751G.00/6–1454: Telegram
The Chargé at Saigon (McClintock) to the Department of State
priority
2770. Repeated information Paris priority 985, Geneva 232. After the exiguous diplomatic corps of Saigon, numbered six in all, presented DeJean with a silver pot this evening, DeJean requested me to join him in his office to read an urgent top secret telegram addressed to General Ely from General Valluy.
This telegram represents Admiral Radford as insisting on utility of bringing three Korean divisions for fighting in Indochina and as adding (which I told DeJean would be manifest impossibility) US Naval lift could accomplish transport of all three divisions to this theater within one week.
I told DeJean that Department had kindly given me some background on this problem (Department telegram 2551, repeated Geneva Tedul 178, Paris 4476)1 and gave DeJean a verbal paraphrase of what Secretary had told Bonnet. I likewise outlined in brief conditions precedent which US had wisely laid down in discussions between Ambassador Dillon and Laniel. I said I thought that until French formed government it was unnecessary to get excited about Korean or any other divisions since the Secretary’s conditions had yet to be fulfilled.
. . . . . . .
Re training aspects of overall problem, I observed to DeJean that we had not received any request from French Government for assistance in this regard and that although I much admired energy and desire to be ahead of time of General O’Daniel, I had told him that we [Page 1692] would not undertake training mission until General Ely’s own conditions in this respect had been met; namely, that training program was but one phase of overall integrated program.
I asked DeJean to arrange interview tomorrow for me with himself and Ely. This pleased former Commissioner General very much, and I shall be glad to meet with both French representatives as DeJean’s presence will not make Ely less a General nor DeJean less a diplomat.
- Telegram Tedul 178 to Geneva. June 9, repeated to Paris as 4476 and to Saigon as 2551, summarized a conversation of the same day between Secretary Dulles and French Ambassador Bonnet concerning the possible participation of U.S. armed forces in Indochina. For text of Tedul 178, see vol. xvi, p. 1100.↩