6: Men and Women of Letters
A September 4, 1947 telegram was sent from Washington addressed “Personal for Ambassador Pawley from General Marshall” which stated that “Katherine and I repeat again our heartfelt appreciation for the bountiful hospitality of your Edna and you and of your untiring efforts in our behalf.” Marshall asked Pawley to “make my compliments to the President and Mrs. Truman and to Margaret” and noted President Truman “is famous this morning as a mountain climber and orchid fancier meanwhile I have Lovett waiting at my side with the multitudinous details of a sick world.” Lovett signed the telegram.2
The following day, Marshall wrote to “My dear Mrs. Pawley” at the American Embassy, Rio de Janeiro. “I sent your husband a radio yesterday morning reporting our safe arrival in Washington the previous afternoon at 3:30 after a record-breaking trip—which I now understand cut eight hours of the previous flying time. I want to tell you though how very much I appreciated all that you did for our comfort, and particularly for Katherine’s pleasure and comfort. I shall not forget your kindness and thoughtfulness.” Marshall ingratiated himself. “It was a great pleasure to know you and I hope this is only the beginning of a pleasant association. Certainly with our places so close together in Virginia it should not be difficult to get together in the future, provided you can persuade your man to rest up a little bit. Make certain that he comes up to the States within a few weeks fully prepared for a lengthy stay and a complete rest under your guidance and control.” In his postscript to Edna Pawley, he mentioned that “Katherine went directly from the plane to Leesburg and I hope to see her this weekend. Her daughter with her grandchildren, and a Chinese maid with new teeth on display met us at the plane.”3
Ambassador Pawley responded immediately with a telegram to Marshall typed by his niece, Anita Pawley. The draft exists and stated that he had “delivered your compliments to President, Mrs. Truman and Margaret as requested for which they expressed appreciation. Edna and I extremely grateful for your most generous telegram. It was indeed a pleasure and honor to have had an opportunity to be with you and Mrs. Marshall [her first name Katherine was scratched out on the draft] and for me to have had the opportunity to work with you and your associate during the Conference.”4
On October 18, 1947, Pawley wrote from his Miami Beach home to Marshall in Washington, D.C. enclosing a Miami Herald newspaper clipping that spawned his concern for Brazil which had not been invited to discussions of reparations at the Paris conference despite having suffered “very large Naval and commercial losses” during World War II. Pawley urged Marshall to give it his attention, noting “it is important that we hold the good will and respect of Brazil in these troubled times.”5
Five weeks later, Pawley wrote from Washington, D.C. to Secretary Marshall in London where he was attending a conference. “I am hoping to be able to get off to Boston and the Lahey Clinic [which Pawley misspelled as Leahy, the name of President Roosevelt’s Chief of Staff] either tomorrow morning, at the latest, the next day.” He also included a “few clippings” in case the Secretary of State was not receiving a newspaper in England.6
The day after Christmas, Pawley from his “Belvoir House” Virginia estate in The Plains, updated Secretary Marshall in Pinehurst, North Carolina. “I do not anticipate being able to carry out the suggestion made by Dr. Jordan and confirmed by Dr. Lahey. The time element involved is such that I feel compelled to be available at the Department to assist on the development of the program for the Bogotá conference.” Pawley revealed that Norman Armour’s “basic work being done by those assigned to this project is progressing most satisfactorily. I have had several talks with Paul Daniels, Chief of American Republic Affairs, who ... admits that is necessary that we have some concrete proposal which can be offered by the American Government for economic and agriculture development within the hemisphere.” Pawley concurred with Daniels and “I have been working on this idea during your absence” which “will probably answer all of the requirements of industrial and agricultural development with practically no chance of the United States taking any financial loss in the process. I believe the plan sufficiently sound to meet with Congressional approval.” Pawley referred to “two matters you spoke to me the day before you left for Paris – replacement for myself and an idea for China – have also been given much thought and I would appreciate an opportunity to submit ideas on these subjects.” He then mentioned that he and Edna “will be flying almost over Pinehurst on our trip south, and if it would not interfere with your vacation, we could stop by for an hour on Sunday afternoon.”7
One of Pawley’s final White House meetings as an ambassador was on February 18th. It included John J. McCloy who would later be involved with Pawley in a business venture. In six years, McCloy’s law partner, Morris Hadley, would also serve alongside Pawley examining how to strengthen the CIA.8 The White House meeting was one of seven Pawley had with President Truman—October 3rd, November 18th, December 22nd, February 6th, 12th, and 18th, and March 9th—between the Rio Conference and his scheduled resignation for medical reasons on March 16, 1948.9
In writing about Pawley, Time described him as a fast-talking “millionaire go-getter, who often invited 750 guests for cocktails” and showed “Brazil how a jet-propelled American does business.” Pawley had envisioned Brazil opening its “oilfields to U.S. capital,” expanding and updating its transportation network as he had done in Cuba, and “settling 700,000” displaced persons in Brazil’s vast Amazon region. But Brazilians were slow to adopt his ideas and it often angered him. His only real successes at the Embassy were the Rio conferences and making Brazilians “more receptive to U.S. investment in oil development.” A Brazilian businessman praised him “as the best we’ve ever had” while a Brazilian professor complained that Pawley “doesn’t know a single man of letters, only businessmen.”10
Upon Ambassador William Douglas Pawley’s departure from his position in Brazil, the country conferred on Pawley the Grand Order of the Southern Cross for outstanding service. Both he and Edna felt that their Brazil experience had been richly rewarding. In reflection decades later, his biggest regret was not being able to create “an integrated petroleum industry” which financially hurt the country when imported fuel and oil became more costly.11
