Letter from Ambassador Edwin F. Stanton to President Harry S. Truman

THE FOREIGN SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AMERICAN EMBASSY Bangkok, Siam January 9, 1948 PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL Mr. President: I was informed by the Secretary of State on December 29, 1947 that I had been appointed as your personal representative with the rank of Special Ambassador to attend the celebrations to mark Burma's independence. I am deeply sensible and appre- ciative of this appointment, of the trust and confidence reposed in me and of the great responsibility which devolves upon me as your personal representative. May I be permitted to thank you for the appointment and to report to you that I have carried out my mission to the best of my ability. I am sending a full report to the Secretary of State regarding the celebrations which marked the attainment by Burma of full independence and sovereignty. Independence was achieved at four o'clock a.m. on January 4, 1948, when the British flag was lowered and the flag of the Union of Burma was hoisted to the accompaniment of a seventeen-gun salute. Various ceremonies took place throughout that day, these including the promulgation of a Constitution, the swearing in of the members of the government and the ratification by the Assembly of the Anglo-Burmese Treaty. The city of Rangoon was en fete and thousands of Burmese flags bedecked the city. The streets were filled with happy, excited and friendly Burmans and it was obvious from their happiness that Independence Day meant to them the final attain- ment of hopes and aspirations long cherished. There were pic- turesque fairs and special entertainments for the people and at night the special illuminations turned the city into a fairy- land of twinkling colored lights. I called on both the Prime Minister, Thakin Nu, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, U Tin Tut, and conveyed to them your felicitations and good wishes. I said to them, Mr. President, that the Government and the people of the United States were happy in the happiness of the people of Burma and that we were confident that they and their leaders would THINK The President, to s ARCHIVES "INATIONAL RECORDS SERVICE" AND John The White House. courses