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

766 Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy
Kramer: It was not, sir. . . . It was the truth as it came to my
mind at the time. . . . [T]hat occasion, namely, the Naval Court
of Inquiry, was the fi rst time that the question of what country
appeared in that piece of teletype ever came up in any conversation
in which I was participating. . . .
Keefe: So that we now have a situation where you make a
statement on a vital issue before the Naval Court of Inquiry
which you admit was not true because you claim that subsequent
events have now convinced you that the answer which
you gave was not [true]; is that the fact? . . .
Kramer: [D]espite the fact that I was caught cold [at the NCI]
on that point when the question was propounded my reaction
even then was that only one country was involved on that piece
of teletype paper. 136
Keefe: Now you want us to understand when I read your testimony
before the naval court that according to your present
refreshed and current recollection you were mistaken, that
there were no such words in the message that you saw?
Kramer: No words referring to the United States. . . .
Keefe: You do not remember what words were in the message;
is that your testimony, Captain?
Kramer: What I mean to imply by that—I think it has been
reiterated many times—is that I do not now and have never
known since the time I saw that piece of teletype exactly what
Japanese phraseology was in it, sir. . . .
Keefe: You pretended to know what words were in it when you
testifi ed before the Naval Court of Inquiry, did you not?
Kramer: Th at was apparently the impression I created; yes, sir.
136 Ibid., part 9, pp. 4128–29.