Pawley left proudly as one of the few American signatories to the historic Rio de Janeiro Treaty, elevating his stature to the same level as “George C. Marshall, Arthur Vandenberg, Warren R. Austin, and Sol Bloom.”12
Pawley’s foreign-affairs associates were reshaping the world. General George C. Marshall served as both Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense. Sol Bloom had chaired the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in 1938 and served as a delegate to the San Francisco Convention that led to the establishment of the United Nations in 1946. Arthur Vandenberg, a Republican, had headed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and helped create the United Nations. Warren Austin as a UN Ambassador dealt with the development of Israel13—and later he was involved in China and Korea issues and Austin appeared on the Time as “counsel for the free world.”14
On February 7, 1949, Pawley wrote from Miami to George C. Marshall in San Juan, Puerto Rico that he had been in touch with his aide, General Marshall Sylvester “Pat” Carter, who built enough of a strong global foundation in that position to eventually rise to Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and Director of the National Security Agency. Pawley asked Carter about George C. Marshall’s health and extended to the Secretary of State an invitation to come to Sunset Island No. 2 to recuperate from his nephrectomy and relax without being disturbed by “traffic or sightseers.” Pawley further elaborated, “Our phones are unlisted ... it is considerably cooler here than it is at San Juan.” As a further inducement, Pawley offered him more than a ride from the airport. “If you decide to stop by and would care to have my DC-3 come down for you ... it will be no trouble at all to have it make the trip.”15
Pawley also mentioned that the “Bruces” just spent “days with us enroute to Washington.” In all likelihood he was referring to Ambassador James Bruce (and his wife Ellen) who was stationed in Argentina, dealing with President Juan Perón and Foreign Minister Juan Bramuglia. Time described Bruce as a “convivial customers’ man and millionaire” who was sent to Buenos Aires “to make friends with Argentines” and succeeded with Perón, the cardinal primate, local governors and embarrassingly with “some nationalist generals.”16
James’s brother, David K.E. Bruce, was involved in foreign affairs. After being stationed in London as OSS chief for the European Theater during World War II, David joined the Economic Cooperation Administration administering the Marshall Plan in Europe then spent nearly three decades as a career diplomat serving as U.S. Ambassador to France, West Germany and the United Kingdom. He also became an American envoy at the Paris peace talks between the United States and North Vietnam in the early 1970s, and, probably to Pawley’s dismay, served as the first United States emissary to the communist People’s Republic of China. His final official post was as Ambassador to NATO.17
In his February 12th, response to Pawley’s invitation, George C. Marshall quipped about Pawley’s address, “No. 2, whatever that means—I am kind of interested in No. 1” while stating that he was “on the mend and can put on my clothes with some comfort” and had already returned to his office in The Pentagon. He closed with “affectionate regards to Edna and yourself.”
Six days later, Pawley clarified to Marshall, now in Pinehurst, that “Island No. 1 is no nicer than Island No. 2” and assured him he would enjoy “the quiet beauty of Miami Beach.” Pawley also pointed out that “General and Mrs. ‘Spec’ Wheeler were in for lunch day before yesterday. They are on a short vacation before he resigns to join the World Bank.”18
On February 21, 1949, General Carter wrote to Pawley saying General Marshall had asked him to make travel arrangements relating to a March invitation to address the Savannah Rotary Club. “Would motor there, then have Pawley’s plane pick us up, drop Katherine at West Palm Beach for Ann Robertson’s place, and I go on to Pawley’s for 5 day visit. Then have his plane pick me up at West Palm Beach (I would spend one nite with Robertson’s) and fly us to Pinehurst. All quite problematical.”19
During the second week of March, Marshall in Pinehurst telegrammed Pawley in Miami Beach. “Would it be convenient to have your plane pick us up Sunday or Monday?”20
Several days later Pawley and Marshall visited with President Truman who was vacationing at the Little White House in Key West. Joining them at the March 15, 1949 lunch was Admiral William Leahy. Then “the President and Mr. Pawley retired to a living room where they conferred for 25 minutes.” Pawley and Marshall departed shortly thereafter and returned to Miami.21
Truman’s vacation was marred by aerial paparazzi who took newsreels and pictures of the President and his guests on the beach, and the White House was so furious it put curbs on five photographers.22
At the time, the White House claimed it was purely a social get-together, but The New York Times speculated that it may have been focused on the debate about the proposed filibuster rule and Truman’s nomination of former Washington state Governor Monrad Wallgren to the National Security Resource Board. (Hanford, Washington was the site of a huge facility built during World War II to secretly process uranium for atomic bombs; the public was told it was a steel mill but some, including my Donora, Pennsylvania steel plant foreman grandfather, were skeptical.) Wallgren withdrew his name in the spring.23
The meeting may have also included a discussion of Pawley’s talks with Perón representatives because Pawley appeared in Washington the next day with “Ambassador James Bruce ... and officials of the River Plate” to discuss the Perón regime’s “further nominal step to improve trade prospects with the United States.”24
On March 21, 1949, Marshall wrote a “My dear Pawley” thank you note from Pinehurst on his “gold plated typewriter. The typing, however, is not on the high level of the machine.” Marshall gratefully effused, “Edna and you made our visit perfectly delightful ... Your thoughtfulness in getting me the heat pad and particularly in sending it up to Palm Beach was very much appreciated. I am mailing it back tomorrow.” He told Pawley his generosity had “somewhat overwhelmed me, that beautiful rod and reel, the bath robe and even sneakers. Really you fitted me out complete.”
