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

U.S. Ties to Britain Strengthened 59
Meanwhile in the Far East
Th e United States put $100 million at the disposal of Chiang
and promised him a supply of up-to-date fi ghter aircraft. 17 Th en,
in January 1941, Britain decided to enter into closer relations with
Chiang so that, if war came, Chiang would be willing and able to
help Britain in Burma and Hong Kong. 18 Moreover, former U.S.
Army Air Corps Colonel Claire Chennault was openly training
his Flying Tigers in Burma for air battle with the Japanese. And
behind the scenes, FDR was supportive. On April 15, 1941, he
signed an
unpublicized executive order authorizing Reserve offi cers and
enlisted men to resign from the Army Air Corps, the Naval and
Marine Air services so they could join Chennault’s American
Volunteer Group. Since the U.S. was not at war with Japan
and could not deal openly with China, all arrangements had
to be made with an unoffi cial agency to ensure secrecy. Th e
Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company of China was set up
and authorized to hire a hundred American pilots and several
hundred ground crewmen to operate, service and manufacture
aircraft in China. 19
As the British and Dutch were building up their defenses
in the Far East, the Japanese were pursuing their own program.
Th ey were concerned not only with the advance of their forces
southward, obtaining supplies of oil, but also with preventing the
17 S. Woodburn Kirby, Th e War Againt Japan, vol. 1: Th e Loss of Singapore
(London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Offi ce, 1957), p. 38.
18 Ibid., pp. 53–54.
19 John Toland, Infamy: Pearl Harbor and Its Aftermath (Garden City, N.Y.:
Doubleday, 1982). (1983 paperback published by Berkley Publishing, New
York, includes “Postscript” dated August 21, 1982, p. 127n.)