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


31. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for Administration (Russell) to the Secretary of State’s Special Assistant for Research and Intelligence (McCormack)

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


32. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of War for Air (Lovett) to the Assistant Chief of Staff for Military Intelligence of the War Department General Staff (Bissell)

Source: Central Intelligence Agency Historical Files, Penrose Document No. 12. Secret. Also addressed to the Assistant Chief of Staff, Operations Division; the Assistant Chief of Air Staff–2; the Assistant Chief of Staff, G–2, Army Ground Forces; the Director of Intelligence, Army Service Forces; the Director, Strategic Services Unit; and the Chief of the Special Planning Division, War Department Special Staff.


33. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for Administration (Russell) 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.


34. Report by the Director, Strategic Services Unit, Department of War (Magruder) to the Assistant Secretary of War for Air (Lovett)

Source: Central Intelligence Agency Historical Files, Penrose Papers. Secret. Attached to the source text is an October 26 memorandum from Magruder to Lovett. This memorandum, and Part I of the report, and two appendices are in the Supplement.


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

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 51, Records of the Office of Management and Budget, Director’s Files, Series 39.27, Intelligence. Confidential.


36. Memorandum From the Assistant Chief of Staff, Operations Division, Department of War (Hull) to the Assistant Secretary of War for Air (Lovett)

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


37. Letter From the Assistant Director of the Bureau of the Budget (Appleby) to Attorney General Clark

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 51, Records of the Office of Management and Budget, Director’s Files, Series 39.27, Intelligence. Secret. Revised by Appleby on October 30.


38. Memorandum From the Director of the Bureau of the Budget (Smith) 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. No classification marking. Drafted by George F. Schwarzwalder on October 25.


39. Letter From the Secretary of State’s Special Assistant for Research and Intelligence (McCormack) to the President’s Chief of Staff (Leahy)

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 263, Records of the Central Intelligence Agency, Troy Papers, Box 10, Folder 73. No classification marking. Leahy met with McCormack on this date to discuss “the formation of a Central Intelligence Service.” (Library of Congress Manuscript Division, Papers of William D. Leahy, Leahy Diaries 1945, p. 182)


41. Memorandum for Information

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 263, Records of the Central Intelligence Agency, Troy Papers, Nov. 1945. Secret. The date is handwritten on the source text.


42. Memorandum From the Lovett Committee to Secretary of War Patterson

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 263, Records of the Central Intelligence Agency, Troy Papers, Nov. 1945. Top Secret. Brigadier General Carter W. Clarke sent this report to the members of the Committee on November 6. In his covering memorandum he wrote that Lovett had directed him to inform the Committee that Secretary Patterson had approved the report. (Ibid.) See the Supplement.


43. Memorandum From the Assistant Director (Ladd) 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.


44. White House Memorandum

Source: Truman Library, Official File, 892, No classification marking. Truman wrote the following note at the bottom of the page for Matt Connelly: “Matt: Set this up. H.S.T.” No drafting information appears on the source text; it is neither signed nor addressed and the exact circumstances in which it was prepared are unknown. But Truman’s handwritten instructions to Connelly on this copy clearly make it a Presidential directive. Troy (Donovan and the CIA, pp. 320–321) believes that it was inspired by Admiral Leahy who, in turn, was prompted by “someone from the Navy Department.” Leahy makes no mention of this document in his diaries; it is therefore not clear precisely how this is linked to the Presidential instruction Leahy did receive, on or shortly before October 31, directing him to look into the status of McCormack’s efforts.


45. Minutes of Meeting

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Records of the Department of State, Decimal File 1945–49, 101.61/11–1445. Top Secret. No drafting information appears on the source text. Another copy is ibid., Diplomatic Branch Reference File, Minutes of the Committee of Three, 1944–1947.


46. Paper Prepared for the Secretary of State’s Staff Committee

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 353, Records of Interdepartmental and Intradepartmental Committees—State Department, Lot File No. 122, Records of the Secretary’s Staff Committee 1944–47. Secret. The Secretary’s Staff Committee, organized in 1944 by Secretary of State Stettinius to formulate and coordinate Departmental policy, included as members the Secretary, the Under Secretary, and the Assistant Secretaries as well as selected other officers. There is no drafting information on the source text, but it is the “McCormack Plan” for national intelligence organization as distinct from the “McCormack Plan” for the Department of State’s own internal intelligence organization.