Marshall also revealed, “I had a jolt today. Churchill radically altered his plans” on being in Washington. “I was to have him to dinner about April 5th.” This meant Marshall would have to try to be “carefully omitted from the White House dinner ... I have a hell of a time loafing!” Marshall took “the liberty of enclosing $5.00 for the sick little house boy who was not on hand the day we left.”25
Mrs. Marshall also wrote a thank-you note to Edna Pawley, “We had a nice trip home ... Bill and you gave us such a lovely change. I loved your house—so fresh and charming—we enjoy each day with you.” In another correspondence that month she related, “We have just returned from New York after ... Bay St. Louis and New Orleans. It is lovely in Pinehurst ... George will phone Bill as soon as he knows definitively what his plans in Washington are. I gave him your phone no—the Mardi Gras was a gay and wonderful sight ... Affectionately Katherine Marshall.”26
George Marshall also wrote a note to “Dear Edna” when William Pawley finally addressed his stomach ailment. “I’m glad Pawley is taking a complete rest while they are examining him, but I do hope that they do not find an operation necessary ... he should be a Christian Scientist. Give him all my sympathy and prayers for his future.” Marshall was “glad ‘Queed’ arrived. Brentano could not find “Amos Judd” in print, but I had my secretary locate a second hand copy which should have reached you by this time. The last is romance and drama— at its fictional best, in my opinion; Queed is well written, an interesting and slightly mysterious story, a curious character and very interesting discussions.” Marshall revealed his upcoming obligations which included traveling the next day to Raleigh as “guest of the Governor, for a dinner and a little bond selling ... The Lovetts arrive in the afternoon [Wednesday] to spend the night enroute north. He has to appear before the Foreign Relations Committee. I was scheduled to do so also, but Acheson got me out of it.” Marshall then told Edna that “I find my bone fish fame has followed me up here by way of Washington and Sergeant George. Tell Pawley my fishing friend ... catches them with streamer fly in Cuba.” Marshall’s postscript noted “I am on a strict diet and can’t use the mixer for milk shakes ala Pawley!”27
Months later, Pawley informed Marshall that he had just been operated on and “hope to be out of hospital in a few days.”
On April 25, 1949, Marshall sent a telegram. “Delighted to learn you are over the hump but don’t rush matters. Katherine and I send our love and prayers for a quick recovery.” Marshall, who had a kidney removed earlier in the year, quipped, “Be a patient patient. Obey the doctors religiously and obey Edna meticulously and all will be well.” A note written the same day from Marshall at The Homestead, Hot Springs, Virginia stated that they closed the Pinehurst cottage and “sent the servants off to Leesburg day before yesterday.” Marshall expressed hope that Pawley was “not suffering any more pains as I did.”28
Katherine let it be known to Edna, “We have been thinking of Bill and of you so much ... I know the anxiety that you are going through and the pain for Bill. We are so thankful the operation is over and pray the mending will be as rapid ... We hope for warm sunny weather at Leesburg—and we hope for the arrival of Bill and you as neighbors before too long.”29
Pawley tried to assuage the Marshalls’ concerns nine days later by stating that he was home “feeling fairly fit” and despite “some discomfort from the incision and the mauling that I got on the inside ... I realize that the stomach difficulty I have experienced for more than twenty years cannot be corrected overnight.” He insisted that Marshall had a far more “serious operation with much more discomfort and pain than I have experienced. I am certainly delighted that is all behind you and that you are in such good shape now.”30
Marshall, whose stationery varied over the years, wrote on May 5, 1949, a note using letterhead of the General of the Army G.C. Marshall, and the salutation “Dear Pawley” to announce, “I am flying to New York to accept the presidency of International House at dinner to-night.” He requested that Edna have niece Anita “type me off an intelligence report on you. I don’t want Edna bothered with writing” and he outlined impending activities. “I hope to have lunch with Lovett and Jessup to-morrow re Berlin Airlift and C.F.M.”—a reference to the Council of Foreign Ministers.31
International House was funded in 1924 by John D. Rockefeller Jr. and the Cleveland H. Dodge family to promote international culture exchange. Over the decades notable government officials who have served in top positions have included the High Commissioner of Occupied West Germany John J. McCloy; Secretary of State Henry Kissinger; and President Gerald Ford to name a few.32
Pawley was not healthy enough to attend President Truman’s 65th birthday party on April 12th given by Tom Clark. A few weeks later, Pawley wrote to his friend at Marshall’s “Dodona Manor” home in Leesburg, Virginia to explain that his absence was due to “accepting doctor’s orders.” The doctor had “found no organic or ‘mechanical’ difficulties. He did find, however, four or five fairly bad adhesions, which were partially blocking the intestinal tract. These were removed.”
Pawley also expressed his distress over the U.S. position regarding Spain at the United Nations. “We do not have to take sides with Franco, but we do need Spain very much in the over-all picture ... We should not penalize the people of Spain because we do not like the head of their Government. If that were the case, we might not like to have Argentina as a member, or Russia, or Poland. We probably should not have had Brazil during Vargas’ regime. Certainly he was as much a dictator as is Franco.”33
In early June, the Marshalls were gifted with a portrait that Pawley had commissioned to be painted of the Secretary of State. Mrs. Marshall gushed about the “wonderful lovely thing” Pawley had “done for all of our family.” After they finished dinner “we hung George’s portrait. I am just as proud as I can be of it—Mrs. C. (his secretary) agrees with me It is the best—by far— ever done of him ... We want you to come over soon. I shall phone.”34
By the fall of 1949, former Ambassador William Pawley was physically in full swing again and requested Marshall to attend an event being hosted by “a very close personal friend. Mrs. Harold E. Talbott, whom you may recall having met in Palm Beach.” Pawley stated that Talbott’s “war effort was outstanding” and he tempted Marshall with “my understanding that one thousand of New York’s most prominent citizens will be present.”35
Margaret Thayer Talbott was the daughter of a woman who survived the sinking of the Titanic but whose father, a vice president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, lost his life to the iceberg. Her husband, Harold, was a prominent Republican and former chairman of the executive committee of North American Aviation. A few years after her event, Harold became the third person to be named United States Secretary of the Air Force, but lost the position when it was disclosed he used his government letterhead to solicit private business. Nearly a decade later she would plunge to her death from her 12th floor New York apartment, leaving notes explaining her depression over the loss of Harold five years earlier.36
In the spring of 1950 it was Mrs. Marshall’s turn for a health problem, and her husband, writing as President of the American National Red Cross, told Pawley she was in her fifth month of shingles in her eyes which were being looked at by doctors at Walter Reed.37 Ten months later, Pawley was still expressing hope that Mrs. Marshall “is fully recovered.”38 He had no idea how unbearably impactful shingles would later be in his life.
