Founding of the National Intelligence Structure, August 1945–January 1946


1. Memorandum From the Assistant to the Counselor (Doyle) to Secretary of State Byrnes

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Records of the Department of State, Decimal File 1945–49, 101.5/8–2145. Secret.


2. Memorandum From E.R. Baker of the Bureau of the Budget Staff to the Assistant Director for Estimates (Martin)

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 51, Records of the Office of Management and Budget, Series 39.19, OSS Organization and Functions, Box 67. No classification marking.


3. Memorandum From the Director of the Office of Strategic Services (Donovan) to President Truman

Source: Truman Library, Miscellaneous Material Filed by the Administrative Asst. in the President’s Office, Office of Strategic Services. Secret.


4. Memorandum From the Assistant Director for Administrative Management of the Bureau of the Budget (Stone) to the Director of the Bureau of the Budget (Smith)

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 51, Records of the Office of Management and Budget, Series 39.19, OSS Organization and Functions. No classification marking.


5. Memorandum From the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Hoover) to Attorney General Clark

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 263, Records of the Central Intelligence Agency, Troy Papers, FBI Documents. Personal and Strictly Confidential. Drafted by Tamm.


6. Letter From the Director of the Office of Strategic Services (Donovan) to the President’s Special Counsel (Rosenman)

Source: Central Intelligence Agency Historical Files, HS/HC 801, Item 29. No classification marking.


7. Memorandum From the Director’s Assistant (Tamm) to the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Hoover)

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 263, Records of the Central Intelligence Agency, Troy Papers, FBI Documents. No classification marking.


8. Memorandum From the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Hoover) to Attorney General Clark

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 263, Records of the Central Intelligence Agency, Troy Papers, FBI Documents. Personal and Strictly Confidential. Drafted by Tamm.


9. Memorandum From the Director of the Office of Strategic Services (Donovan) to President Truman

Source: Truman Library, Miscellaneous Material Filed by the Administrative Asst. in the President’s Office, Office of Strategic Services. No classification marking. Donovan saw the President on September 13, but only for a brief ceremonial occasion. (Ibid., President’s Appointment Book, File of Matthew Connelly) Also reproduced in CIA Cold War Records: The CIA under Harry Truman, p. 3.


10. Memorandum From the Director’s Assistant (Tamm) to the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Hoover)

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 263, Records of the Central Intelligence Agency, Troy Papers, Box 8, Folder 15. No classification marking.


11. Memorandum From Arnold Miles of the Bureau of the Budget Staff to the Assistant Director for Administrative Management of the Bureau of the Budget (Stone)

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 51, Records of the Office of Management and Budget, Director’s File, Series 39.27, Intelligence. No classification marking.


12. Memorandum From the Secretary of the Navy’s Special Assistant (Correa) to Secretary of the Navy Forrestal

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 80, General Records of the Department of the Navy, Records of Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal 1940–1947, General Correspondence 1944–1947, 80–1–19, Box 129. No classification marking.


13. Memorandum From the Joint Chiefs of Staff to Secretary of War Stimson and Secretary of the Navy Forrestal

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 80, General Records of the Department of the Navy, SecNav/CNO Top Secret Correspondence File 1945, A8, Box 21, Folder A8. Top Secret. Also reproduced in CIA Cold War Records: The CIA under Harry Truman, pp. 8–10.


14. Executive Order 9621

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 51, Records of the Office of Management and Budget, Series 39.19, OSS Organization and Function. The source text is labeled “immediate release.” Also printed in 3 CFR 431–432. Smith’s account of the signing by the President is in the Roosevelt Library, Papers of Harold Smith, Box 4, Conferences with the President 1945, September 20, 1945. See the Supplement.


15. Letter From President Truman to Secretary of State Byrnes

Source: Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Harry S. Truman, 1945, p. 331. On the same date Truman also sent a letter to General Donovan informing him of the signing of Executive Order 9621 and thanking him for his services. (Ibid., p. 330) see the Supplement.


