201. Memorandum of a Conference With the President, White House, Washington, July 23, 1957, 11 a.m.1
OTHERS PRESENT
- General Lemnitzer
- General Goodpaster
- Major Eisenhower2
General Lemnitzer came in to report to the President on the termination of the Far East Command. He said that a turnover ceremony had been held in Tokyo, in which Admiral Stump assumed the United States responsibilities, and another had been held in Korea in which General Decker assumed the functions of the UN Commander-in-Chief. General Lemnitzer said he had also visited with the Generalissimo on Formosa, and had found him somewhat low in spirits and quite worried over the effect that the passage of time is having on the military and political situation of the Chinese Nationalists. General Lemnitzer had also addressed the Ryukyuan legislature in Okinawa, reviewing the progress that had been made since 1945 when they were destitute to the present time.
He then went on to comment on two recent actions which he said were tremendously helpful in the western Pacific. The first was the suspension of Paragraph 13D of the Armistice; this is a great help to [Page 429] maintaining a proper military posture in the area. The second was the issuance of an Executive Order placing the administration of the Ryukyu Islands on a sound basis. He said it was very good to have designated as High Commissioner the same man who was in military command in the Ryukyus. The President interjected that the principle of linking military and civilian responsibility in a single individual is fundamental to his concept of the functioning of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. General Lemnitzer also reported that the land program is well under way in Okinawa—this is the program by which all land not strongly needed by the military forces is returned to the civilian economy.
[Here follows discussion of Korea; this portion of the memorandum is scheduled for publication in Part 2.]
The President asked for General Lemnitzer’s comments concerning Japan, and recalled that he has been proposing to pull out all of our forces. General Lemnitzer said the Japanese have been slow in proceeding with their rearmament, using the constitutional prohibition of forces as an excuse. They have self-defense battalions, but these are not of combined arms size or capability. We will soon be moving our ground combat units out. However, we have some tremendous military depots there, supporting, for example, the foreign military aid program through rebuilding of vehicles, aircraft, etc. Primary reliance is on the Japanese but we have supervisory personnel. The President said he could understand retaining elements of this type. With regard to their Air Force and the Navy, the Japanese are barely getting started. They have no A, C & W, and this must still be developed. The forces do not have a combat potential at the present time. General Lemnitzer said he has been pressing the Japanese to develop a defense council—somewhat like our NSC—so as to have a policy instrument to deal with defense problems. The President said the problem is a difficult one. We want to keep Japan as a friend but at the same time want to lead the Japanese to doing the things that are necessary for security in the western Pacific.
Brigadier General USA