Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy - Ludwig von Mises ...

412 Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy
sent to London and on April 30, 1942, given command of the
recently established (March 17, 1942) United States Naval Forces
Europe. 6
Chief of Staff Marshall appeared to be above reproach. In spite
of questions about his whereabouts on the morning of December
6, he remained in his position and went on later to still more
important and prestigious positions—special representative of the
president to China with ambassadorial rank (1945–1946), secretary
of state (1947–1949), and secretary of defense 7 (1950–1951).
He even received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953 for his proposal,
which became known as the Marshall Plan, for U.S. government
grants to help post-war Europe’s economic recovery.
Naval intelligence and naval communications were especially
hard hit by personnel changes. Th e Navy’s traditional pride in
service at sea meant that the path to promotion clearly lay in
sea duty; those who served in intelligence were much less likely
to advance. As a result, few naval offi cers were willing to make a
career in cryptography. One notable exception was Commander
L.F. Saff ord, who had been in charge of the security section of
naval communications and had made brilliant contributions to
deciphering and interpreting Japanese intercepts. Shortly after
the United States entered the war, he was promoted to captain
( January 1, 1942), but at the same time his duties and responsibilities
were sharply curtailed. 8
Commander A.H. McCollum, head of the Far Eastern
Section of Naval Intelligence in December 1941, was another
victim of the post-attack reorganization of naval operations. He
6Ibid, p. 24.
7On September 18, 1947, the Departments of War and Navy were incorporated
into a new Department of Defense.
8Joint Committee, Pearl Harbor Attack, part 8, p. 3556, Saff ord testimony before
the Joint Committee. See also L.F. Saff ord, “Victims of the Kita Message,”
April 8, 1968, p. 46, unpublished manuscript (typescript in author’s fi les).