The spokesman said production is now "zooming and we are pushing toward our production goals," after a setback caused by last spring's steel strike.

Mr. BROOKS. Mr. Chairman, may I ask General Collins two questions?

The CHAIRMAN. All right.

Mr. BROOKS. General, you referred to the fact that you thought a mistake had been made in placing a cover on the operations procedure, the operations order, as you call it. The mistake to which you refer was not a mistake which would have cost the lives of any of our

men.

STATEMENT OF GEN. J. LAWTON COLLINS, CHIEF OF STAFF, UNITED STATES ARMY-Resumed

General COLLINS. It had no effect on the operations whatsoever, Mr. Brooks.

Mr. BROOKS. If it were a mistake-and I assume it was, because I do not like the thought of dressing up these things, either, like a program to the opera in the evening-it was a psychological mistake that did not cost the lives of our men, and did not bring about the wounding of any of them.

General COLLINS. That is correct, sir.

Mr. BROOKS. That is all.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Chairman, may I ask a question?
The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Cunningham.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. General Collins, I have before me the February 1, 1953, issue of the Des Moines Sun-Register in which appears an interview given by a former lieutenant of the Air Force in Korea. I want to read just the first paragraph:

A Des Moines veteran of air combat in Korea disclosed here Saturady that our Air Force put on shows, too, for Congressmen and visiting officers while he was on active duty overseas last summer.

He goes on and I quote:

It seemed mostly for show purposes, and it was a pretty expensive proposition. I will ask the general if he knows of such shows having been put on in the past, in addition to what is before the committee now, known as Operation Smack?

General COLLINS. Many comparable operations such as this have been put on in the past, Mr. Cunninghan, but not for show any more than this one was put on for show.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. This man is a lieutenant in the Air Force. He was over there and he claims they were.

General COLLINS. I was a lieutenant once myself, and well remember it. It was one of the happiest periods of my service, incidentally. But, frankly, the point of view of the young man who is in an operation-I do not know the particular one this man was referring to there-

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. The Seventh Division.

General COLLINS. He said that he was in the Air Force.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. It is too long to read.

General COLLINS. This man is in the Air Force which service

is beyond my responsibility.

General COLLINS. Yes, sir. Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN. I know of no better way to close this little hearing than to read this brief but very valuable contribution offered by the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Kilday.

God and the soldier we adore in time of danger, not before. Danger passes and all things righted God is ignored, the soldier slighted.

Thank you, General.

Mr. KILDAY. Mr. Chairman, I do not want to appear as the author. That was quoted by Churchill as coming from a veteran of the Duke of Marlborough's campaign.

Mr. COLE. Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Cole.

Mr. COLE. I should like to ask General Collins about another phase of the Korean operations which has nothing to do with Operation Smack.

General COLLINS. Right, sir.

Mr. COLE. But I am not sure, General, you are in a position to comment or desire to comment on it.

What I have in mind is with respect to the report of the court martial of a number of American troops because they either retreated in the face of fire or they did not advance in the face of fire. Do you have in mind the circumstances to which I refer?

General COLLINS. Yes, sir. I know the situation to which you refer, Mr. Cole. It has not reached my office or the Office of the Secretary of the Army. As you know, the law prescribes that courts martial must be reviewed by the successive echelons of command and that particular group of cases, so far as I know, has not yet reached the Department.

Mr. COLE. From what do you know were those cases centered in a certain regiment?

General COLLINS. Yes, sir; they were in a single regiment.

Mr. COLE. Was that the Puerto Rican regiment?

General COLLINS. Yes, sir.

Mr. COLE. I think I should say for the record that I talked with the Commissioner from Puerto Rico yesterday about it, and told him I was going to raise this question today, if possible, and he was unable to be here because of another meeting.

General COLLINS. Right, sir.

Mr. COLE. I am not doing this without his knowledge.

General COLLINS. Right, sir.

Mr. COLE. Do you know of any reason or any circumstance that explains why this particular group would not fulfill its battle responsibilities?

General COLLINS. Well, let me state that what I am going to say now I do not want to have affect my responsibility of later considering this particular group of cases. There might be some legal implication in that which is beyond my ken. I am not a lawyer.

I will say this: The Sixty-fifth Infantry when it first went to Korea was a very well trained and very ably led unit. It distinguished itself in action. It is inevitably the case that as those men who were more experienced left the unit under rotation and it obtained newer men who did not understand English, for example, as well as the original group did, and whose officers were less experienced than the original

no doubt that whatever disability this unit had could be traceable largely to those conditions.

Mr. COLE. And not to any latent lack of courage on the part of the individuals themselves?

General COLLINS. I would agree with that. The Puerto Ricans have proven in action in earlier fighting in Korea that they are gallant people and that they will fight just as well as anyone else if they are properly trained and properly led.

