Evening star., 1945-10-27
Maj. Mitchell Expect!
Transfer Back 10 AAF
From White House

NoJ. NiCilOloo I'll IL MITCHELL, fIliS-
sian-born United States Army officer
who acted as interpreter for Presi-
dent Truman at the Potsdam Con-
ference. said today he supposed
he would be transferred back to the
Air Forces from his White House
assignment.
He declined to state what his
duties were at the White House
explaining he would need first to
obtain permission from his superior
officers.
Whatever I did ever since I en-
listed in the Army in 1885, it was
what the Army told me to do" he
said. Il tried to the best of my
abilities to be a good soldier and a
good officer, and to serve my country
to the best of my ability"
Eben Ayres, acting press secre-
tary at the White House in the
absence of Charles G. Ross, made
this statement to The Star yester-
day:
The President met him (Maj
MitchelD at Potsdam, where he was
very helpful in making translations
The President found out he had
been over there three years and had
spent two years of that time in
Persia and thought it was about
time he came home.
No Access to Documents.
He has been on leave awaiting
assignment-probably in the State
Department. He has never been a
White House aide and has never had
! access to any secret documents"
From other sources it was learned
that Maj. Mitchell's presence in the
White House map room was ex-
planned by Commodore Vardaman
naval aide to the President, on the
ground that he was to take top
flight" job at the State Department
Maj. Mitchell said he had been
assigned for over two years to the
Persian Gulf Command, for which
he was awarded the Bronze Star
Medal. His duties involved the
turnover of lease-lend Douglas
planes to the Soviet government
While there, he met and married an
Iranian citizen of Russian decent
Maj. and Mrs. Mitchell live at 1900
N. Quinn street, Arlington, Va.
When he was year old in 1914
his father-an officer of the Czarist
Army, engineer and physicist-took
him to live in France, Maj. Mitchell
said They arrived in this country
in 1880 and made their home at
Charlottesville, Va, where his father
became an instructor at the Uni
versity of Virginia. After graduation
from high school there and two and
a half years at the university, he
enlisted in the Army Air Corps in
1885, hopivc to become a flying
cadet He was rejected because Of
defective eyesight, but remained as
an enlisted man.
Became Citizen In 1886.
Maj. Mitchell became a citizen in
1886 and was commissioned a second
lieutenant in January, 1912. after
attending an officer candidate
school at Aberdeen, Md. Soon after
ward he was sent to the Persian
Gulf Command because of his
knowledge of the Russian language
Later, he was assigned to the Group
Control Council in London and went
to Berlin with them, again because
of his linguistic ability.
While there, he was selected to
act as an interpreter for President
Truman and returned to this coun-
try, he said, with the presidential
party aboard the U. S. S. Augusta
After month of rest and recupera-
tion leave, he was assigned to duties
at the White House and had served
there only about three weeks" he
declared.
Maj. Mitchell denied having made
application for intelligence work
although naturally I toyed with
the idea because of my language
/ qualifications. he added.