WILLIAM J. DONOVAN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80B01676R002500070007-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 10, 2002
• Sequence Number: 7
• Content Type: BIO

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WILLIAM J. DONOVAN
Supplemental Biographical Data
pages
1,-4
Additional Quotable Quote s
Bibliography (Prepared by CIA Library
pages
5-8
at request of CI Staff
(This document contains no classified information)
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c f s
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WILLIAM JOSEPH DONOVAN
SUPPLEMENTAL. BIOGRAPHICAL DATA
1. Mr. Donovan was awarded an Honorary L. L... D. by Norwich
University in 1923.
2. Mr. Donovan resigned as assistant prosecutor at, the Nuremberg
trials in November 1945.
3. The New York Times 29 April 1948 reported on a speech given
by Mr. Donovan to 600 members of the Veterans of Strategic Services
(VSS) who met 28. April to form the New York Chapter of VSS. The
article stated that chapters had, been formed in major cities from coast
to. coast.
4. Speaking over the Mutual Broadcasting network 18' March 1951
under the auspices of the Committee on the Present Danger, Mr. Donovan
in describing Soviet, subversive methods said "...we are faced by an
enemy against whom we cannot lower our guard--a foe that is always
alert and ruthless and tenacious".
5. A biographical sketch of Mr. Donovan in the New York Times
stated he had, been named in 1955 by President Eisenhower as a member
of a seven-man committee to survey the problem of veterans' pensions.
6. New York Times 28 March 1956 published an article quoting
from a report issued by Mr. Donovan, in behalf of the International
Rescue Committee, exposing the "come home" campaign being carried on
by the Soviet Union against refugees in the United States and elsewhere in
the free world.
7. In one of the old OSS files an undated document was found titled,
"Assignment No.. 2", bearing the name
and containing
a summary of data concerning OSS generally and.specifically Mr. Donovan,
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most of it taken..from other sources listed in an appended bibliography,
from which it could be deduced that the document was prepared in 1948
or later. One portion of this document stated "The strength of the
Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria was the one great intelligence
slip-up in Asia during World War II.... " On the margin of this page
was written in longhand 1) 'In May 1945 Gen. -Donovan in Hsian, China,
said that he had, told Pres. Roosevelt that the Japanese were not strong
in Manchuria but Roosevelt would not believe Donovan. I heard Donovan
say this. " This notation was signed by W. J. Morgan, believed to be
identical with the author of The O. S.. S. and I, William J. Morgan.
8. In a biographical sketch appearing in the New York Herald
Tribune of 10 June 1945, occasioned.by announcement of Mr. Donovan's
appointment to a post with the German war crimes trials, it was stated
that in working his way through college Mr. Donovan "bossed a street
gang and ran a baking powder factory, and still had time to play football
and run cross country". This same article says he likes baseball,
dislikes banquets; likes to read standing up.
9. The attached, bibliography prepared by the CIA Library indicates
that Mr. Donovan has made many speeches and statements on a variety
of topics of national and international interest as of the times. they were
made. Numerous trips abroad on official and legal business, other than
the ones previously mentioned. are also indicated.
10. The following are excerpts from an article in Readers' Digest
of October 1947 by Frederic Sondern Jr.:
"'When in serious trouble', said Franklin D. Roosevelt
to a. White House aide shortly after Pearl Harbor, 'It'ss
a good idea to send for Bill Donovan'. And the President,
although William J. (Wild Bill) Donovan had been, an
outspoken. anti-New Dealer and a bitter political foe for
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years, reached for a phone. Government leaders,
legislators, heads of industries, generals and others
with heavy responsibilities have long felt that way
about the soft-spoken, gray-haired lawyer, soldier
and statesman who in comparative anonimity has
played and, is still playing so vital a part in the
country's destiny.
"'To Donovan', a British intelligence chief once told
me, 'nothing is impossible. He doesn't seem to know
the meaning of the word'.
"It was typical of 'Wild Bill' to stand like a rock in
the face of enemy fire and yell to his men They can't
hit me, so they can't hit you either. Let's got .
Donovan won his Congressional Medal near the French
village of Landres, when he stayed in the frontline
after being seriously wounded, and had. himself
carried.round on a stretcher while he reorganized
his. shattered command.
"tDonovan's high-speed brain', a close friend once
said, 'puts in more working time than three normal
ones 1.
"Whether in a Congressional hearing or before the
U.S. Supreme Court, he has never been known to be
flustered or lose his temper. He speaks in a low but
powerful voice, without apparent histrionics, but with
an air of absolute authority.
"Once, at a grueling OSS staff meeting plotting future
action against Germany, an irritated young Army officer
flared: 'Good Lord, why don't we just drop into, Berlin
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and assassinate Hitler? It. would all be much simpler.'
Donovan raised his eyebrows and looked fixedly at the
young man for a moment. 'Well', he said finally,
'why don't we?' He was stopped from trying only by
a report from Allen Dulles, his chief agent in Switzer-
land, that some German officers were going to try it
themselves.
"Donovan's.influence on his men was enormous. Unlike
most brass, he was always available and easy to talk
to. He would keep colonels waiting while he consulted
with a sergeant who had a bxight idea.. A flustered
aide, on one occasion, was trying to get him to an
important meeting at the War Department. But the
General was talking to a nondescript little man, with a
foreign accent. 'Never mind, my boy', said Wild Bill
to the aide a half hour later. 'That man is going to jump
into Berlin pretty soon. The meeting isn't going anywhere;
it can wait'. Donovan's enthusiasm, spontaneity and love
of the different was quickly communicated all the way
down the line. 'He made me feel', said one agent whom
Donovan sent on a particularly dangerous mission into
the Balkans, 'as though it was all going to be perfectly
simple. He talked to me quietly for half an hour, and I
walked out of his office convinced that I could do the job.'.
