795.00/1–3051
Memorandum of Telephone Conversation, by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Merchant)
Subject: Statement made by General MacArthur
| Participants: | Mr. Hubert Graves, British Embassy |
| Mr. Livingston T. Merchant, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Far Eastern Affairs |
Mr. Graves told me that the Embassy had received a telegram from London indicating considerable disturbance over General MacArthur’s remarks reported yesterday from Tokyo, to the effect that the battle would continue for free Asia.1 The Embassy was instructed to ascertain from the Department what significance should be attached to this statement. I told Mr. Graves that he could assure London that the policy of the U.S. Government with respect to Korea, with which he was intimately familiar, had not changed one iota and that the particular phrase which he quoted should be regarded as a mere form of words. Quite obviously this was just the answer which Mr. Graves sought and I suspect he had already dictated his response to London. He did, however, go on to remark on the general feeling in London that broad statements with political overtones seemed somewhat improper for emanation from the UN Commander, which remark I allowed to drop.
-
On January 29, the American Embassy in London had transmitted the following message to the Department of State in telegram 4174:
“This morning’s London Telegraph carries story by correspondent in Korea in which SCAP, on arrival at Suwon, is quoted as stating to General Ridgway: ‘This is exactly where I came in 7 months ago to start this crusade. The stake we fight for now, however is more than Korea—it is a free Asia’.
“During Cabinet meeting this morning considerable time was devoted to discussion of implications SCAP statement. Deliberations understood to be based on possibility SCAP had in mind utilization Chiang’s forces in attempted invasion mainland. Government under some pressure make official approach to US in hope of curbing SCAP’s activities.” (795.00/1–2951)
↩