As the fifth decade of the twentieth century was beginning, “President Truman offered to reappoint Marshall to the American Red Cross position, but the General declined. He did accept the nonpaying chairmanship of the American Battle Monuments Commission that had once been held by his old chief, General Pershing. He also accepted the nonpaying position of Chairman of the V.M.I. Foundation, fundraiser for his alma mater. But Marshall did not go on boards of corporations. Early in 1950, his old friend Edward Stettinius had persuaded him to become a director of Pan American Airways, headed by Stettinius’s brother-in-law, Juan Trippe. Marshall received a director’s fee for attending one or two board meetings but he resigned when he was appointed Secretary of Defense.”39
In September of 1950, Pawley sent General Marshall in Leesburg a Western Union Cablegrama from, Autobuses Modernos, his new business in Havana, Cuba—the city that played a prominent role in his contentious divorce. His cable congratulated Marshall for accepting the post of Secretary of Defense. Pawley also let President Truman know he approved of the appointment, and Truman responded back “I am especially grateful for this assurance of your approval. Very sincerely yours, Harry Truman” sending the response to Pawley’s home in The Plains, Virginia.40
Shortly thereafter Marshall thanked Pawley for his telegram and advised that he and Mrs. Marshall “had leased an apartment here in Washington.”41
In early January 1951, Secretary of Defense Marshall dropped a note to let Edna in Cuba know he had seen William when he visited Washington. His fondness for writing Edna was exemplified again when she received correspondence in March from Secretary of Defense Marshall indicating that the Chinese Nationalists had sent him a gift—two orchid plants—that he wanted her to have and possibly to avoid the appearance of benefitting personally from his government position. “We remember that at the time of your return from South America you brought with you numerous orchid plants, and we would like very much to add this specie to your collection.” Marshall noted that Edna must have had her “hands full in the past several weeks trying to get settled at Belvoir Place. Please be careful that you do not overwork yourself.” He also expressed “affectionate regards to you, Bill, and Anita” and closed with “Faithfully yours.”42
Edna had become a very good friend of one of the most important men of the 20th century and Katherine Marshall would even compliment the “fine job” done when Edna had her trees sprayed.43
In early September, the Pawley’s were featured on the social page of the Miami Daily News when William Pawley gave his niece, Marcia Pawley, a trip from Coral Gables to the Pawley’s farm in Virginia, followed by a weekend trip to the Waldorf hotel in New York City and tickets to four Broadway shows. Marcia was the daughter of William’s brother George and sister of his essential administrative assistant.44
On September 12, 1951, William Pawley expressed to Marshall his dismay. “I have just learned that you have resigned as Secretary of Defense ... I cannot help but regret the loss of your contribution to our many problems resulting from these troubled times.”45 Three months earlier conservative demagogue, Senator Joseph McCarthy, had questioned Marshall’s military performance and patriotism in a speech before the United States Senate on June 14, 1951.46
The following summer, the Marshalls sent a postcard from Santa Barbara, California advising the Pawleys that they were “both feeling well after a month in this wonderful climate. We sail from the U.S. Sept 5th aboard S.S. United States for six weeks abroad. Will return to Leesburg Oct 16th and hope to see you then.”47 In mid-September, they wrote again, this time from Venice and said they “had four hectic but interesting days in Paris ... leave Monday for Rome, Florence & Capri ... Your beautiful basket of fruit and box for G. were a joy on our way across. Both send love Thanks – K.T.M.”48
On November 8, 1953, Edna Pawley jotted off a note to General Marshall congratulating him on receiving an award of global significance. “No one has ever done more to deserve the Nobel Peace Prize—and I’m sure this is the sentiment of millions throughout the world.” She wrote that Bill is “in Mexico City for a few days but asked me to include his warmest congratulations with my own.” She also said that they hoped “you are continuing to improve and that Mrs. Marshall is well. We send our love to her.”49
When Marshall thanked her, he said it was “sweet” of her to write but “I must admit that the Nobel Award came as a complete surprise, as I had no idea my name was under consideration.” He further communicated that he would be leaving for Oslo to receive the award on November 28 aboard the Andrea Doria. “I think the eight days aboard ship will do me a world of good.”
A few years later, the SS Andrea Doria sank after colliding with the MS Stockholm; 1,660 passengers survived, but 46 died. One of the survivors, Mike Stoller, learned upon his arrival back in New York that the composition he co-wrote with his partner, Jerry Leiber, for Big Mama Thorton—"Hound Dog”—was the #1 song in the U.S. sung by a young, virtually unknown Mississippian named Elvis Presley. Stoller and Leiber would go on to pen two more #1 songs for Elvis, “Don’t" and "Jailhouse Rock.”
