WAR DEPARTMENT 

WAR DEPARTMENT GENERAL STAFF 

MILITARY INTELLIGENCE DIVISION, G-2, 

WASHINGTON 

29 September 1944 

MEMORANDUM FOR COLONEL CORDERMAN: 

These are the papers that I just discussed with you 

over the telephone. Please return both General Bisaell's 

letter and Admiral Schuirma.nn•s reply with inclosures to me 

with a full detailed statement of S.S.A. 's position in this 

case. 

/s/ c.w.c. 

c.w.c. 

Recd 6 P.M. 29 Sept. 

W.P.C. 

(,:-:-. ;-· 

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Declassified and approved for release by NSA on 11-07-2013 pursuant to E .0. 1352a 
Op-20-N 26 September 1944 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

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DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE RE "WINDS EXECUTE" MESSAGE 

Original teletype message - believed delivered to Admiral Noyes. Cannot be located. 

Duplicate teletype message - should be among the vork sheets and 

miscellaneous papers 1n 20-G. Cannot be located. 

Original "Navy distribution" copr of translation - given to 

Admiral Noyes (with other papers) about 15 Dec. 1941 - for submission as evidence to the Roberts Commission. Admiral Hart 

intimated tha t he h&d sighted this copy late in April 1944. 

It is believed to be in the custody or Vice Admiral Horne or 

his aide. 

Duplicate "Navy-file" copy of translation - should be filed in 

serial order in Gy•s "JD-1" file. JD-1 #7001 (3 Dec. 1941) is 

missing and the dummy sheet inserted between #7000 and #7002 

bears the notation - #7001 - Cancelled." 

Two copies of translation were furnished to the War Department. One should be filed under the date (or origin) and the other by aerial number in the "SIS"~ile. Col. O. K. Sadtler, Signal Corps, collected all Army copies about 15 Dec. 1941 and delivered them 

to a representative of G-2. The Army were requested (unofficially) 

on several occasions since October 1943 to furnish the Navy Department a copy or this translation but on every occasion the7 advised 

th&t they were unable to locate these translations although it was 

comm.on knowledge that they bad existed. 

So far aa can be asc•rtained, there is no written record still in 

existence which would prove receipt and delivery.of the "winds 

Execute" message. 

/s/ L. F. Safford 

Captain, U.S.N. 
UNITED STATES FLEET 

HEADQUARTERS OF THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF 

NAVY DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D. C. 

28 September 1944. 

MEMORANDUM FOR MAJOR GENERAL CLAYTON BISSELL, A. C. of C. 1 G-2 

Subject: 

Reference: 

Enclosures: 

Pearl Harbor Investigation. 

Major General Bissell's Memo of 25 September 1944 

to Rear Admiral Schuirmann, Director or Naval 

Intelligence. 

(A) Copy of Memorandum dated 26 September 1944 prepared by Captain L. F. Safford, subject: "Documentary Evidence Re "Winds Execute" Kessage". 

(B) Copy of Memorandum of 27 September 1944 to Op-20 signed by Captain P. R. Kinney, Subject: "Pearl 

Harbor Investigation". 

(C) Copy of JD-1:7148 Navy Translation 7 December 1941. 

1. In reply to your memorandum or 25 September 1944, (reference (a)) so far as can be ascertained there is no written record in the 

files of the Navy Department which would prove receipt and delivery of 

the "execute" to the so called "Winds" message. It is possible that the 

present Court of Inquiry may obtain information which may shed some 

light as to whether the execute to this message was received, when it 

was received and to whom it was delivered and the time of such delivery. The records of this Court of Inquiry are not available to the Director 

of Naval Intelligence. 

2. Enclosures (A), (B) and (C) are forwarded herewith for 

1n1"ormat1on. It is posaible that a search of the War Department file 

may reveal some information on this subject. 

c 

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R. E. SCHUIRMANN, 

Assistant Chief of Staff. 

0COP '.?ECPE1 
REF ID:A488850 

MIS/DC/EWG/dc 

74195 

25 September 1944 

SUBJECT: Pearl Harbor investigation. 

TO: Rear Admiral R. E. Schuirmann, Director of Naval 

Intelligence, Room 3076 Navy Department, Washington, D. C. 

1. Reference is made to the fact that on the 28th or November 

1941 there was decoded a Japanese message providing for a voice 

code in a news broadcast which would warn or an imminent break in 

relations between Japan and the United States or Great Britain or 

Russia. This message we called the "Winds" message and already is familiar to you. 

2. In order that War Department records may be completed, will you please answer the following questions involving this 

"Winds" message: 

a. Did the Navy Department receive an implementing 

message to the "Winds" message on the night or 3-4 or 4-5 

December 1941 which, decoded, said in effect tb&t Japanese relations with the United States and with Great Britain 

were to be broken but that Japanese relations with Russia 

were not to be broken? If so, when·and from what source? 

b. Did the Navy Department receive an implementation 

to this "Winds" message on the night of 3-4 December, or 

at any time prior to Pearl Harbor? If so, when and from 

what source? 

~· What notice, if any, of any such implementation 

message was ever given to the War Department by the Navy Department? 

COPY 

CLAYTON BISSELL, 

Major· General, 

A. C. of S., G-2. 
Op-20-G/l md TEU~A~IVE ··-- ~ 27 September 1944 

':POP BEORE'P 

MEMORANDUM TO OP-20 

Subj: Pearl Harbor Investigation. 

Ref: (a) Memo from Gen. Bissell to Admiral Schuirmann 

Enc: Memo from Captain L. F. Safford 

Copy of JD-1:7148) 

1. Reference (a) requests a written reply to several questions 

concerning the possible reception and dis1emination by the Navy 

of a Japanese message implementing the "Winds" message of 

28 November 1941. Enclosure (A) is a memorandum from Captain 

L. F. Safford which cites his findings on the documentary 

evidence concerning the existence of an implementing or "Winds 

Execute" message. 

2. An investigation held in Op-20-G to determine whether or 

not a "Winds Execute" message was ever received by -the Navy 

has disclosed that no written record exists to prove either 

the receipt or the dissemination or such a message before 

December 7, 1941. On December 7, 1941 at 080015 Z a plain 

Japanese language message using code names (JD-1: 7148) was 

intercepted by the FCC, which indicated that diplomatic relations between Japan and England were on the verge of being 

severed. 

3. Op-20-G'a comments on the memorandum of Captain Safford 

are as follows: (Numbers refer to similar numbers in Capt. 

Sarr ord ' s memo) . 

(1) There is no written record of the receipt and 

at present 

Enclosure (B) 
_ .. 

. REF ID:A488850 

In the Naval Communications Annex has seen 

the message. 

(2) The work sheets and miscellaneous papers pertaining to Japanese diplomatic traffic were 

turned over to the Army (Arlington Hall) about 

June, 1942. 

(3) Captain sarrord was Op-20-G at this time. 

(4) . There is no record or this message in the JD-1 

file. A file of 3 December 1941 (JD-1: 

7001) has been cancelled, and it is possible 

that this file number referred to a message received on 3 D~cember 1941. However, it 1• also 

possible that the file number (JD-1: 7001) was 

assigned to a message received several days or 

weeks before. The reasons for the cancellation 

or this file number are not known. 

(5) According to the practice of December 1941, the 

Army received two copies of each message translated by the Navy, and these are filed under 

date or origin and by aerial number in the SIS 

file. It would appear, therefore, that a message 

disseminated by the Navy should be present in both 

of these A1!Tlly files. 

(6) Op-20-G concurs with this statement. 

ti /s/ Philip R. Kinney, Captain, U. s. Navy.