Clarke Investigation - August 13, 1945 Memorandum

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Memorandum for the Chief of Staff

13 August 1945

Subject: Investigation regarding certain testimony of William F. Friedman Director of Communications Research, Signal Security Agency, War Department, regarding alleged destruction of certain War Department records pertaining to Pearl Harbor.

1. The undersigned was appointed by the A. C. of S., G-2 to conduct an investigation regarding the manner in which certain Top Secret communications were handled, under authority of a letter of 9 September 1944 which read as follows:

"It is desired that you designate officers of your Division to conduct an investigation and interrogations, in accordance with the oral instructions issued to you by the Chief of Staff regarding the manner in which certain Top Secret communications were handled.

"The officers designated to conduct this investigation will be authorized to administer oaths for this purpose.

"By order of the Secretary of War:

/s/ J. A. Ulio

    J. A. ULIO

Major General The Adjutant General"

2. The investigation was completed in September 1944.

3. On about 8 July 1945, the undersigned was instructed to reopen the investigation to investigate certain statements made by William F. Friedman in testimony before Admiral H. K. Hewitt of the Department of the Navy earlier in July 1945.

4. The investigation was re-opened on 13 July 1945 in Room 2E780, Pentagon Building. Testimony under oath was taken of Mr. William F. Friedman, Director of Communications Research, [2] Signal Security Agency, War Department; Col. Otis K. Sadtler, Signal Officer of the Army Ground Forces; Brig. Gen. Isaac Spalding, presently stationed at Ft. McPherson, Georgia; Maj. Gen. Ralph C. Smith, presently Military Attache to France and, during the days of Pearl Harbor, Executive Officer of the Military Intelligence Division; and Brig. Gen. John T. Bissell, Headquarters 89th Division, Artillery, APO 89, c/o Postmaster, New York. At the time of Pearl Harbor, Gen. Bissell was Chief of the Counter-intelligence Branch of the Military Intelligence Division. There as also introduced into evidence the testimony of Mr. William F. Friedman as given before Admiral H. K. Hewitt.

5. All the testimony taken was stenographically reported and transcribed.

6. All the testimony and evidence received have been considered and, as a result of this consideration, I find the following facts:

a. That shortly before 5 July 1945, William F. Friedman, Director Communications Research, Signal Security Agency, War Department testified before Admiral H. K. Hewitt of the Department of Navy in an investigation pertaining to the Pearl Harbor disaster. In his testimony Mr. Friedman testified, along with other things, as follows:

"Approximately a year and a half ago I had a conversation with Colonel Sadtler, who came to duty in Washington about then, and we talked about

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Pearl Harbor because of the fact that he had been the head of our communications service at the time, and he indicated that he had tried his best to urge that some specific warning message be sent out to the Department commander. He indicated that the "winds" code execute message had come in on the-some time on the 4th or 5th of December. I don't think that he was clear himself as to which of those two days it was. If I remember correctly, he was either notified himself by somebody in the Navy, possibly Admiral Noyes that the message was in—"It's in," as I recall it, was the expression used-or it may be that the Navy source called Army G-2 and indicated that they had had word that the message was in, and that Colonel Sadtler was then called to G-2 to corroborate the interception of the message.

"At any rate, there was a question as to the exact word, the Japanese word, that was used and when Colonel Sadtler couldn't indicate the word, because he hadn't seen the message himself, I think they tried—I think he said [3] that they tried to get a verification from whoever it was—Admiral Noyes—but they weren't successful, whereupon the G-2 authorities simply passed the matter over. There was apparently nothing to substantiate the existence of the message.

"*Then, if I remember correctly, I asked Colonel Sadtler whether he had a copy, had ever gotten or seen a copy of this message, and his answer was, it I remember correctly, that he hadn't himself seen a copy, but that he had been told by somebody that the copies had been ordered or directed to be destroyed by General Marshall. Of course, I regarded this as merely hearsay evidence and nothing more than that: highly inconceivable that such a thing would happen. And when I talked over the Pearl Harbor story with Captain Safford, I probably just passed that out as one of those crazy things that yet started. I shouldn't have done it. I certainly had no idea that he would repeat it."

b. I find that Mr. Friedman was not told by Col. Sadtler the facts as outlined in the last paragraph of Finding a, but was told by Col. Sadtler at some time in 1943 that Brig. Gen. Isaac Spalding had told Col. Sadtler that Brig. Gen. J. T. B. Bissell had told Gen Spalding that everything pertaining to Pearl Harbor was being destroyed or had been destroyed.

c. I find that Col. Sadtler was told by Brig. Gen. Isaac Spalding sometime in August 1943 that Brig. Gen. J. T. B. Bissell had told Gen. Spalding that certain messages, pertaining to Pearl Harbor, had been received and were in the files of G-2 on 7 December 1941 and that Bissell had deemed it most necessary to destroy them.

d. I find that Brig. Gen. Isaac Spalding was not told by Brig. Gen. J. T. B. Bissell that certain messages had been received and were in the files of G-2 and that he (Bissell) deemed it most necessary to destroy them.

e. I find that Col. Sadtler did not tell Mr. Friedman that Gen. Spalding had told Col. Sadtler that certain messages implementing the Winds Code message were destroyed as a result of an order or direction of Gen. Marshall.

f. I find that no written message implementing the Winds Code message was ever received by G-2, and I find that no records pertaining to Pearl Harbor have been destroyed by G-2 or by anybody connected with G-2.

CARTER W. CLARKE, Brigadier General, GSC Deputy Chief, MIS