General Marshalls Dec 7 horseback ride

Maxim Litvinoff, by Arthur Upham Pope (1943) L. B. Fischer New York

The cite is from p.473

The United States Congress was told that General Marshall had been horseback riding on the morning of 7 Dec 1941. Did somebody lie?

He didn't meet with Adm King in Washington on Dec. 7 1941. King, CinC Atlantic Fleet, was at Newport, RI with his flagship USS Augusta. He received orders on Dec. 8 to proceed to Washington the following day. In civilian clothes, the admiral was driven to Kingston, RI, and then took a train to DC, arriving a little before midnight on Tuesday, Dec 9. He was in Washington until Saturday the 13th, returned to his flagship, and was again summoned to Washington, arriving Tuesday the 16th. Having been offered the post of CinC US Fleet, King returned to Newport on Dec. 19 to wind up his affairs as CinCLant. On Dec 20 the President announced his designation as CinCUS, and King left Newport by air for Washington.

'On Saturday, 6 December, Augusta swung at her buoy in Narragansett Bay. King was aboard signing an unusually large number of letters. Some were official. Still he took time to write to friends in Lorain, or to Academy classmates urging them to come to Annapolis for their fortieth anniversary.

'The Admiral was tired. The biweekly trips to Washington had been ordeals. The staff knew he disliked going there. 'Well, I've got to go down to Washington again,' he would say, 'to straighten out those dumb bastards once more.'

'In the afternoon King went ashore to walk and to visit the Newport Reading Room, then returned to his flagship. At sunset the ship's bugler sounded colors, and the watch lowered the colors on the foremast and fantail. The quarterdeck watch shivered in the winter wind.

'After dinner King watched the ship's movie, then returned to his cabin. He read a short while, selecting a book from his collection of biographies and histories. His mind relaxed. A steward brought him is customary glass of orange juice just before bedtime. King turned off his light and went to sleep. 'Sunday, 7 December 1941, was a normal workday for King. His steward wakened him at 0700, and King exercised for his customary ten minutes before shaving and dressing. Narciso Arce, his Filipino cook, prepared breakfast in the flag pantry. After he had eaten, King worked at his desk until lunch, where he was joined by his new chief of staff, Rear Admiral Olaf M. Hurstvedt. When lunch was over, King retired for his ritual nap.

'A Marine orderly brought a message to Hurstvedt. The Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. Hurstvedt entered King's cabin and handed the message to the Admiral. King read it without comment. The staff routine the remainder of the day was unchanged.

. . .

'The next morning King informed his aide, Harry Sanders, to be prepared to leave by train for Washington that afternoon. Sanders did not ask about the uniform; King always traveled in civilian clothes when he went to Washington. Later in the morning a message arrived saying New York City was under attack. King did not take the report seriously. He still intended to go to Washington.

. . .

'King went home when he arrived in Washington that evening.'

King' by Thomas B. Buell, 1980.

Mr. Litvinoff, who doesn't even appear in the index of this book, was evidently mistaken, self inflating, or out-and-out lying to his muse, Mr. Pope. Or maybe Mr. Pope just made it all up. That happens around here sometimes. In either case, it could be contagious, you should be

Thanks all of you for the correction: General Marshall was NOT present at Bolling Field on Pearl Harbor morning. But it was there in black and white in my copy of Pope's book. There's also a reference to a 'Shirley Collier Agency' on a fly leaf of the book, so the book may have been a copy given to a reviewer.

One thing, however, is for certain ... Litvinoff had taken the very last commercial airline flight across the Pacific, so either he was very lucky, or he had perfect knowledge of the timing of the Japanese attack. Did the Soviets have better intelligence than we did?

Best regards to all.

Al