W.E.B. Griffin - Retreat, Hell!

Truman looked across Pennsylvania Avenue at the White House. There were all sorts of signs of work on the "repairs" under way. It was more than re­pairs, Truman thought. The building, which had been literally at the point of collapse, had been gutted and was being rebuilt.

He waved and smiled at tourists, but completely ignored the questions called out to him by a dozen members of the press who had joined the parade the moment it was formed.

They were waiting for him at the Foster Lafayette. The doorman held the door open for him, and, inside, four Secret Service agents made sort of a path to an elevator waiting for him.

Brigadier General Fleming Pickering, USMCR, was standing in the corri­dor outside the door to his suite.

"Morning," the President said.

One of the Secret Service agents walked quickly through the door.

"Good morning, Mr. President," Pickering said as the President walked past him into the sitting room of the Marquis de Lafayette Suite.

Two waiters were making final adjustments to an array of food on a table covered with a white tablecloth.

"That's very nice, General," Truman said, "but all I asked for was a cup of coffee."

"Mr. President, if you'd given them another couple of minutes, there would be a steamboat round of beef and pheasant under glass on that table," Picker­ing said.

"It's a little early for something like that, but that pastry is tempting," Tru­man said. He walked to the table and spoke to the waiters. "That's very nice, thank you very much."

He picked up a white sugarcoated breakfast roll and looked at the Secret Ser­vice agents.

"Would you leave us, please?" he ordered.

He took a bite of the roll, then laid it down and poured a cup of coffee from a silver pitcher. He looked at Pickering, asking with raised eyebrows if Picker­ing wanted coffee.

"Yes, please, thank you, sir," Pickering said.

Truman poured the coffee and handed the cup and saucer to Pickering. Then he took his own cup and saucer and the breakfast roll and sat down on a couch.

"Please sit down, General," he said.

"Thank you, sir."

"I just got a message from Ralph Howe," the President said. "I thought you would like to see it."

He took the white envelope from his suit jacket pocket and handed it to Pickering.

"Thank you, sir," Pickering said, and opened the envelope and read it.

TOP SECRET/PRESIDENTIAL

OPERATIONAL IMMEDIATE

DUPLICATION FORBIDDEN

0845 TOKYO TIME 10OCTOBER1950

FROM: CHIEF PRESIDENTIAL MISSION TO FAR EAST

VIA: USMC SPECIAL COMMUNICATIONS CENTER CAMP PENDLETON CAL

TO: WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS CENTER WASHINGTON DC

EYES ONLY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

BEGIN PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM MAJOR GENERAL HOWE

DEAR HARRY

IN RESPONSE TO YOUR REQUEST THAT I SEND WHATEVER I THINK YOU WOULD FIND USEFUL AT WAKE

ISLAND

IN RE THE RELANDING OF X CORPS ON EAST COAST OF KOREAN PENINSULA

MACARTHUR GAVE ME A PERSONAL BRIEFING ON HIS PLANS AND INTENTIONS IN WHICH HE CONVINCINGLY SAID THE OPERATION WILL PERMIT HIM TO QUICKLY REACH THE YALU RIVER AND THUS KEEP THE FLEEING NORTH KOREAN ARMY FROM ESCAPING INTO CHINA AND THUS PERMIT ITS COMPLETE DESTRUCTION

HE CONVINCINGLY SAID THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO MILITARY REASON FOR HIM TO CROSS THE BORDER

I RAISED THE CONCERNS OF MAJOR GENERAL OLIVER SMITH OF FIRST MARDIV AS PREVIOUSLY REPORTED TO YOU THAT THE TERRAIN OF NORTH KOREA AND THE EXTENDED SUPPLY LINES POSE PROBLEMS

MACARTHUR SAID BOTH HE AND GENERAL ALMOND ARE VERY MUCH AWARE OF THE PROBLEMS AND WILL DEAL WITH THEM ACCORDINGLY

I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH MACARTHUR KNOWS ABOUT FIGHTING IN THE MOUNTAINS BUT ALMOND FOUGHT HIS DIVISION IN THE MOUNTAINS OF ITALY IN THE WINTER AND CERTAINLY LEARNED FROM THAT EXPERIENCE

I HAVE THE FEELING THAT MACARTHUR DIDN'T SEEK GUIDANCE AND APPROVAL FOR THE OPERATION FROM THE JOINT CHIEFS BECAUSE HE THINKS HE HAS A MANDATE TO OPERATE WITHOUT IT AND ALSO BECAUSE HE REGARDS AS DO ALMOND AND SMITH THIS OPERATION AS CONSIDERABLY SIMPLER THAN THE INCHON LANDING

THE NAVY HAS NO PROBLEMS WITH THE OPERATION EXCEPT FOR THE ANTICIPATED LACK OF PORT FACILITIES WHICH WILL PROBABLY DELAY THE OFF LOADING OF HEAVY EQUIPMENT SUCH AS TANKS ETCETERA

I HAD A LONG TALK WITH GENERAL WALKER WHO HAS MOVED HIS FORWARD HEADQUARTERS TO KOREA FROM JAPAN AND PLANS TO OPEN IT IN SEOUL AS SOON AS HE CAN TO CONTROL OPERATIONS IN NORTH WESTERN KOREA

HE SEEMS TO HAVE NO SERIOUS OBJECTIONS TO THE X CORPS OPERATION EXCEPT THAT HE REMAINS INDIGNANT THAT X CORPS HAS NOT BEEN PLACED UNDER HIS COMMAND