16. Memorandum From the Assistant Director for Administrative Management, Bureau of the Budget (Stone) to the Director of the Bureau of the Budget (Smith)

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 51, Records of the Office of Management and Budget, Series 39.19, OSS Organization and Functions. No classification marking.


17. Memorandum From Attorney General Clark to President Truman

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 51, Records of the Office of Management and Budget, Director’s Files, Series 39.27, Intelligence. Secret. In a covering memorandum to a slightly different draft of this memorandum, September 21, Hoover told Clark that “it is essential to consummate the Government program upon this subject at the earliest possible date, and accordingly, I believe that any affirmative action which may be taken to advance this program should be taken very promptly.” (Ibid., RG 263, Records of the Central Intelligence Agency, Troy Papers, FBI Documents) See the Supplement. The memorandum apparently was not sent to Truman. In October 22 covering letters, Clark sent Smith and Appleby of the Bureau of the Budget copies of this plan. See the Supplement for the October 22 letters. (National Archives and Records Administration, RG 51, Records of the Office of Management and Budget, Director’s Files, Series 39.27, Intelligence)


18. Memorandum From G.E. Ramsey, Jr., of the Bureau of the Budget Staff to the Assistant Director for Estimates of the Bureau of the Budget (Martin)

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 51, Records of the Office of Management and Budget, Director’s Files, Series 39.27, Intelligence. No classification marking.


19. Memorandum From the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Hoover) to Attorney General Clark

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 263, Records of the Central Intelligence Agency, Troy Papers, FBI Documents. Personal and Confidential.


20. Letter From Secretary of War Patterson and Secretary of the Navy Forrestal to Secretary of State Byrnes

Source: Central Intelligence Agency Historical Files, HS/HC–802, Item 9. Top Secret.


22. Memorandum From Morton B. Chiles of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to the Director (Hoover)

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 263, Records of the Central Intelligence Agency, Troy Papers, FBI Documents. No classification marking.


23. Memorandum From the Secretary of State’s Special Assistant for Research and Intelligence (McCormack) to the Director of the Strategic Services Unit, Department of War (Magruder)

Source: Central Intelligence Agency Historical Files, HS/HC–135. No classification marking. Copies were sent to Stone, Inglis, and Bissell.


24. Memorandum From the Director’s Assistant (Tamm) to the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Hoover)

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 263, Records of the Central Intelligence Agency, Troy Papers, FBI Documents. No classification marking.


25. Memorandum From the Chief of Naval Operations and Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet (King) to Secretary of the Navy Forrestal

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 80, General Records of the Department of the Navy, SecNav/CNO Top Secret Correspondence File, 1945, Box 21, Folder A8. Top Secret.


26. Memorandum From Secretary of the Navy Forrestal to Secretary of War Patterson

Source: Central Intelligence Agency Historical Files, HS/HC–31, Item 22. No classification marking. The source text is an extract transcribed in July 1952 for the CIA Historian. The original document has not been found.


27. Memorandum From Secretary of the Navy Forrestal to Secretary of State Byrnes

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Records of the Department of State, Decimal File 1945–49, 101.5/10–1345. No classification marking.


28. Minutes of Meeting

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Records of the Department of State, Diplomatic Branch, Reference File, Minutes of the Committee of Three, 1944–1947. Top Secret.


29. Memorandum From the Director of the Strategic Services Unit, Department of War (Magruder) to the Assistant Secretary of War (McCloy)

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 263, Records of the Central Intelligence Agency, Troy Papers, Box 10, Folder 73. Secret.


30. Memorandum From the Assistant Chief of Staff for Military Intelligence of the War Department General Staff (Bissell) to Secretary of War Patterson

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 263, Records of the Central Intelligence Agency, Troy Papers, Box 10, Folder 73. No classification marking.


Contents