Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1946-02-02
Pressure toDrop
Jap War Tipoff
StoryCharged
Navy Officer Accuses
Hewitt Probe Counsel
Of TrreguIority'
BY CARTER BROOKE JONES.

Capt. L. F. Stafford, naval COM
munications intelligence officer
here in 1941, told the Pearl Har-
Dor Committee today that 1t.
Comdr. John Sonnet, counsel
for the Hewitt naval inquiry,
made a determined effort" to
get him to change his testimony
that the Navy had a war warn
ing in the form of a winds"
code three days before the Japa-
neSe attack.
Capt. Stafford called Comdr. Son.
nett's alleged attempt to influence
him most irregular if not illegal"
Capt. Stafford, who is disputing
the testimony of high Navy Off
Gals, who commended there was no
record of a war warning disguised
as a Japanese weather broadcast.
also told the committee he had
new written evidence proving such
a message was intercepted.
The Hewitt inquiry was a special
investigation of Pearl Harbor con-
Quoted by Admiral H. K. Hewitt,
on order of the Secretary of the
Navy, after the Navy Court of In
quiry had reported.
Acting as Defense Counsel"
The conversation with Comdr.
Sonnet described by Capt. Stafford
took place, the witness said, last
May IL.
Capt. Stafford testified that it was
apparent from his first meeting with
Comdr. Sonnet that officer was
acting as defense counsel for
Admiral Harold R. Stark, then chief
of naval operations, and Col. Frank
Knox, then Secretary of the Navy.
Capt. Stafford told the committee
the commander tried to persuade
MN that he was suffering from
'hallucinations," and urged him to
go back on his testimony at previous
inquiries and tell Admiral Hewitt
the truth"
Il never heard of anything like it
IN all my experience as commits
stoned officer in the Navy" Capt.
Stafford added.
In telling the committee of the
new written evidence concerning in
Perception of the winds" message,
Capt. Stafford said:
i got new written evidence about
two weeks ago. 1t helped tremen-
dously in refreshing my memory
Two Democratic members of the
committee, Representatives Murphy
OF Pennsylvania and Cooper of Ten
nessee, interrupted with demands to
see the written evidence.
Committee members pointed out
that the witness had testified late
yesterday that the naval commune
cations office here had DESTROYED all
personal memoranda and letters re-
lating to Pearl Harbor few DAYS
after the attack, by order of Admiral
Stark.
What's the nature of the written
evidence?" demanded Seth w. Rich
ardson, committee counsel, who was
crosS-examinlng the officer.
1t was the monthly reports of the
Navy radio stations at Cheltenham,
Md, and Winter Haven, Fla, Capt.
Stafford said, adding:
Two years ago we were told that
these records could not be discovered.
They were located about two weeks
ago. I quoted them in preparing my
testimony for this committee"
The demand for these records to
be produced was deferred while Mr..
Richardson proceeded with his in
|terrogation.
Mr.. Richardson, pointing out GER
tain discrepancies between Capt.
Saffords present testimony and what
he told previous Pearl Harbor in
quiry boards, asked if he had not
talked to many persons and made
great efforts to clear up a cloudy
memory of the events surrounding
the Japanese attack.
Yes" said Capt. Stafford, 80 I
could testify clearly and not be con-
fused by counsel"
Il want you to understand" Mr..
Richardson retorted, that I don't
give a tinker's damn whether a
winds message came in or not. I'm
SIMPLY trying to present all the evil
dence to this committee And I'm
not trying to broWbeat you"
Reads From Transcript.
Mr.. Richardson asked if Capt.
Stafford did not say at previous in
quiry regarding the winds code: 81
realize that my memory was very
vague"
He probably did, Capt. Stafford
replied, adding that at the time he
tried to piece together all the evil
dence of the warning code he had
expected to be called as a prosecu-
ton witness at a courts-martial of
Rear Admiral Husband E. Kimmel.
Pacific Fleet commander when Pearl
Harbor was bombed.
Mr.. Richardson, reading from
(See PEARL HARBOR, Page A-3J