Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, China and Japan, Volume XIV, Part 1

611.93/10–3054

No. 367
Memorandum by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Radford) to the Secretary of Defense (Wilson)¹

confidential

Washington, 29 October 1954.

1. As you know, the Secretary of State has requested an informal meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff at 1530 today. At this meeting, it is the Joint Chiefs’ understanding that they will discuss with the Secretary of State the report made by him on U.S. Policies in Relation to China (Chinese Nationalists and Chinese Communists) to the National Security Council at their meeting on Thursday, 28 October 1954.

2. General Ridgway and I will be present at the meeting with the Secretary of State. The Navy and Air Force will be represented by Admiral Duncan and General White, the Vice Chiefs of those services. General Shepherd of the Marine Corps will be present by my invitation, since I assume that the U.S. Marine Corps has an interest in matters of national policy which come before the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

3. At a meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff held this morning, the Secretary of State’s report was discussed between the Chiefs and the Joint Strategic Survey Committee. It was decided that there was not time to draft and present to you and to the Secretary of State a formal JCS paper. It was further agreed that each service Chief or Acting Chief would be prepared to present to you and to the Secretary of State a memorandum which would be his individual and personal appraisal of the paper referred to above. The views of the JSSC will also be available.

4. For your information it was unanimously agreed by the Chiefs at their meeting this morning that a paper such as the one to be discussed this afternoon, which has such far reaching implications in regard to national policy, and hence on the military security of the United States which is the particular concern of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, should receive more deliberate consideration.

Arthur Radford

1. Copies of this memorandum and Documents 369 and 370 were sent to Murphy, MacArthur, Bowie, and Robertson with a covering note of Oct. 30 from Walter K. Scott.