47. Memorandum of Meeting

Source: Central Intelligence Agency Historical Files, HS/HC–135. Top Secret. The date on the memorandum is October 19 but this presumably is an error as the meeting was held November 19. The meeting was held in the Department of State. The committee was the working group appointed by the Secretaries of State, War, and Navy at their November 14 meeting; see Document 45.


48. Minutes of the 168th Meeting of the Secretary of State’s Staff Committee

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 353, Records of Interdepartmental and Intradepartmental Committees—State Department, Lot File No. 122, Records of the Secretary’s Staff Committee 1944–47. Top Secret. Drafted by James H. Lewis. The meeting was held in the Secretary’s office.


49. Paper Prepared for the Secretary of State’s Staff Committee

Source: Truman Library, Papers of J. Anthony Panuch, State Department Research and Intelligence #1. Secret.


50. Minutes of the 170th Meeting of the Secretary of State’s Staff Committee

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 353, Records of Interdepartmental and Intradepartmental Committees—State Department, Lot File No. 122, Records of the Secretary’s Staff Committee 1944–47. Top Secret. Drafted by James H. Lewis. The meeting was held in the Secretary’s office.


51. Memorandum From the Director of the Bureau of the Budget (Smith) 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. No classification marking. Drafted by L.W. Hoelscher on November 28 and cleared by Schwarzwalder and Miles. Hoelscher sent an accompanying memorandum to Smith that concludes that proposals for an intelligence system are still confused with secret intelligence operations and that the Department of State should be the leader in efforts to develop a postwar intelligence program. (Ibid.) See the Supplement. Smith’s diary for November 28 gives an account of the meeting with the President at which he handed over the memorandum. (Roosevelt Library, Papers of Harold Smith, Box No. 4, Conferences with President Truman, 1945) See the Supplement.


52. Minutes of the 171st Meeting of the Secretary of State’s Staff Committee

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 353, Records of Interdepartmental and Intradepartmental Committees—State Department, Lot File No. 122, Records of the Secretary’s Staff Committee, 1944–47, Box 88H. Top Secret. Drafted by Lewis. The meeting was held in the Secretary’s office.


53. Memorandum From the Chief of Naval Intelligence (Inglis) to the Chief of Naval Operations (King)

Source: Central Intelligence Agency Historical Files, HS/HC–135. Top Secret.


54. Memorandum From Secretary of State Byrnes to Secretary of War Patterson and Secretary of the Navy Forrestal

Source: Truman Library, Papers of Clark M. Clifford, National Intelligence Authority. Confidential. The date is handwritten on another copy of the source text. (Ibid.)


55. Minutes of Meeting

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Records of the Department of State, Diplomatic Branch Reference File, Minutes of the Meetings of the Committee of Three, 1944–47. No classification marking. A copy ibid., Decimal File 1945–49, 101.61/12–1145, indicates that the minutes were classified Top Secret.


56. Memorandum From the Secretary of State’s Special Assistant for Research and Intelligence (McCormack) to Secretary of War Patterson and Secretary of the Navy Forrestal

Source: Truman Library, Papers of J. Anthony Panuch, State Department Research and Intelligence No. 1. No classification marking. Copies were distributed to Staff Committee members under cover of an unsigned, undated note. (National Archives and Records Administration, RG 353, Records of Interdepartmental and Intradepartmental Committees—State Department, Lot File No. 122, Records of the Secretary’s Staff Committee 1944–47) Attached to the memorandum is an annex, “Chart A,” of the revised organizational plan. See the Supplement.


57. Memorandum From the Chief of Naval Operations (Nimitz) to Secretary of the Navy Forrestal

Source: Central Intelligence Agency Historical Files, HS/HC–135. Top Secret. The handwritten words “Nimitz letter” at the end of the source text identify the author. Nimitz became Chief of Naval Operations on December 15, 1945.


58. Memorandum From the Executive Officer, Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Air (Brownell) to the Members of the Lovett Committee

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 263, Records of the Central Intelligence Agency, Troy Papers, December 1945. Secret. Addressed to Major Generals Craig (OPD), Quesada (AAF), and Wyman (AGF), Brigadier Generals Clarke (G–2) and Magruder (SSU), and Colonel Roamer (ASF).


59. Memorandum From the Chief of the Operations Division, War Department General Staff (Craig) to the Members of the Lovett Committee

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 263, Records of the Central Intelligence Agency, Troy Papers, December 1945. No classification marking.


60. Memorandum From the Chief of the Operations Division, War Department General Staff (Craig) to Secretary of War Patterson

Source: Central Intelligence Agency Historical Files, HS/HC–135. Confidential.


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