LETTER TO W. L. BALES FROM LEO REIERSTAD

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81-00706R000100060031-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 9, 2013
• Sequence Number: 31
• Publication Date: November 30, 1945
• Content Type: LETTER

Declassified and Approved For Release @50-Yr 2013/12/09: CIA-RDP81-00706R000100060031-1
AVIS ONQ ANON
APO 500, cfo Postmaster
San Premise*, California
CONYIDINTIAL
Coles.' W. L. RUNS
Op-1611, Room 4425
Wavy Department luilding
Washington, D. C.
Dear Sir:
50 November 19
5
In order to bring you up to date on the happenings of the past few
days, I beg to submit the following for your consideration.
The six non-language officers from JICPOA have arrived and are being
briefed for the duties which will be assigned them under the WDC Advanse Nebel.*
Plan. The group includes officers who have had specialised technical experience
in connection with Sonar equipment, Ileetronics, Ships and Aircraft. The last
named field is represented by a Lt. Comdr. Rand, USW, who has been a combat
pilot. Just why a man of his background was assigned to this duty is a bit herd
to figure out, bat he seems very interested in the assignment and has already
established contacts with the Naval Technical Air people in the theater with a
view to making sure that documentary materials whish they have acquired will
ultimately be handed to WDC for evacuation to the USA; in addition, his higher
rank will be an asset to the Navy component. In a Lt. Patsies, who has had
JICPOA experience, we have a suitable executive officer who will be la a position
to tie our activities La closely with those of WavTechJap and who is well
qualified from an intelligence point of view. The other four are excellent type
personnel who will play an importent part in seeing that the whole operation
is as effective as is possible under the circumstances.
In connection with this latter point, some interesting developments
have taken place. You will recall that, at the outset, the WDC Adv. Bch. was
to be the means by which there was to be a ?livid evacuation of documents to
Washington so that the material might, as soon as possible, be available for
research work there. Moreover, it was the concensus of opinion that theater
requirements would be determined an the basis if materials needed for security
and contmel only, and that other documents, for the most part at least, would
be immediately available for Washington purposes. It was on this basis that
started to arrange to piracies Naval documents at the various Japanese Naval
establishments, and, as you know, sizeable quantities of material have already
been forwarded from Yokosuka and the adjacent Naval Air Technical Arsenal.
In addition, together with Army personnel, one of our language officers had
worked on the selection of a large quantity of documents from Kokuhunji, the site
of oaf of t40 Japanese Armes large research establishments. This latter material
had been taken to the wharf at Yokosuka and was about to be loaded on a vessel,
when we were advised that the whole lot had to to brought back to is suitable
location in Tokyo where it was to beheld. at the disposal of an Army Ordnance
Research officer who was expected to arrive from the War Department. This action
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then constituted the motivating force for a directive which now *blips us
to publish detailed shipping advice* disseminate then here in the theater,
hold the documents here in Tokyo for two weeks, in such a state that any
interested agency or staff section could look at any or all of them with 4 VIOW
to retaining them in the theatre for study or research if desired. Then, after
theater clearance has thus been assured, they may be released for shipment.
In some eases, the documents may be held available at or adjacent to the site
where they were seised, but in view of practical difficulties, it is felt that
this will probelly require as much time, before the shipment is started on its
way, as if it were forwarded here to Tokyo in the first instance.
In view of the foregoing it is obvious that the whole process of
document evacuation will be very considerably slowed down. In addition, since
we will be performing a semi-library function here, there will be inevitable
increases in clerical activity, physical handling of the material, and of course,
employment of language personnel for purposes other than the simple selection
and evaluation incident to evacuation. This is a disappointing development,
but it is a situation which we must conform to, or risk not being able to send
anything to Washington.
You will be interested to learn that, at long last, the Army component
of the Adv. Nob. has arrived, and I expect that by early November the WDC Adv.
lob, plan may be in actual operation.
In my last report, I referred to a lot of Japanese Naval Documents
which we had received, from the nombing Surrey and were processing. This material
is new aboard the MSS AEON, and the ship is expected to depart on I December.
I am enclosing herewith an inventory of the documents and it will be apparent
that they include considerable material of interest. The Nombing.Survey has
Wain delivery of the material for purposes of forwarding it to WDC and the
Survey has expressly agreed not to turn it over to any other activity. Nowever,
it is well known that the Survey is much interested in the material and proposes
to process it on the way over and after its arrival in Washington, hence / feel
that interested CIO activities mould be well advised to remind the Servo to
turn over the documents to WDC as soon as possible so that Navy needs say be
net. This is still by far the most interesting Naval material yet uncovered,
and I feel that this may be all that will be available for some time to come.
