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OCR Page 1 of 152/13/54, Reel 5, Track 1, Pe
1
MR. ACHESON:
-- to go back a little bit. "It would be to our national interests,
however, and also to the interests of the U.N., before you issue firm
instructions for initiation of evacuation of troops from Korea, to gain
some time for essential military and diplomatic consultations with U.N.
countries participating in the Korean effort. It is important also to
the future of U.N. and NATO organizations, to theUnited States prestige
worldwide, and to efforts to organize anti-communist resistance in Asia,
that maximum practical [tactical ?] punishment be inflicted on communist
TAUMAN
A
aggressors and that Korea not be evacuated unless actually forced by mili-
tary considerations. In Washington it is not possible to evaluate the
N ADMIN
<s.
any
present state of morale and combat efficiency of the U.N. forces.'
Then there is a part which I haven' got.
"In your message of 30 December 1950 and January 4, 1951, you had indicated
it would not be necessary to make an anticipatory decision to evacuate until
your forces had arrived at the old Pusan beachhead. Including consideration
of the facts as outlined above, your estimate is desired as to the timing and
condition under which you will have to issue instructions to evacuate Korea.
Directive contained in paragraph C of our message of 9 January meanwhile
remains in effect." -- That is the one that says you will defend successive
positions, falling back as you have to do it.
When that order was sent, Collins and Vandenburg went to Tokyo and Korea.
In the meantime, General Ridgway had taken over from General Walker, who
as I remember was injured in the crash of a jeep, or something.
There now enters into the picture a rather confusing situation, which is
a memorandum of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of January 12th, which is not the
one I have been reading--this is the Military Directive of January 12. There
was also the memorandum of January 12 th, which they had sent to the National
Security Council. This was a study of all the courses of action which might
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