TRANSMISSION FACILITIES TO SECNAV EYES ONLY BRIG GEN FLEMING PICKERING USMCR WHO WILL
BRIEF SECNAV
[4] BE PREPARED, IF SO ORDERED, TO PROCEED FROM PEARL HARBOR, T.H., TO WASHINGTON DC TO
PERSONALLY BRIEF SECNAV.
[5] SECNAV AND GEN FLEMING WISH TO STATE THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF SENSITIVITY OF THIS
ASSIGNMENT AND TO EXPRESS COMPLETE CONFIDENCE IN GENERAL VANDEGRIFTS AND MAJOR BANNINGS
DISCRETION
BY DIRECTION SECNAV
HOUGHTON, CAPT USN
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO SECNAV
=TOP SECRET=
General Vandegrift read the message, looked at Banning, then read the message again.
“Very interesting,” he said. When Banning didn’t reply, Vandegrift added, “Are you going to tell me what this is all about, Banning?”
Banning looked uncomfortable.
“Sir, I think it’s right there. I don’t like to speculate….”
“Speculate,” Vandegrift ordered, softly but sharply.
“Sir, is the General aware of General Pickering’s mission when he was here before?”
“You mean, here on Guadalcanal? Or in the Pacific?”
“In the Pacific, Sir.”
“It was bandied about that Pickering was Frank Knox’s personal spy.”
“Sir, it is my understanding that General Pickering was dispatched to the Pacific to obtain for Secretary Knox information that Secretary Knox felt he was not getting through standard Navy channels.”
“You’re a regular, Banning,” Vandegrift said. “I shouldn’t have to tell you about going out of channels.” He paused. “About my personal repugnance to going out of channels.”
“Sir, may I speak frankly?”
“I expect you to, Major.”
“Sir, with respect, you don’t have any choice. I am here at the direction of the Secretary of the Navy. I respectfully suggest, Sir, that if the Secretary of the Navy elects to move outside the established chain of command, he has that prerogative.”
“Would you say, then, Major, that the contents of this message are not known to the Commander-in-Chief, Pacific?”
“I would be very surprised if it was, Sir.”
“And the reference…” Vandegrift said, then paused and looked at the message again, “… the reference to their confidence in my discretion, and yours, means that we are not expected to tell them about it?”
“I would put that interpretation on that, Sir,” Banning said.
“When this comes out, Banning, as it inevitably will, my superiors will conclude that I went over their heads. I would draw the same conclusion.”
“Sir, I can only respectfully repeat that we have received an order from the Secretary of the Navy.”
“In which I see the hand of Fleming Pickering,” Vandegrift said. “I think this was Pickering’s idea, not Mr. Knox’s.”
Banning didn’t reply for a moment. There was no doubt in his mind that the whole thing was Fleming Pickering’s idea. For one thing, the Secretary of the Navy almost certainly had no idea who one obscure major named Edward Banning was.
“Sir, I respectfully suggest-”
“I know,” Vandegrift interrupted him. “It doesn’t matter whose idea it was, Knox has signed on to it. Right? And we have our orders, right?”
“Yes, Sir,” Banning said, uncomfortably.
“The reference…” Vandegrift began, and again stopped to look at the message in his hand, “… to ‘all intelligence available to you and your staff.’ I presume that includes MAGIC intercepts?”
“Sir,” Banning said, now very uncomfortable. “I’m not at liberty…”
“Pickering was here, as you know. I know about MAGIC.”
“Sir-”
Vandegrift held up his hand, shutting him off, and then went on, “… and thus I should have known better than to put that question to you. Consider it withdrawn.”
Banning was visibly relieved.
“General,” he said, “I have access to certain intelligence information, the source of which I am not at liberty to disclose. More important, not compromising this source of intelligence is of such importance-”
Vandegrift held up his hand again, silencing him. Banning stopped and waited as Vandegrift visibly chose the words he would now use.
“Let’s go off at a tangent,” he said. “The last time I was in Washington, I had a private talk with General Forrest. Perhaps he was out of school and shouldn’t have told me this, but we’re very old friends, and I flatter myself to think he trusts my discretion….”
Jesus Christ, did Forrest tell him about MAGIC? I find that hard to believe!
Major General Horace W. T. Forrest was Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2 (Intelligence), of The Marine Corps.