Marshall let Edna know he was keeping abreast of “Bill’s activities” noting that William Pawley had been traveling considerably and was headed to South America with Frank Nash making Edna “the widow of ‘Belvoir House.”50
In the summer of 1954, Marshall thanked Edna for a gift: “The mangoes arrived this afternoon just as I returned from a 3 hour session with the dentist at Walter Reed.” Marshall planned to serve the fruit as a first course in a Sunday mid-day dinner with Field Marshall Earl Alexander, British Minister of Defense. “The last we heard ... you had about 30 Latin Americans due ... and a number of house guests. I hope you arrived in style.”51 The reference was to the Pawleys June gathering at their Belvoir estate where they displayed their southern hospitality to a gathering of South and Central American ambassadors and other influentials.
The Pawleys received bad news from Katherine in December 1955. “George and I are well for old folks—but do not accept many invitations and pretty much home bodies. Sterling Lacy dies last March—and two weeks later my sister had a stroke. She has been completely helpless ever since. This has changed Leesburg for me and we have decided to sell ‘Dodona Manor’” she sadly wrote.52 Pawley was faced with the fact that one of his most influential friends, the highly admired Secretary of State, was beginning to slip away.
“I am not up to travel and visiting yet. My trouble is fading somewhat but not sufficiently for me to do much ... I am troubled by loss of balance when I walk.” Marshall reflected on his time with the Pawleys in Florida. “I think wistfully of your lovely island very often. You were very generous to propose the plane ride. Give my special love to Edna. Affectionately, GCM”53
In the summer of 1957, the Marshalls were wondering why they hadn’t heard from Edna and William. Mrs. Marshall finally sent a note to the Pawleys which contained a reference to a popular Fifties quiz show and news that makes the mid-Fifties seem so long ago: “The $64,000 question with the Marshalls is ‘Where oh where have the Pawleys gone’?” Katherine continued, “The only home news is that Floyd our colored-man has a new son. He was all smiles until yesterday—when the Dr’s bill of $150 arrived with another one from the hospital. He has not smiled since.54
In the fall, Mrs. Marshall wrote a note to Edna saying “Your wonderful invitation came yesterday—How perfect it all sounds—but we have to face facts—our visiting days are over. George is very frail. He no longer takes the drive up to Washington to Walter Reed—The Dr’s come down here to give him injections ... I do not think they know just what is the trouble except a general breakdown.” The note also encouraged Edna to inform “Bill that Jim Bruce is running for ‘The Senate’ from Maryland. They are just back from a two month’s rest in Scotland. Ellen dreads this campaign which—I fear—will be a very difficult one.”55
Two years later, the Pawleys received a thank you note from Katherine Marshall that presented a grim picture of the former Secretary of State’s condition. “Your lovely flowers are giving me so much pleasure and seeing you was a real joy. You both looked so well and I told George of your visit. He seemed to understand but I can not tell.” Katherine noted that his “doctors seem to feel he is not holding his own—as they have said up to now. I think he knows me—by the way he holds on to my hand as if it gives him a feeling of security. These are such sad tragic days for me and your visit has help. My love to you both.”56
Following a series of strokes, General George C. Marshall—one of the most profound thinkers of the 20th century, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for the Marshall Plan and twice Time magazine’s “Man of the Year”—passed away at Walter Reed Hospital on October 16, 1959. He was buried next to both his first wife, Elizabeth Carter Coles (1875-1927) who had rejected an earlier marriage proposal from George’s brother—and his second wife, silent-movie actress Katherine Tupper Brown (1882-1978)—in Arlington National Cemetery near both the U.S. Department of State and the Pentagon. Both women’s names appear on the headstone along with that of his first mother-in-law. The other side is adorned with 5 stars and notes “Chief of Staff U.S. Army, Secretary of State, President of American Red Cross, Secretary of Defense.” In 1964, The George C. Marshall Foundation in Lexington, Virginia was dedicated and houses millions of documents and manuscripts including William Douglas Pawley’s unpublished autobiography.
FOOTNOTES:
1 Pawley, Russia Is Winning, Page 148.
2 9/4/1947 Telegram. From: General Marshall, SecState Washington. To: Personal for Ambassador Pawley. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
>> Periods are absent between sentences in the telegram:
...Katherine and I repeat again our heartfelt appreciation for the bountiful hospitality of your Edna and you and of your untiring efforts in our behalf Please make my compliments to the President and Mrs. Truman and to Margaret He is famous this morning as a mountain climber and orchid fancier meanwhile I have Lovett waiting at my side with the multitudinous details of a sick world. [Signed by Lovett]
3 9/5/1947 Note of appreciation. From: From George C. Marshall, The Secretary of State, Washington. To: Mrs. William D. Pawley, American Embassy, Rio de Janeiro. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
My dear Mrs. Pawley:
I sent your husband a radio yesterday morning reporting our safe arrival in Washington the previous afternoon at 3:30 after a record-breaking trip – which I now understand cut eight hours of the previous flying time. I want to tell you though how very much I appreciated all that you did for our comfort, and particularly for Katherine’s pleasure and comfort. I shall not forget your kindness and thoughtfulness.
It was a great pleasure to know you and I hope this is only the beginning of a pleasant association. Certainly with our places so close together in Virginia it should not be difficult to get together in the future, provided you can persuade your man to rest up a little bit. Make certain that he comes up to the States within a few weeks fully prepared for a lengthy stay and a complete rest under your guidance and control.
With warm regards to you both, Faithfully yours, G Marshall
P.S. Katherine went directly from the plane to Leesburg and I hope to see her this weekend. Her daughter with her grandchildren, and a Chinese maid with new teeth on display met us at the plane.
