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 NORTHWESTERN 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
RESPECTFULLY, AND WITH BEST REGARDS TO BESS
RALPH
END PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM GENERAL HOWE
TOP SECRET/PRESIDENTIAL
Pickering put the message back in the envelope and handed it back to Truman.
“Thank you, sir,” he said.
“I’d hoped there would be better news about your boy,” Truman said.
“Thank you, sir,” Pickering said.
Truman smiled.
“Did you get the feeling that General Walker’s missing airplane and the airplane Colonel Vandenburg ‘somehow acquired’ are in any way connected?”
Pickering chuckled. He said, “General Howe didn’t seem to share General Walker’s indignation, did he?”
“Well, maybe the airplane’ll be useful in trying to locate your son,” the President said.
“I hope so, sir,” Pickering said. “I just hope that the airplane, and those helicopters—that was the first I’d heard about that—aren’t needed somewhere else more than—”
“I would think that right now the insertion of agents is very important. We need to know what the Chinese may be up to, and we have to make every effort to get