Evening star., 1945-11-30
Grew Warning
In January, A.,
Was Discounted
Miles Felt Message
Nov. II Should Have
Alerted Pearl Hurbor
By ]. O. OLEARY and
CARTER BROOKE JONES.


uary, 1941, that Pearl Harbor
might be attacked in the event
OF a break in Japanese American
relations was discounted by mill
tary intelligence because it was
not regarded as bona fide in
formation Maj. Gen. Sherman
Miles told the Congressional In
vestigating Committee today.
During two more hours of cross
examination by Committee Counsel
Gerhard Gesell, Gen. Miles also
testified he felt the warning mes
sage sent to Hawaii by Gen. George
c. Marshall on November 27, 1941,
would effect an immediate and
complete alert of the fortress"
The Grew warning, II months be-
fore the attack, came up when Mr..
Gesell asked the witness if at any
time before December he had in
formation as to where Japan might
attack the United States.
Discounted by Army and Navy.
None I remember, except the
rllmor from Tokyo in January,
which was discounted both by Army
and Navy intelligence the general
replied, land the ship information
you called to my attention yester-
day"
The latter referred to an inter-
cepted Japanese request to secret
agents in Honolulu for a plat show
ing the exact location of naval YES
sells in Pearl Harbor.
why did military intelligence
discount the January message?"
Gen. Miles said, first because "it
was inconceivable that any sources
in the know would have impaired
that information" to the Peruvian
Minister who gave it to Mr.. Grew.
The second reason, he said, was be-
cause for a great many years 1--WE
had known a japanese attack on
Pearl Harbor would be inherent in
any war in the Pacific" The for
tress of Oahu was built for defense
against one enemy, he added.
Short Not Told of Intercepts.
Earlier, Gen. Miles had testified
any information found in inter-
cepted japanese messages consid-
cred of interest to the Army forces
in Hawaii had to be cleared through
the chief of staff before it was sent
to the Hawaiian commander, Maj.
Gen. Walter c. Short. Gen. Miles
made it clear that Gen. Short was
not even told that Japanese mes
sages we're being picked out of the
air and decoded, and any informa-
ton from them he did receive came
from the chief of staff through reg
ular military channels.
Going back to the January warm
ing, Mr.. Gesell said, You haven't
explained why you discounted it.
Il discounted it as not being q
bona fide bit of information that he
(the Peruvian diplomaD got from a
japanese source" said Gen. Miles.
Il did not discount the possibility
Of an attack on Pearl Harbor.'
Gen. Miles went on to explain
while he was in Hawaii from 1929
to 1882, and later in the War Plans
Division here, the possibility of 4
surprise attack on Hawaii, made
with little or no warning after a
period of strained relations, was
a basic consideration in defense
| plans"
Lost Sight of Task Force.
Mr.. Gesell next brought out the
fact that on November 26, 1941, Gen.
Miles prepared a memorandum
showing the disposition of various
elements of the Japanese fleet, and
stating that the present location of
some of the units of one task force
was not known.
Gen. Miles said that was correct,
but not surprising that our intel
ligence should not know at all times
the location of all japanese craft.
Mr.. Gesell pointed out this was the
same date the task force which
struck Hawaii left its rendezvous.
Gen. Miles explained that ca
dntelligence) "had to be very care
full that information sent Gen. Short
or Gen. Macarthur didn't tip off the
Japanese that we were intercepting
their messages and knew how to de-
code them cat that time, Gen.
Macarthur commanded the Philip
pines)
i The former intelligence chief add
ed: "It was always open to the Chief
OF Staff to send special instructions
based on information obtained in
these intercepts."
But Gen. Miles had said earlier
; in his testimony that this was rarely
done.
Before July, 1941, six months pre-
ceding the attack on Pearl Harbor,
the Navy, which intercepted most
Of the japanese messages picked
up in Hawaii, was translating and
DECIDING them in Washington and
tSee PEARL HARBOR, Page A-6.)