That is Donovan's way.
"'You can find out anything you want to know about anybody
in the world,' Donovan once announced at a staff meeting,
'if you really want to' I.
Whether we like it or not, we have many enemies in the
world today', says Donovan. 'We must know exactly what
they are doing'. "
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QUOTATIONS
11. The New York Herald. Tribune of 10 April 1946 reporting on
speech made to the Book and Author Luncheon sponsored by that news-
paper and the American Booksellers" Association, quoted. Mr. Donovan
as, saying in part:
"I often wonder if the reason we have never had a
consistent foreign policy is because we have never
had a real intelligence service. "
12. Reporting on a talk given by Mr. Donovan-1.1 April 1946 at
a luncheon .of the Philadelphia Community Crusade, he was quoted as
follows:
Philadelphia Inquirer: 'One reason why we never had an
effective foreign policy was that we never had an intelli-
gence department. The only true policy for America is
to.be strong, resolute and know where we are going. This,
means we must have a strong and effective 'secret service',
one that will debate and determine, but not administer
policies-. Philadelphia Evening Bulletin: "We need an intelligence
service handled by American hands and seen by American
eyes to insure the impartial gathering and evaluation of
what is going on' in other countries. " ... we will never
maintain the peace without sound information to- work-on.
We have never had.an affirmative foreign policy because
we never had an intelligence service. We had to wait for
other countries to act before we could form a counter-
function. It is time we grew up. "
Philadelphia Record:. "Intelligence work is held in
peculiar opinion. in' the United States. Most people
think of it as a cloak and dagger business. In reality,
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it is detailed and .minute work. Intelligence is that
service of information used by all nations to determine
the policies and intents, of other nations"...... "Govern-
mental policies can be no better than information upon
which they-,are based... ..'.,If we are not able to prevent
war. because of the atom bomb, let's at least have a
knowledge of the facts".
13. The New York Times of 17 September 1946 reported on a speech
made by Mr. Donovan to the Advertising Men's Post of the Arm rican
Legion in which he criticized the then new National Intelligence Agency,
calling it a "phony!". It quoted him as stating it contained some of the
elements which made the intelligence service the'Little Orphan Annie"
of the government since time began. He stressed the importance of
having an integrated. intelligence servic e to face the Russian threat. He
called for a strong intelligence agency as America's. first line of defense.
14. The following is from an article datelined Berlin in the
New York Times on 18 July 1948 covering an interview given by
Mr. Donovan concerning the Berlin blockade while he was in Europe
on a private trip (he emphasized he was not commenting officially):
"If the Russians are determined to have war, we might
as well have it here as 500 miles back (to the West)",
said. General Donovan endorsing the idea that a show
of force was necessary here to learn Soviet intentions.
"I cannot believe the Russians want to fight as long as
they can get what they want by other means. "
15. The next day, 19 July 1948, the New York Times again quoted
Mr. Donovan .as follows:
"If she (the USSR). is only bluffing, now is, the time to
call the bluff. Whatever the Soviet intentions. may be
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the surest way to find. out is' for the Western Allies,
led. by the United States, to take a firm stand.on
Berlin now. "
16. An Item In the New York Times 31 May 1949 on the occasion
of Mr. Donovan's return: from an. extended.tour of the Near East said:
"Donovan urged President Truman's 'Point 4'-.plan.
to develop backward areas be used to combat the
spread of Communism in China and other Asiatic
countries" and he "...vigorously opposed sending
additional military aid to. China". . Mr. Donovan
"...held that by aiding development of these backward
countries the United States would achieve a double
purpose: it would destroy the conditions on which
Communism spreads and at the same time create
vast new markets for American businessmen. "
17. From an article in the New York Times of 4 March. 1950 comes
the statement that in an appearance before the House Foreign Affairs Com-
mittee, Mr. Donovan, speaking as chairman of the American Committee
for a United. Europe, said he was "appalled that there was' not"a clearer
understanding among. Americans that the outcome of this cold war we are
in is just as important to our children and grandchildren as was the out-
come of World War II". Speaking for the continuance of Marshall Plan
aid, Mr. Donovan called for the same initiative in. Asia as undertaken in
Europe in 1948.
18. Mr. Donovan. is, quoted in.the New York Times of 5. March 1950
as having told a group of student leaders at the Columbia College Forum
on Democracy iui dcheori the previous day:
"This :country's government must be neither too strong
for its citizens nor too weak=for its preservation. You
must'impos-e certain regulations on some citizens in
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order to attain security for all citizens. The people
of this country should be secure in their persons, in
their property and in their privacy. "
19. The New York Times on 13 November 1952 quotes Mr. Donovan
as stating at a dinner meeting to representatives of the Academy of
Political Science:
"The way to prevent World_ War III is to win the
subversive war the Soviets are already waging against
us, of which the Korean war is only a part. To do
this the American people must understand the nature
of Soviet subversion and. infiltration. "
20. The. New York Times of 10 December 1952, reporting on a
speech by Mr. Donovan to students at Barnard College, quotes- him.as
suggesting guerilla forces in Communist countries would be cheaper
than wars of confinement such as Korea.
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