#3-563
Memorandum for the Adjutant General
March 22, 1943 Washington, D.C.
Secret
Please make the following of record:
In the latter part of February I was informed that General Escudero, Chief of Staff of the Chilean Army was about to leave on a visit to the United States and was bringing their highest decoration for me.* I directed
the A. C. of S., G-2, to communicate with our Attache in Chile to see if this matter could not be suspended. I anticipated that the object of General Escudero's visit was in relation to Lend-Lease matters and I did not wish to be embarrassed by the receipt of a decoration. The Military Attache replied that this could not be avoided without grave offense. (See copies of two messages referred to above.)1
After General Escudero's arrival in Washington I was notified by the Chilean Ambassador that an award of the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit had been made in my favor and I was requested to be present at the Chilean Embassy at 6:30 on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 23rd. I immediately had the matter taken up by General Strong who through Mr. Nelson Rockefeller arranged that the letter of the Chilean Ambassador would be withdrawn and no action would be taken in the matter at this time, though it presented a great embarrassment to General Escudero.
Later General Escudero saw me personally and stated that he understood my position thoroughly but that he would be gravely embarrassed by my failure to accept the decoration. I finally agreed to accept it from his hands with the understanding that I would not consider the award as having been made until the cessation of hostilities. He accepted this and today handed me informally the diploma and the medal of the Grand Cross of the Order of El Merito.
In addition to the foregoing action on my part I have caused instructions to be given to each of our Military Attaches to the effect that they are to tactfully avoid any future proposals of decorations for me during the continuation of hostilities (see copy attached).2
G. C. Marshall
*This latter information was communicated in a radio from the MA [military attaché], Santiago, Chile, March 5, 1943.
Document Copy Text Source: Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs (RG 165), Records of the Office of the Chief of Staff (OCS), 210.5, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland.
Document Format: Typed memorandum signed.
1. "If it can be done without embarrassment let it be known that Chief thinks it best not to accept any more decorations during active conduct of hostilities," Major General George V. Strong radioed to the military attaché in Santiago, Chile. The military attaché responded that the foreign ministry had authorized the decoration and he therefore recommended acceptance. (Strong to Military Attaché, Radio No. 412, March 5, 1943, and Johnson to Military Intelligence Division, Radio No. 402, March 8, 1943, GCMRL/G. C. Marshall Papers [Pentagon Office, Selected].)
2. All military attachés were instructed that General Marshall believed decorations from foreign governments "would constitute an embarrassment to him at this time, especially when he is desirous of lending specific assistance to the country concerned. The matter of a personal award to him raises the possibility of political attacks which would tend to limit his efforts to lend the desired assistance.” The attachés were to "explain the situation with the utmost tact and make the suggestion that General Marshall would greatly appreciate the matter being held in abeyance during the continuation of hostilities." (Circular Letter No. 222 to All Military Attaches, March 18, 1943, NA/RG 165 [OCS, 210.51.)
Recommended Citation: ThePapers of George Catlett Marshall, ed.Larry I. Bland and Sharon Ritenour Stevens (Lexington, Va.: The George C. Marshall Foundation, 1981– ). Electronic version based on The Papers of George Catlett Marshall, vol. 3, “The Right Man for the Job,” December 7, 1941-May 31, 1943 (Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991), pp. 599–600.