Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950, Korea, Volume VII

315.8/7–850

Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State for United Nations Affairs (Hickerson) to the Secretary of State

secret

[Washington,] July 8, 1950.

I refer to General Bradley’s telephone call to you today about that part of the President’s statement directing General MacArthur, pursuant to the Security Council resolution, to use the United Nations flag.¹

The Security Council resolution which was passed yesterday (copy of which is attached)² was cleared by me through General Burns’ office, with the Department of Defense, including the JCS and Secretary Johnson. You will recall that the resolution recommended that Members providing forces and assistance make these available to a unified command under the United States; requested the United States to designate the commander of such forces; and authorized the unified command (that is, the United States) at its discretion to use the UN flag.

The UN Secretariat yesterday afternoon urged upon us action by the President as early as possible today designating a commander and carrying out the terms of the resolution.

My associates in UNA and I drafted the press statement you took to the President this morning, a copy of which is attached for ready reference. I regarded this press statement as a completely routine announcement to give effect to a fully agreed resolution. As soon as it came off the typewriter I telephoned General Burns’ office and read it to Captain Murdaugh who had a stenographer take it down. I told Murdaugh that I didn’t think it required Defense clearance, and he said he was inclined to agree but that he would give it to Under Secretary Early³ and the JCS for information. A little later, while you were still at the White House, Captain Murdaugh telephoned me and said that Under Secretary Early “thought the statement was fine” and that he had sent the statement in to a JCS meeting and had heard nothing adverse from them. He said Secretary Johnson was in West Virginia and that he would not telephone him about the statement since he was sure Secretary Johnson would be in accord.

About the same time General Bradley called me on the telephone and said that he thought the President’s statement should “authorize” rather than “direct” General MacArthur.⁴ I replied that the Security Council resolution authorized the U.S. Government to use the UN flag in these operations and in my opinion the President should direct General MacArthur to do this. I added that this was a press release and not military instructions to General MacArthur and that we assumed that the Defense Department would send General MacArthur military instructions giving him such discretionary authority in the application of this directive as they considered advisable from the military standpoint. When General Bradley seemed doubtful about this I suggested he call the White House and give his views about the statement to the President.

I emphasized the fact that we drafted a press release announcing the President’s acceptance of an agreed resolution of the Security Council. This press release should not in any way be a substitute for the required military instructions to General MacArthur, nor should it limit the form or scope of such instructions.

I am sorry General Bradley was unhappy about this. For the reasons stated in this memorandum I do not think there were grounds for his unhappiness, nor do I think our procedure in this matter was incorrect. If, however, our procedure was in any way incorrect I was, of course, entirely responsible for this and no one in the Department other than I should be blamed.

1. The statement, issued by President Truman on July 8, designated General MacArthur as Commanding General of the U.N. military forces in Korea; for the text, see Department of State Bulletin, July 17, 1950, p. 83. General MacArthur formally established the U.N. Command with Headquarters in Tokyo and assumed the role of Commander in Chief, United Nations Command (CINCUNC) in an order issued on July 25; see U.N. document S/1629.
2. Ante, p. 329.
3. Stephen T. Early, Deputy Secretary of Defense.
4. The President’s statement directed General MacArthur, pursuant to the Security Council resolution, to use the U.N. flag concurrently with the flags of the various participating nations.