4 9/5/1947 Telegram Draft. From: William Pawley typed by Anita Pawley. To: Secretary Marshall. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
[I] delivered your compliments to President, Mrs. Truman and Margaret as requested for which they expressed appreciation. Edna and I extremely grateful for your most generous telegram. It was indeed a pleasure and honor to have had an opportunity to be with you and Mrs. Marshall [her first name Katherine was scratched out on the draft] “and for me to have had the opportunity to work with you and your associate during the Conference ...
5 10/18/1947 Letter. From: Pawley at 2555 Lake Avenue, Miami Beach. To: Secretary of State Marshall, Washington. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
This story raises a serious problem with reference to Brazil. Although Brazil fought in World War II, that country was not invited to participate in the Paris Conference where reparations were discussed, and the Brazilian Government has held this against us as a very serious lack of consideration ...
Brazil claims that she has suffered very large Naval and commercial losses in pursuing her war effort and that replacement in shipping ...
I bring this to your attention as I am sure you will want it investigated and a Brief prepared covering this subject from the beginning of this difficulty.
6 11/26/1947 Correspondence. From: Pawley. To: Marshall. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
>> Admiral Leahy interfaced with his three service chiefs at the time, Admiral Ernest King of the Navy, General George C. Marshall of the Army, and General Henry Arnold of the Army Air Forces.
7 12/26/1947 Correspondence. From: Pawley. To: Marshall. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
I do not anticipate being able to carry out the suggestion made by Dr. Jordan and confirmed by Dr. Lahey. The time element involved is such that I feel compelled to be available at the Department to assist on the development of the program for the Bogotá conference.
Norman Armour tells me that the basic work being done by those assigned to this project is progressing most satisfactorily. I have had several talks with Paul Daniels, Chief of American Republic Affairs, who...admits that is necessary that we have some concrete proposal which can be offered by the American Government for economic and agriculture development within the hemisphere.
I, too, have a very strong feeling, as expressed to you the day before you left for Paris, that it is essential that we be prepared at Bogotá to offer a very constructive program of assistance, and I have been working on this idea during your absence.
... [it] will probably answer all of the requirements of industrial and agricultural development with practically no chance of the United States taking any financial loss in the process. I believe the plan sufficiently sound to meet with Congressional approval ...
The other two matters you spoke to me the day before you left for Paris – replacement for myself and an idea for China – have also been given much thought and I would appreciate an opportunity to submit ideas on these subjects.
We will be flying almost over Pinehurst on our trip south, and if it would not interfere with your vacation, we could stop by for an hour on Sunday afternoon ...
Wishing you and Mrs. Marshall a very happy New Year ...
8 “In Washington Yesterday,” The New York Times, February 19, 1948. Page 4.
President Harry S. Truman, Calendar: February 18, 1948, 10:45 a.m. Harry S. Truman Library & Museum. http://www.trumanlibrary.org/calendar/index.html
Attendees: Honorable John W. Snyder, Secretary of the Treasury; Honorable A. Lee M. Wiggins, Under Secretary of the Treasury; Honorable Robert A. Lovett, Under Secretary of State; Honorable William McC. Martin, Jr., Chairman; and President, Export-Import Bank of Washington; Honorable Willard J. Thorp, Assistant Secretary of State; Honorable William Pawley, U. S. Ambassador to Brazil. Honorable John McCloy.
9 “Low Pressure Diplomacy,” Time, September 1, 1947.
“Pawley Returning to U.S.” The New York Times, September 20, 1947. Page 8.
President Harry S. Truman, Calendar: October 3, 1947, 11:40 am; November 11, 1947, 11:15 am; December 22,
1947, 12:20 pm; February 6, 1948, 12:30 pm; February 12, 1948, 10:15 am; February 18, 1948, 10:45 am; March 9,
1948, 3:25 pm. Harry S. Truman Library & Museum.
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/calendar/index.html
>> After his resignation, Pawley would visit Truman several more times:
- May 12, 1948, 11:45 am (with his daughter)
- June 29, 1948, 4:25 pm June 30, 1948, 3:30 pm
- July 6, 1948, 10:00 am (among the attendants for this off the record political meeting was Secretary of Defense James Forrestal)
- July 22, 1948, 8:00 pm July 28, 1948, 3:45 pm
- December 10, 1948, 11:15 am
- May 13, 1949, 8:30 am (to present President Truman a portrait that Pawley had commissioned for him using artist J. A. Wills who was in attendance)
- July 28, 1949, 12:20 pm
- May 1, 1951, 11:30 am
- July 26, 1951 11:30 am (a half-hour before the Interdepartmental Committee meeting attended by Sheffield Edwards, Director of Security of the CIA, and J. Patrick Coyne, National Security Council Representative on Internal Security who would later be involved with the Doolittle Committee).
“Diplomats Resign Posts,” The New York Times, March 17, 1948. Page 17.
10 “Pawley’s Testament,” Time, April 26, 1948.
11 Pawley, Russia Is Winning. Page 149.
12 Pawley, Russia Is Winning. Pages 148 and 149.
General George C. Marshall (1880-1959)
Arthur Vandenberg (1884-1951)
Sol Bloom (1870-1949)
13 Dan Lieberman, “The Recognition of Israel – The impact, legacy and relevance of an earlier history.” Atlantic Free Press. May 23, 2008. http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/content/view/3955/81
... on April 26, 1947, a tired and irked British government requested the UN General Assembly to consider the Palestine problem. On May 15, the UN created the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP). The committee outlined a partition plan with the city of Jerusalem under a UN trusteeship. Truman instructed his state department to support the partition plan. UN Ambassador Warren Austin and the state department’s Near East Division, led by Loy Henderson, doubted that partition could resolve the situation. Austin favored a single state and the Near East Division favored not disturbing the Arabs.
