many hundreds of native spectators who, like a carpet of many colored heather, covered the hills that lie in a semicircle just behind the camp. It was expected that he would fire a few rounds only, but he would not stop until he had riddled the targets 500 yards away with repeated volleys. His enthusiasm for the machine gun was contagious and spread to the crowd who took great and vocal pride in his marksmanship.
After the exercises, I made my official call on the prince at his palace in Taif, accompanied by Colonel Shomber and my fellow Americans from Jidda. When we attempted to excuse ourselves after the conventional conversation, coffee and lemonade, the prince refused to let us go and, in the presence of many of his official household, repeated with obvious sincerity sentiments he had expressed in his address at the opening of the exercises, which may be summarized as follows:
“I want you and the U.S. Army to know that we can never express adequately the debt we owe to Colonel Shomber and his staff. It is not only that they have introduced many scores of our officers to the use of the best instruments of modern warfare, thereby contributing to the defense of Saudi Arabia, and equipping us to defend our realm as never before. There is a personal achievement even more remarkable: from living and working with Colonel Shomber and his staff, our officers have acquired ambition to improve, a sense of discipline and therefore of greater loyalty, and a professional instinct and inclination which is already transforming our army wherever these graduates go. I know whereof I speak, for, as Minister of Defense, I observe my army officers. Those who have gone out from previous classes under Colonel Shomber are teaching these professional benefits to their fellows, both deliberately and also unconsciously. Colonel Shomber’s good work for us is not coming to an end; it is only beginning.”
Inasmuch as I am one of the few Americans who have visited the Mission at Taif, and one of the even fewer who have observed it at [Page 890] first hand from the beginning, I am glad to make this testimony, given by the prince, a matter of record.
The prince insisted on lending us his personal Ford sedan and chauffeur for the return trip to Jidda. We left Taif at 5:00 a.m., May 1, and arrived at Jidda at 11:30.
Respectfully yours,
[In a note of May 6, the day on which the American Military Mission left Saudi Arabia, the Minister of Defense expressed to the Minister in Saudi Arabia the appreciation of the Army and Government for the work done by the Mission. A copy of the Minister of Defense’s letter was transmitted to the Department in despatch 126, May 16, 1945. (890F. 20 Mission/5–1645).]
- Son of King Ibn Saud, who was Saudi Arabian Minister of Defense.↩
- Col. Garrett B. Shomber, Commanding Officer of the United States Army Military Mission in Saudi Arabia.↩
- Africa-Middle East Theater, known prior to March 1, 1945, as United States Army Forces in the Middle East.↩
- Not printed; it was reported that the first graduation ceremonies took place on October 11, 1944 (890F.20 Mission/10–1644). In despatch 59, January 27, 1945, the Chargé in Saudi Arabia (Geier) gave the details of the second graduation exercises, which took place at Taif on January 14, 1945 (890F.20 Missions/1–2745).↩