White House Press Release, Statement by President Harry S. Truman at His Press and Radio Conference, with Related Material

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229 IMMEDIATE RELEASE AUGUST 30, 1945 STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT at his press and radio conference August 30, 1945. "I have read it (the Pearl Harbor reports) very carefully, and I came to the conclusion that the whole thing is the result of the policy which the country itself pursued. The country was not ready for preparedness. Every time the President made an effort to get a preparedness program through the Congress, it was stifled. Whenever the President made a statement about the necessity of preparedness, he was vilified for doing it. I think the country is as much to blame as any individual in this final situation that developed in Pearl Harbor. If TRU MAN SCHOOL ARCHIVES "NATIONAL SERVICE" RECORDS AND DEPARTMENT