14 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1744-Present. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=B000565
Warren Austin appeared on the February 5, 1951 Time.
Stephen E. Schlesinger, Act of Creation: The Founding of the United Nations: A Story of Superpowers, Secret Agents, Wartime Allies and Enemies, and Their Quest for a Peaceful World. (Cambridge, MA: Westview, Perseus Books Group, 2004). Page 237.
15 2/7/1949 Letter. From: William Pawley. To: General Marshall. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
“Marshall Sits Up at Hospital,” The Washington Post. Dec 9, 1948.
“Gen. Marshall S. Carter Dies at 83; Leading Intelligence Official in ’60s.” The Washington Post, February 20, 1993.
16 “Customers’ Man,” Time, May 1949.
>> James Bruce became a millionaire as a result of his involvement in National Dairy Products Corp. and Baltimore Trust.
17 “Oral History Interview of David K. E. Bruce by Jerry N. Hess, March 1, 1972.” Harry S. Truman Library &
Museum.
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/oralhist/bruce.htm
>> David K. E. Bruce (1898-1977) was head of the European branch of Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.) in World War II then was with the Economic Cooperation Administration administering the Marshall Plan before serving as U.S. Ambassador to France (1949-1952); West Germany (1957-1959); and the United Kingdom (1961-1969). Bruce eventually served as an American envoy at the Paris peace talks between the United States and North Vietnam in 1970 and 1971, and probably to Pawley’s dismay as the first United States emissary to the People’s Republic of China 1973-1974. His final official post was ambassador to NATO (1975-1976).
Tim Weiner, The Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA (London: Allen Lane, 2007). Page 133.
>> Prior to his assignment to West Germany, he wrote a secret report for President Eisenhower that was critical of the CIA’s covert activities under Allen Dulles’s leadership, but Dulles remained in charge until President Kennedy fired him after the Bay of Pigs fiasco.
18 2/18/1949 Letter. From: William Pawley. To: General Marshall. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
19 2/21/1949 Letter. From: Marshall S. Pat Carter. To: William Pawley. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
20 3/10/1949 Telegram. From: George C. Marshall in Pinehurst. To: William Pawley in Miami. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
21 “Log of President Truman’s [Sixth] Trip to Key West and Orlando, Florida, March 6-19, 1949.” Image of text Page 52. Harry S. Truman Library & Museum. http://www.trumanlibrary.org/calendar/travel_log/key1947/sixthtrip_toc.htm
22 “White House Censors Air Pictures Of President on Vacation Beach: White House Curbs 5 Photographers” By Anthony Leviero, The New York Times, March 15, 1949. Page 1.
23 “Vinson, Marshall at Truman Lunch: Significance Called Only Social – President Silent on Wallgren Defeat, Filibuster Issue.” By Anthony Leviero. The New York Times. March 16, 1949. Page 5.
Upon seeing the gigantic Hannaford facility, Edgar Carl Cannon, my grandfather who was an engineer and supervisor at a US Steel plant in Donora, Pennsylvania told his son, Daniel, that Hannaford definitely was not a steel mill as the public was being told at the time of construction.
24 “Peron Move to Aid Payments In U.S.: Argentine President to Have Percentage of Dollars Ear-marked for Use Here.” By Milton Bracker. The New York Times. March 17, 1949. Page 39.
25 3/21/1949 Letter. From George C. Marshall. To: William Pawley. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
26 3/22/1949 Handwritten note. From: Katherine Marshall in Pinehurst. To: Edna Pawley in Miami. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
3/1949 Note. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
27 4/18/1948 Handwritten note. From: General G. C. Marshall in Pinehurst, North Carolina. To: Edna Pawley. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folder 1.
28 4/25/1949 Telegram. From: G.C. Marshall. To: Pawley. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5. Handwritten note from Marshall at The Homestead, Hot Springs, Virginia. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
“So You Want To Retire ...” January 13, 2021. MarshallFoundation.org: Articles and Features. The George C. Marshall Foundation. https://www.marshallfoundation.org/articles-and-features/so-you-want-to-retire/
29 4/30/1949 Handwritten note. From: Katherine Marshall in Hot Springs, Virginia. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
30 5/3/1949 Correspondence. From: William Pawley in Miami. To: General George C. Marshall “The Homestead” Hot Springs, Virginia. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
31 5/5/1949 Handwritten letter. From: General of the Army G. C. Marshall. To: Pawley. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
32 International House is located at 500 Riverside Drive in New York City http://www.ihouse-nyc.org
33 5/9/1949 Letter. From: Pawley in Miami. To: General George C. Marshall “Dodona Manor” Leesburg, Virginia (Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5).
34 6/6/1949 Handwritten note. From: Katherine Marshall. To: The Pawleys. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
35 10/3/1949 Personal invitation. From: William Pawley at "Belvoir House" The Plains, Virginia. To: General George C. Marshall at Dodona Manor" Leesburg, Virginia. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5).
36 “Talbott Widow Dies in 12-Floor Plunge.” Akron Beacon Journal. July 14, 1962. Page 25.
“Talbott Resigns Air Post; President Commends Him, Calls Decision 'Right One'; Ties Under Fire Secretary Leaving To Avoid 'Embarrassing' The Administration Talbott Resigns As Air Secretary.” By Russell Baker. The New York Times. August 2, 1955. Page 1.
