officer told his duty officer that he was just about out the door to attend a cocktail and dinner party at the Army and Navy Club in the District, but would stop by the Pentagon en route to have a look at the Operational Immediate from Korea.
Then he called the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, and found him at his quarters—Quarters 1—at Fort Myer. He told the Chief there was an Operational Immediate from Korea, and that he was en route to the Pentagon to have a look at it. And where would the Chief be in case it required his immediate attention?
The Chief said he was going to Freddy’s retirement party at the Army and Navy, and since the G-2 was going there, he could see no point in he himself going to the Pentagon. Sometimes, the Operational Immediate classification was applied too easily.
By the time the G-2 reached his office, the Operational Immediate from Korea had been decrypted. He read it, and after a moment ordered his duty officer to see if he would reach the Chief, who was probably en route to the Army and Navy Club, over his car radio.
It was possible, even likely, that somewhere in the Embassy of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or in the Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Czechoslovakia, or in the Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Albania, or elsewhere, there was a man sitting at a radio receiver tuned to the frequency of the police-type shortwave radio in the Chief’s car, so the conversation was phrased accordingly:
“Chief, that message we were talking about? I think it might be a good idea if you had a look at it yourself.”
“I’m on my way. Thank you.”
In the G-2’s office, twenty minutes later, the G-2 read the message and reached for the red telephone on the G-2’s desk. In twenty seconds, he had the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the secure line.
“Sir, I’ve got an Operational Immediate from Korea that I think you should have a look at right away.”
“Okay.”
“I think you might want to give the Secretary a heads-up, and with your permission, I’m going to do the same to mine.”
“Okay. On my way. You’re in your office?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Meet me in the Ops Room.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And I’m in the car. You give the Secretary a heads-up.”
“Yes, sir.”
The G-2 telephoned, on the secure circuit, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Army, in that order, and gave both the same message:
He had just spoken to the Chairman about an Operational Immediate he had just received from Korea, and the Chairman was en route to the Ops Room to have a look at it, and had ordered him to relay that information to the Secretary.
The Secretary of the Army said he was on his way, and the Secretary of Defense said that it would take him ten minutes to shave and get dressed, and then he’d be on his way.
Before he left his home, the Secretary of Defense called the Secretary of State and said he had no idea how important it was, but there had been an Operational Immediate from Korea, and everybody was headed for the Ops Room to have a look at it, and maybe it might be a good idea for the Secretary to send somebody to the Pentagon, if not come himself.
The Secretary of Defense also called the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and on being told the Director would not be available for thirty minutes, got the Assistant Director and told him there was an Operational Immediate from Korea that he thought the Director should have a look at, and that everybody was en route to the Ops Room. The Assistant Director said he would leave word for the Director, and leave for the Ops Room himself immediately.
Less than an hour after that, having read the Operational Immediate in the Ops Room, and assessing other intelligence data available to the Ops Room, it was more or less unanimously agreed that the matter should be immediately brought to the attention of Harry S. Truman, President of the United States, and Commander-in-Chief of its armed forces.
The Assistant Secretary of State personally agreed that the President should be informed, but felt that he could not concur in the decision to do so until the Secretary of State had been brought up to speed on the situation and gave his concurrence.
It took another hour to get that concurrence, whereupon the White House