WALKER MAKES THE POINT THAT ALL KOREAN OPERATIONS SHOULD BE COORDINATED AND THIS REQUIRES THAT THE X CORPS COMMANDER TAKE HIS ORDERS FROM THE EIGHTH ARMY COMMANDER

WALKER WAS ALSO HIGHLY INDIGNANT THAT AN L-20 BEAVER SIX PLACE LIAISON AIRCRAFT WHICH HE CONSIDERS NECESSARY TO MOVE HIMSELF AND MEMBERS OF HIS STAFF AROUND KOREA WAS STOLEN BY A SO FAR UNLOCATABLE ARMY OFFICER WHILE EN ROUTE TO HIM

IN RE CHICOM INTERVENTION

MACARTHUR, WALKER FEEL THE POSSIBILITY IS VERY SLIGHT

ALMOND AND SMITH FEAR THAT ANY CROSSING OF THE BORDER FOR WHATEVER REASON MIGHT TRIGGER INTERVENTION BUT THAT THE CHINESE DO NOT POSSESS EITHER SUFFICIENT FORCES OR LOGISTICS TO CAUSE A MAJOR OR LASTING PROBLEM FOR EITHER EIGHTH ARMY OR X CORPS

IN OTHER WORDS THE MOST THEY COULD DO WAS FORCE US BACK SEVERAL MILES FROM THE BORDER

SEE ADDITIONAL COMMENTS BELOW

IN RE RESCUE OF GENERAL DEAN AND MAJOR PICKERING

LT COL D J VANDENBURG SENT BY DCSOPS TO DEAL WITH DEAN ARRIVED HERE A WEEK AGO AND IMMEDIATELY MADE CONTACT WITH MAJOR MCCOY AND KOREA CIA STATION CHIEF DUNSTON

VANDENBURG IS AN IMPRESSIVE OPERATOR AND BOTH HE AND MCCOY FEEL IT HIGHLY PROBABLE THAT GENERAL DEAN HAS BEEN TAKEN TO CHINA AND THAT THEREFORE HIS RESCUE IS HIGHLY DOUBTFUL

THEY HAVE HOWEVER POOLED RESOURCES AND DIVIDED RESPONSIBILITY AND BEGUN TO ATTACK THE PROBLEM VIGOROUSLY

VANDENBURG WILL OPERATE ON WEST OF PENINSULA AND MCCOY ON EAST

MCCOY AND DUNSTON WHO HAVE THE EXPERIENCE HAVE ALREADY BEGUN THE INSERTION OF AGENTS INTO NORTH KOREA WHO WILL BOTH ATTEMPT TO LOCATE DEAN AND POSSIBLY PICKERING AND ATTEMPT TO DETERMINE STRENGTH OF BOTH REMAINING NORTH KOREAN FORCES AND CHINESE FORCES ACROSS THE BORDER

BOTH UNDERSTAND THEY ARE NOT TO STAGE ANY SORT OF A CROSS BORDER OPERATION WITHOUT YOUR SPECIFIC APPROVAL

MCCOY IS OPERATING OUT OF A SMALL FISHING VILLAGE ON EAST COAST PREVIOUSLY USED BY DUNSTON BEFORE THE WAR

VANDENBURG SOMEHOW ACQUIRED AN L-20 BEAVER SIX PLACE LIAISON AIRCRAFT AND HAS MADE IT AVAILABLE TO DUNSTON AND MCCOY FOR TRAVEL BETWEEN PUSAN SEOUL AND SOCHO RI FISHING VILLAGE

ADDITIONALLY MACARTHUR ORDERED THAT TWO SIKORSKY HELICOPTERS SENT TO KOREA BE TRANSFERRED TO THE CIA AND THEY WILL BE USED FOR INSERTION AND EXTRACTION OF AGENTS AND ALSO TO RESCUE GENERAL DEAN AND OR MAJOR PICKERING IF THEY CAN BE LOCATED

THERE HAVE BEEN NO SIGHTINGS OF THE SIGNALS PICKERING HAS BEEN LEAVING IN THE PAST SEVEN DAYS WHICH MCCOY SAYS MAY BE BECAUSE HE IS MOVING EASTWARD AND THERE ARE FEWER PLACES WHERE HE CAN MAKE THEM

BOTH MCCOY AND DUNSTON HAVE TOLD ME WITH THE CAVEAT THEY HAVE NO PROOF TO SUPPORT THEIR POSITION THAT CHINESE INTERVENTION IS VERY POSSIBLE MAYBE EVEN PROBABLE

AT THE RISK OF REPEATING MYSELF I GROW MORE AND MORE CONVINCED THAT THE PROBLEMS OF THE CIA ARE ITS BUREAUCRACY

PEOPLE LIKE MCCOY AND DUNSTON AND I THINK VANDENBURG TOO DO THEIR JOBS ONLY TO HAVE THEIR LABOR GO FOR NAUGHT BECAUSE IT DOESN'T FIT THE PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS OF SOMEBODY SITTING BEHIND A DESK FAR FROM WHAT IS HAPPENING

I DON'T KNOW HOW EFFECTIVE FLEMING PICKERING WOULD BE IN SHAPING UP THE CIA BUT I CAN'T THINK OF ANYBODY WHO COULD DO BETTER

THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING THAT I WOULD JUST BE EXCESS BAGGAGE AT WAKE ISLAND AND THAT I AM RELUCTANT TO LEAVE HERE WITH PICKERING GONE