Mr. COLE. Now, do you know whether there has been a change in the commanding officer personnel of that regiment?

General COLLINS. Yes, sir; there have been some changes in personnel.

Mr. COLE. With respect to their language facility, originally, no doubt, the commanding officers could speak Spanish as well as English very fluently, and probably the troops could. Now, has the language barrier applied also with respect to commanding officers, as well as with respect to the troops?

General COLLINS. Not wholly; no, sir. Mind you, now, I cannot give you very first-hand information on this latter point, but I am reasonably certain that quite a few of the officers in the Sixty-fifth are still Puerto Rican officers who, needless to say, speak the language of their men.

Mr. COLE. So far as you know now, the circumstance has developed because of language difficulties of the troops?

General COLLINS. I would say it was certainly a contributory factor, Mr. Cole, but I have not yet had a chance, to consider the case itself, and I do not know the precise circumstances.

Mr. COLE. Well, it was not because of any lack of equipment.

General COLLINS. No, sir; it was definitely not because of a lack of equipment or a lack of support of artillery or anything of that sort, according to my best advice.

Mr. COLE. It could also have been partly due, at least, to a lack of sufficient training?

General COLLINS. Probably so.

The CHAIRMEN. Mr. Hébert?

Mr. HÉBERT. Mr. Chairman, I do not want to ask the general any questions, but I feel constrained to make a statement in observation at this time.

First of all, I do want to compliment the chairman for the expeditious manner in which he has brought this whole subject to a head and brought it out into the open. I think a very important meeting has taken place here this morning, a very important meeting which will have a great impact on the future of the Korean war, because here we have seen America at its best. We cannot envision the chief of staff of any army in Russia coming before the people and not only explaining his position but subjecting himself to some of the things the general was subjected to this morning which are unfortunate and yet in the ultimate most fortunate.

General, if the committee will indulge me, I feel particularly that Louisiana has long been proud of you. When the report of this meeting gets back to Louisiana and to the American people, and the

forthrightness and your frankness, not only Louisiana, but the entire Nation will be more proud of you than ever. General COLLINS. Thank you, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. We say "amen" to that.

Now, gentlemen of the committee, tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock we shall take up the Davis amendment. The committee will stand in recess until that time.

General COLLINS. Thank you, sir.

(Thereupon, at 11:05 a. m., Tuesday, February 3, 1953, the hearing was concluded.)

no doubt that whatever disability this unit had could be traceable largely to those conditions.

Mr. COLE. And not to any latent lack of courage on the part of the individuals themselves?

General COLLINS. I would agree with that. The Puerto Ricans have proven in action in earlier fighting in Korea that they are gallant people and that they will fight just as well as anyone else if they are properly trained and properly led.

Mr. COLE. Now, do you know whether there has been a change in the commanding officer personnel of that regiment?

General COLLINS. Yes, sir; there have been some changes in personnel.

Mr. COLE. With respect to their language facility, originally, no doubt, the commanding officers could speak Spanish as well as English very fluently, and probably the troops could. Now, has the language barrier applied also with respect to commanding officers, as well as with respect to the troops?

General COLLINS. Not wholly; no, sir. Mind you, now, I cannot give you very first-hand information on this latter point, but I am reasonably certain that quite a few of the officers in the Sixty-fifth are still Puerto Rican officers who, needless to say, speak the language of their men.

Mr. COLE. So far as you know now, the circumstance has developed because of language difficulties of the troops?

General COLLINS. I would say it was certainly a contributory factor, Mr. Cole, but I have not yet had a chance, to consider the case itself, and I do not know the precise circumstances.

Mr. COLE. Well, it was not because of any lack of equipment.

General COLLINS. No, sir; it was definitely not because of a lack of equipment or a lack of support of artillery or anything of that sort, according to my best advice.

Mr. COLE. It could also have been partly due, at least, to a lack of sufficient training?

General COLLINS. Probably so.

The CHAIRMEN. Mr. Hébert?

Mr. HÉBERT. Mr. Chairman, I do not want to ask the general any questions, but I feel constrained to make a statement in observation at this time.

First of all, I do want to compliment the chairman for the expeditious manner in which he has brought this whole subject to a head and brought it out into the open. I think a very important meeting has taken place here this morning, a very important meeting which will have a great impact on the future of the Korean war, because here we have seen America at its best. We cannot envision the chief of staff of any army in Russia coming before the people and not only explaining his position but subjecting himself to some of the things the general was subjected to this morning which are unfortunate and yet in the ultimate most fortunate.

General, if the committee will indulge me, I feel particularly that Louisiana has long been proud of you. When the report of this meeting gets back to Louisiana and to the American people, and the