37 4/5/1950 Letter. From: General Marshall on American National Red Cross Office of the President letterhead. To: Pawley in Miami. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
38 2/23/1951 Thank you note. From: Pawley at Mayflower Hotel, Washington, DC. To: The Secretary of Defense, Department of Defense. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
39 “Fully the Equal of the Best” George C. Marshall and the Virginia Military Institute. A George C. Marshall Foundation Publication. Page 1.
40 9/13/1950 Western Union Cablegrama. From: Pawley at Autobuses Modernos, Galiano 213, Havana Cuba. To: General George C. Marshall, Leesburg, Virginia. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
9/15/1950 Response. From: President Truman at the White House. To: Pawley in The Plains, Virginia. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
41 9/23/1950 Letter. From: General Marshall on American National Red Cross Office of the President letterhead. To Pawley in Miami. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
42 3/19/1951 Note. From: The Secretary of Defense, Washington. To: Mrs. William D. Pawley, Belvoir Place, The Plains, Virginia. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folder 1.
Through the kindness of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Chinese Nationalist Government in Taiwan, Mrs. Marshall and I received two orchid plants native to the area. We remember that at the time of your return from South America you brought with you numerous orchid plants, and we would like very much to add this specie to your collection.
43 7/10/1951 Handwritten note. From: Katherine Marshall, Dodona Manor, Leesburg, Virginia. To: Edna Pawley. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
44 “Pretty Postcards Arrive from Miami Vacationers.” By Helen Wells. Miami Daily News, September 5, 1951. Page 2-C.
45 9/12/1951 Correspondence. From: William Pawley. To: George C. Marshall. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
46 “The Real McCarthy Record.” By James J. Drummey. The New American, Vol. 12, No. 18, September 2, 1996.
Original appeared May 11, 1987.
http://www.thenewamerican.com/tna/1996/vol12no18.htm
“Modern History Sourcebook: Senator Joseph McCarthy: The History of George Catlett Marshall.” Fordham University, 1951. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1951mccarthy-marshall.asp
10/3/1949 Personal invitation. From: William Pawley at “Belvoir House” The Plains, Virginia to General George
C. Marshall “Dodona Manor” Leesburg, Virginia
“Talbott Resigns Air Post; President Commends Him, Calls Decision 'Right One'; Ties Under Fire Secretary Leaving To Avoid 'Embarrassing' The Administration Talbott Resigns As Air Secretary.” By Russell Baker. The New York Times. August 2, 1955. Page 1.
"William Rusher, 87, Dies; Conservatives' Champion." By Robert D. McFadden. The New York Times, April 19, 2011. Page B-16.
During the Nixon administration, Rusher often spoke proudly about the U.S. role in overthrowing "communist Salvador Allende" by General Pinochet, even though Allende had been elected in a democratic process. Author David Cannon challenged Rusher at a talk he gave in New Jersey in the 1970s, pointing out that if Rusher’s contention that it was appropriate to overthrow Allende in 1973 because he had received less than a majority of the vote, then the argument could be used to overthrow President Nixon in 1968 when he garnered 43% of the vote, Hubert Humphrey 42% and George Wallace 13.5%.
Jennifer Ross, “Human Rights Victories Stir Resentment.” The Washington Times, February 8, 2005.
In 2005, Pinochet went on trial for nine kidnappings and a murder. During his reign from 1973 to 1990, there were 3,000 deaths and disappearances of political opponents; one of Pinochet’s associates, Col. Germain Barriga Munoz chose to leap 18 floors to his death rather than stand trial.
47 8/28/1952 Handwritten postcard. From: The Marshalls, Santa Barbara, California. To: Ambassador & Mrs. Pawley at The Plains.
48 9/21/1952 Handwritten postcard. From: Katherine Marshall in Venice. To: The Pawleys at Belvoir House.
49 11/8/1953 Handwritten Note. From: Edna C. Pawley at Belvoir House, The Plains, Virginia. To: General Geo C Marshall. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box 1, Folder 1.
50 Letter from George C. Marshall. To Edna Pawley. George C. Marshall Foundation Library, William Pawley Papers.
From Frank Nash via Colonel George I keep pretty well posted on Bill’s activities. It appears that he has been doing considerable traveling of late, and I understand that he is going to make a trip to South America with Nash. It sounds like you are the widow of “Belvoir House”.
I feel that considerable progress has been made, and ... should be on my way back to Mrs. Marshall this coming week end. She writes me almost daily reporting that all is well, and I will see that she learns of your greetings. Affectionate regards, GCM
51 July 16, 1954. Note. From: General G. C. Marshall, Dodona Manor, Leesburg, Virginia. To: Mrs. William D. Pawley (Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5)
52 December 2, 1955. Handwritten note. From: Katherine on General and Mrs. Marshall Note Paper Pinehurst. To: Edna and Bill Pawley (Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5)
53 2/5/1957 Handwritten note. From: George C. Marshall, Pinehurst. To: William D. Pawley. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folder 1.
54 7/10/1957 Handwritten note. From: Mrs. George C. Marshall, Dodona Manor, Leesburg, Virginia. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
55 9/19/1957 Handwritten note. From: Mrs. George C. Marshall, Dodona Manor, Leesburg, Virginia. Marshall Library, Pawley Papers, Box #1, folders 1-5.
Jim Bruce was the brother of David K. E. Bruce. They were sons of William Cabell Bruce. Jim had been a U.S. Ambassador to Argentina, 1947-49, during the Peron era and Pawley’s Ambassadorship in South America.
56 October 1959 (UNDATED) Handwritten Thank You Note. From Mrs. George Catlett Marshall. To Edna and Bill.
Labels: Anita Pawley, Brazil, diplomacy, Edna Pawley, Lovett, Marshall Plan, Rio de Janeiro
posted by David Price Cannon @ 2:58 PM
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