REF ID:A485434 

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Declassified and approved for release by NSA on 11-07-2013 pursuant to E .0. 1352a 
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So tar u w are able t.o reoall, tile aitutioa that prnai.i.d in "1-· 

oar office at the Jaaa.it.1.Clm Baild1q on SatUZ"Cl.q, De~~r 6th, and 

Sunllq, the ?th of Dee•ber, 1941, ••• u foll••: 

A number ot people there had tor a long tim knollJl tbat Japan -. 

ridiq a tiger • did not dare to get ott. Prllm-~ to HCUM ee8ential material.a, lhe waa carJ!'Ting on a Y&•t trade in tbe aeriou, 

the •etherlande, Indies, and the Southwst.ern Paoi.tie. ..rever poesible ahe had more or lass •c:retl.7 tortitiect pait.ions to eeeure her 

lite lines. Her tir.t idea seem to baTe been to u1m a vassal state 

ot ChiDa (in the last anaJ.7aia, a dreu like Napoleon's rlaion ot cooquering the vaart.nenes ot Ruaaia or Bitler•s !&nf:7 that he could take 

Voacow and do what Napoleon and othere bad tailed to do). Bcnrever, 

once started she could not atop and, as the American natiCXle, except 

Argentina, began to giTe her the cold shoulder, she began negotiating 

!or.petroleum !?'Ola the Indies. 

Hopelessly did the lletherland.ish authorities negotiate there for 

months, knowing what la7 ahead. We later learned directly of their 

angul3h1 but already we bad viewed closely those talks, heard shouts 

for vengeance by the Japanese otticers there against. the daat~ 

meddling Anglo-Saxons - a wonder these shouts did not iamediatel.Jr 

awaken terror in the m..1nda o! AEricana. 

All the while our indU8trial.1sts in iron and textiles were carr1in1 

on a nouriahing trade b,- hook or b1 crook with the Mikado' a Empire. 

Kaybe we had to trade with Japan •ane ao as not t.o bring the festering 

aore to a head too •oon, but •• doubt it. In any can, Jlr. Rooaevelt 

and Mr. Hull could go no further tt&n the buaineaamen, alwqs llhouting 

tor more llbert7 to kill llbert.7 llith, and the lathargy o! our peacelO'Ying public would allow them to go. 

A matter ot cnq aenral acnths before Pearl Harbor, we knew that 

Japan aeant U8 no good. Her aelt-raticoalized de.tiny to rule But .Ui& 

and eTmtuall.7 the world, aa the Shinto text boob pit it 1 wae being 

obatl"WSted bJ' the Amricana, t.he Brituh, and tbe •t.herlandera. Her 

dream o! lllpire through allitarr •i&ht (such u onJ.y Japan••• legenda 

could lost.er) waa coldag more and ·mre to the tront. 'Dle Japan•• llili-

~ becaae aore and more -.ociterous, and to ua who kn•• what thq aeant, 

the deatneaa· ot the American public was amazing. Fl'"Oll 1870 Toluae art.er 

volua ot •tuJmp!n Tokuhon.• (People' 1 Readesa) b&Hd on ~· newlT inYtmtecl warlike code called Shinto, clearly conolude with tba ·worda, "Our 

glorious Son"ot Beann ehall tiret be worshiped throughout But Alla and 

tinallT b7 the world•. 

Anxious to know how tar they could go without proYoking war with 

us, and also to keep trading with ue, senr&l mont.ba before Peel Harbor, 

lfr. I011Ura was pre1ented with two proposalll, one longer, called A, and 

one shorter, called B, to take to Kr. Rull. It Mr. Hull could be persuaded to accept A, well and good. It not 1 B was to be placed bef are 
REF ID:A485434 

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him. ·The affable Mr. lomura was amazed and ~sked for a helper like, 

say l.1r. Kurusu. 1tlen Kurusu came the law was laid down to both of them 

by their superiors. These two n1en berated their gavermuent terribly, 

but it was no use. The nation was. so much more importei.nt. than the individual. In order, the two proposals had to be am were, in due course 

and procedure, turned down. Great. was the wrath of.' the cursing Japanese 

officials in Tokyo (som.e say the Japanese do not curse, but when enraged 

they eo beyond the bounds of our puny little cuss words), who then ini'or1ned the two hapless envoys to play !or t iJae :for a few days until contact was fully made_ with Hitler and Mussolini. This they did in unmistakable language. The predetermined deadline had passed; they were going 

to strike us before we dreamed, so: they said, and Colonel Doud, Colonel 

Hayes, Colonel Minckler, Colonel Svensson, Colonel ,Aurel, Colonel Erskine, 

Colop.el Rowlett, Mr. Cate, and ourself, a.t least, knew that war lta.s as 

certain as death, or we !'elt · sure that they knew it. I do not believe 

they would deny it. 

Ca..ue Saturday noon and we translated a message to .Vr. Nomura, asking 

him to stand by for a 14 part .message in reply to. a, counterproposal presented by ;.1r. Hull attar c::i. conference ·between himself, Ur. Roosevelt and 

the several ambassadore concex-ned.~ This was tu be presented, if I recall 

a-.righ~, at about 2 P• m. Sunday, the 7th, Washington time. The emphasis 

on the t.ima gives the background O•f the event. The orders to the Japanese 

embassy to destroy eYerything pert.aining to codes left in ourself', at the 

very least, no doubt that at about 2 p.m. on the following day, Sunday, 

we were to bo shelled or bombed at. some Pacif'ic outpost. ¥,'e thought it 

would be at Manila. 

A little later that Saturday afternoon the reply came, and :Jr. Cate 

translated it. A vicious reply it was, ·too, and at the regula1• closing 

time we went home only to be callErd in.mediately on the phone by Colonel 

Doud, asking us if we did not know that a state or war existed between 

,\Jaerica and Japan. We replied, ."Certa.:inl.3, but don't you think we are 

ready for them?'* He replied, halt.ingly, ".!!l1.1 ! don •t !m2!'!· ! !!2.E!. 

ao." While we wel"e preparing to return Col. Doud called us a.gain on the 

Phone, telling us he would rather we came in at a little after midday 

on Sund'iY· 

, :Te went at that t:iir<G. f;cunt personnel were thm:-e - Col. Hayes,, ~!iss 

Susi& Croniae, ourself, perhaps Col. Svensson. I do not. :recall who else, 

il' anyonu. 

Shortly later the news reached us, WK\. we were amazed - w.aazed not 

a.t the :f'act but at the place of ·the att.ack. 1'!r. :fried.man understood the 

matter, and he, too, felt exactly as we did. 

Personnel began to rain in. Col. Doud was red-eyed and worn. 

Colonels Hayes und Svensson were poker-raced, and mntter oi' tact. (Several 

days later I witnessed several wil1s, among them Col. Hayes•, I think.) 

He was, as I recall., rather distressed and I believe he said he had a 

brother in the area affected. 

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REF ID:A485434 

We recall little that has ha.ppened slnce. We had by then reached 

t,he psyeholo;zicnl and physicci.1 end of' our rope, thciugh heaven knows how 

we hung on three yea.rs or so more in the dreadful work it was a matt.er 

of duty to perform. 

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