When I took delivery of it from the Japanese Navy, it was part of a
special trainload of some seven cars of documents. I returned five carloads
of personnel records to the Japanese in view of their apparent lack of worth to
114 and their obvious value to the Japanese for demobilisation and pension
purposes. I was hoping that this would keep them happy, but not long before
the documents in our possession were to be shipped, we received an urgent request
that they be returned, We were all such opposed to such action, but the Japanese
Liaison Office in GHQ, was inclined to be sympathetic in the natter of this
request in order to insure continued cooperation with respect to interrogations
of Japanese Navy personnel, etc. Admiral Oftsie of the Survey made strong
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representations to General Willoughby, and after sone discussion the shipaent
was allowed to leave Japan. Iowever, I personally feel that if it hat mot
bee* for the strong position which the Survey Occupies in this theater, it
might have bee* mesessary to resort to perhaps the Joint Chiefs of $taff to
arrange for the documents to be forwarded to Washington. As you can imagine,
it was very interesting to watch how this *atter progressed.
In general, I feel the situation *ay be summarised soaewhet as
fellows:
1. To date, there has been a negligible income of documents through
the intelligence channel: language detachments with seme of the
tactical units are seizing and securing document targets and giving
notice of such actions - others ars doing nothing.
2. Many documents are being picked up by the technical teams most of
whom do not give um any notification of ease; some of these documents
may, in the future, find their way to us; others will no doubt be
forwarded directly to various Washington activities.
3. The bulk ef the ANS organization is still in the process of being
settled here in their new quarters; a few have been sent out to
reinforce the language detachments with tactical units, and this
is *apposed to be considerably accelerated in the near future.
4. NexTechJap interest continues to be centered around purely technical
matters, and, there is a wide variety of documentary material in which
they have no apparent interest. We are assured, however, that the
documents they do hold will be handed over to WDC Adv. Nch. when
they have served their purpose.
5. Now that the Army personnel have arrived, the Naval personnel who
have been engaged primary in the exploitation of purely naval targets
will be used in the impleaentation of the WM Adv. Sch. Plan; this
involves their assignaent to the various army tactical unit language
detachaents where they will work on all kinds of targets without
regard to any spedial service interest.
6. Theater requirements must now be considered as involving not only
considerations of security and control, but also research.
In view ef the necessity of sending all documents to Tokyo aad holding
them available for two weeks so that the various activities may
select material for theater research activity, the flow of documents
to Washington will be Tory considerably slowed down.
. A wide variety of conditions may be said to apply as regards the
various document targets. For example, some are well secured and ass
likely to remain so until ATIS and WDC teams get to than; sem* are
net secured by occupation force perseanel but are being looked after
by the Japanese authorities, who are charged with the responsibility
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COMPIDUTIAL
of seeing that nothing happens to the material; I feel that under
this system some loss of documents is inevitable, but it is probably
a reasonable minims. Sone targets have been made available to
sonvenier bunters, with reeultant total loss of valuable materials -
Kure and Yokosuka Naval Bases are examples of this policy.
As mentioned above, I annoy making our personnel available for the
WM Adv. Nth. plan, so exploitation of purely naval targets will be earned
out in accordance with that plan: In the meantime, we have covered Yokbsuka,
Maisurn, Naval Air Technical Arsenal, Kure, Shipping Ministry and in addition,
have surveyed the principal targets in the Tokyo area preparatory to exploitation
once official permission to enter the premises has been granted by ONO.
Last week we were able to get a small amount of material on the way
from Kure, by APO facilities, but in view of the new policy on clearing material.
which I have dealt with above, I am afraid that it may be some time before large
document shipments for WDC may be expected. As a matter fact. I would not be
surprised if I were taken to task for the materials we have bees so presumptions
to forward before we were expressly told not to ship anything without special
theater clearance. I am sure, however, that you, 'will also receive some documents
which have been forwarded directly by various intelligence activities without
going through channels, but in so doing, these intelligence activities have
acted contrary to theater regulations.
In general, things are going smoothly and harmoniously; I have
arranged to maintain close, continuous laison with other Naval activities and
have received much help and encouragement, particularly from the Naval Liaison
Office.
I will be writing you again in the near future, in the meantime,
Respectfully yours,
Leo Reierstad,
Lt. Comdr., USSR.
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