Heading from the Blair House to the White House are Attorney General Howard McGrath, President Harry S. Truman, and Defense Secretary Louis Johnson, June 27, 1950. Source: Truman Library. At7:13 a.m., the President asked the White House operator to get [Ambassador W.] Averell Harriman (who was in Paris) on the phone for him. The call came through on overseas telephone lines and the President spoke with Harriman from 7:29 to 7:31 a.m. from the swimming pool. The President asked Harriman to come home as soon as he could. (The announcement of Harriman's appointment as spec[ial] ass't [for National Security Affairs] (to be effective one August) had been made on 16 June. Administrative Assistant to the President George Elsey Memorandum for the record based on "Miss Hachmeister's records and G.M.E.'s notes," no date George M. Elsey Papers           I called the President and he said, "Yes, why I would like you to come back,' and he asked, 'How soon can you get here?" I said, "Well, I'll leave this afternoon." So I left on four hours notice. Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs W. Averell Harriman Truman Library conference comment, May 1975 The Korean War: A 25-year Perspective (The Regents Press of Kansas, 1976)           At 9:50 A.M. the President met, in his office, with Secretary [of Defense Louis] Johnson, Under Secretary [of Defense Steve] Early, General [Omar] Bradley and General [J. Lawton] Collins. At this meeting the draft of a statement - the second by the President - on the Korean situation was discussed. After this meeting several changes and minor revisions in the statement were made at the suggestion of the President and the Secretary of State and the final statement was submitted. Administrative Assistant to the President George Elsey Memorandum for the record based on Eben Ayers' chronology of events, no date George M. Elsey Papers           Press Secretary] Charlie Ross . . . got in about 10:00 planning to leave immediately for an appointment with his doctor at 10:30. He went in ahead of us to see the President, and when I went in he had a text of a proposed statement by the president on the Korean situation. Some changes had been made in the draft, and the president asked me to check these with Secretary [of State] Acheson and then have twelve copies made for a meeting the president had called for 11:30 with members of the foreign affairs and foreign relations committees of Congress. . . . Ross came in . . . and at twelve o'clock or shortly before, he called in the newspapermen and gave them the statement . . . . The correspondents went out of the office in a rush. The statement was the outgrowth of another conference which the president held last (Monday) night at Blair house with the same group which met with him Sunday night. At last night's meeting the final decisions covered by the statement were made and the orders to carry them out were sent out immediately afterward. Assistant Press Secretary Eben Ayers Diary entry, June 27, 1950 Eben A. Ayers Papers The [United Nations Security Council resolution] . . . did not pass unanimously. That was drafted in my office. . . . I remember that at one stage . . . [Deputy U.N. Represenative] Gross and Senator Austin [the U.N. Representative] were on the telephone and said, "'We've gone as far as we can. If we could postpone this another 24 hours, we might get the Indian vote, but we're not at all sure, What do we do?" I've forgotten what the lineup was, but the Indian vote would have been important. . . . I said, "I'll check this with the Secretary, and call you back, but I don't think we can wait. You've given all the arguments and they know this thing. There's a UN Commission in Korean. There was; and they reported there had been aggression and the North Koreans did it." I said, "What more can you say than that?" Acheson confirmed what I said and I reported back to Senator Austin at the UN, India and one or two other states abstained but the resolution passed. Assistant Secretary of State for U.N. Affairs John Hickerson Oral history interview, June 5, 1973 [Undersecretary of State] Jim Webb told me . . . that [at] his meeting with the President at 6:15 at the Blair House on Tuesday, June 27, 1950 . . . Webb talked with the President about [Secretary of Defense] Louis Johnson's "leaks" to reporters about the Blair House meeting of Sunday, June 25, and Monday June 26. Johnson was feeding stories to the reporters that [Secretary of State Dean] Acheson had been "soft" on Formosa and he, Johnson, was responsible for the President's order that Formosa be neutralized. A reporter had come directly to Webb from Johnson's office to tell Webb that this kind of thing was going on and Webb came straight to Blair House to report it to the President. Administrative Assistant to the President George M. Elsey Memorandum for file, June 30, 1951

Go to June 26, 1950 Go to June 28, 1950 June 27, 1950 Presidential calendar of appointments for June 27, 1950. Papers of Harry S. Truman: Matthew Connelly Files. (2 pages) Resolution dated June 27, 1950, from United Nations Security Council recommending that the members of the United Nations furnish assistance to the Republic of Korea in order to repel the attack and restore peace and security in Korea. Papers of Eben A. Ayers. (1 page) Memorandum of conversation, dated June 27, 1950, by Philip C. Jessup summarizing a meeting at which key officials briefed congressional leaders on the situation in Korea. Papers of Dean Acheson (4 pages) Notes, dated June 27, 1950, by George M. Elsey regarding a June 26, 1950, meeting at which President Truman and Secretary of State Dean Acheson briefed key Senators and Congressmen on events in Korea. Papers of George M. Elsey (11 pages) Statement, dated June 27, 1950, by President Harry S. Truman, announcing his order to send U.S. air and naval forces to help defend South Korea and explaining the rationale for his decision. Papers of George M. Elsey(1 page) Message, dated June 27, 1950, from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, notifying U.S. commanders in chief in various theatres of command of President Harry S. Truman's recent military decisions regarding the defense of South Korea. Papers of Harry S. Truman: Naval Aide Files(2 pages) Memorandum by Lucius D. Battle, dated June 27, 1950, recounting a telephone conversation between Secretary of State Dean Acheson and Press Secretary Charles Ross. Papers of Dean Acheson(1 page) White House press release, dated June 27, 1950, releasing the text of Harry S. Truman's telegram thanking New York Gov. Thomas E. Dewey for expressing support for Truman's Korea policy, and the text of Gov. Dewey's telegram in response. Papers of George M. Elsey (1 page) Summary, dated June 28, 1950, of military and political events surrounding President Truman's announcement that U.S. air and naval forces would be used to assist in the defense of South Korea. Papers of George M. Elsey (4 pages)

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