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JAPAN AND AMERICA, c1930-1955
THE PACIFIC WAR AND THE OCCUPATION OF JAPAN
Series One- The Papers of General Robert L Eichelberger (1886-1961) from the William R Perkins Library- Duke University

Part 1: Subject Files on World War II and Japan (Boxes 32-53)
Part 2: Subject Files on Japan and Diaries (Boxes 54-65 and Boxes 1-4)
Part 3: Correspondence (Boxes 5-27)
Part 4: Subject Files, Writings, Speeches, Photographs and Oversize Material (Boxes 28-31, 66-69, 79-88 and 93-98)

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

The Eichelberger Papers focus on the period 1942-1949, especially relating to the service of General Robert L Eichelberger in the Pacific and in Japan after 1945. The papers contain diaries, correspondence, military papers, writings and speeches, photographs, scrapbooks, printed materials, clippings and other material chiefly relating to Eichelberger's military career. This collection is of vital importance for anyone studying the Pacific War and the Occupation of Japan.

Prominently highlighted are the military campaigns he led in New Guinea and the Philippines during World War II (1942-1945); his leadership and role as Commander of US Eighth Army; and the Post-War period when he was in charge of all ground occupation troops in Japan (1945-1948) and acted as second in command to General Douglas MacArthur.

Part 1 covers Subject Files on World War II and Japan.
There is a wealth of documents on the economic, educational, social and political restructuring of Japan throughout the period of occupation after World War II. This includes intelligence reports, monthly military summaries, correspondence between the Japanese government and the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP), war trial reports, monthly non-military summaries, Eighth Army reports, United States Army occupational reports, letters and notes. The bulk of the material covers the years 1945-1948 but it does run right through to 1960. This material focuses primarily on the following:

General Douglas MacArthur and Eichelberger as his right hand man and commanding general of the Eighth Army, 1944-1948.

MacArthur and Eichelberger and the Occupation of Japan after 1945. The files include good material on social and economic aspects of the occupation as well as the military; three folders on Economics in Japan, 1945-1949; the Editors and Publishers Tour of Kobe in 1947; material on Education and Food in Japan, 1948.

Japan and America - Politics and Diplomacy. There are discussions on financial aid, investment and the threat of communism.

Administrative Orders 1945-1946:
Civil Intelligence Section: Occupational Trends for Japan, Korea and the Philippines, covering such topics as: Law and Order, Labour, Crime Prevention, Police, Transportation, Public Health, Self Protection, Politics, Economics, Education and Religion.

Another large group of documents featured in Part 1 cover the War in the Pacific, 1941-1945. There is detailed coverage of the Biak, Schouten Islands, Buna, New Guinea, Leyte-Samar, Lingayen, Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro-Marindugue, Nasugbu, Palawan, Zamboanga, Jolo, Panay, Negros and Cebu campaigns.

There is considerable analysis of mistakes made, the lessons to be learnt, the importance of good leadership and the crucial part Eichelberger played in these campaigns, often leading troops in the front line himself. Nowhere was this more in evidence than during the Buna campaign. General MacArthur, with his own position in some doubt, badly needed a land victory against the Japanese. He sent Eichelberger to take over command at Buna with the following instructions:
"I want you to go to Buna and capture it. If you do not do so I don't want you to come out alive and (pointing at Byers, Lt. General Eichelberger's Chief of Staff) that applies to your Chief of Staff also. Do you understand Bob !"
MacArthur continued:
"Time is of the essence ! I want you to relieve Harding, Bob. Send him back to America. If you don't do it, I will. Relieve every regimental and battalion commander. Put corporals in command if necessary. Get somebody who will fight. When do you want to start, Bob! "
Eichelberger replied that he would leave after breakfast next morning.

Buna was the first victorious operation by American Army ground forces against the Japanese. When it came to writing his detailed report, immediately after Buna, Eichelberger told the Buna Task Force Liaison Officer at General MacArthur's headquarters:
"Write the damn thing so that whoever fights in the jungle in the future will learn from our mistakes and our successes."
The liaison officer, R M White, recalls:
"The 32nd Division had been inspected by I Corps and rated not ready for combat. MacArthur's only other division, the 42nd, was also inspected and rated less ready than the 32nd. General MacArthur had been told that he might be relieved if he faltered in his return north. Yet, he was convinced the Buna operation was necessary so he ordered it. The 32nd Division had been shipped out from the states before being reorganized as were other guard divisions back in the states. It was not properly equipped. The officers and men had no idea - I repeat, no idea - of what the jungle was like and the professional skill of the enemy - basically Japanese Marines with an outstanding combat record going back to Malaya...When Eichelberger took over, whole units were already reduced to fractions of their TO strength.... The shortage of officers was most severe....We were losing when Eichelberger took over. He led our forces to victory. Perhaps it is not a well-known victory because our casualties, including a part of the sick, totalled 10,960 compared with a counted enemy dead of about 2,600. Yet, it was a historic victory."

All Eichelberger's documents on all his campaigns are reproduced here. This material includes Reports, Terrain studies, maps, letters, the exchanges between MacArthur and Eichelberger and other colleagues, interviews with captured Japanese soldiers, Staff studies and analysis, as well as day by day records of each campaign.

Part 2 covers material on events in Japan, providing Monthly Non-Military Summaries, files on the Political Reorganization of Japan 1947-1949, Public Health and Welfare Reports, 1945-1949, Industrial Reparations and Eisenhower's Inspection of Kobe Base in May 1946. There are files on the Sorge Spy Reports and material on Korea. We also include Eichelberger's diaries from Boxes 1-4 of the collection. The Diaries for 1940-1951 are very detailed and contain substantial entries on a daily basis. The following are several examples:

Diary: 20 August 1945
"I attended a meeting of the general Officer Readjustment Board from 1000 to 1230 and from 1300 to 1700 today. General Brown reported at breakfast concerning the interrogations of the evening before. He reported the Japanese delegation consisted of 3 Army, 2 Navy and 3 Air Corps officers, the remainder of the 15-man group being held in a room at City Hall and not being interrogated.... They wore ill fitting, heavy uniforms, ribbons without medals, and apparently were entirely unknown to each other. The envoys were introduced to their interrogators by Gen. Willoughby, who weighed in at about 220 and is 6' 3" in his stocking feet, making a fine contrast. The MP's guarding them were also a selected group of better than average size soldiers. Many of my predictions were borne out in the testimony . To wit, Tokyo, in the words of one Jap who spoke some English, was "shot to hell". Part of the Sagami Wan coast has been battered badly. The area into which it has been divided to take the SCAP and other higher headquarters; ie, Kamakura, is 80% intact. The Jap soldier is not fully sold on the surrender. The Japanese claimed they were not prepared to discuss the surrender in detail but were under the impression their presence was merely to arrange an armistice. They have asked that the task of disarming the Japanese armies be left in their hands. Their attitude is definitely not one of a defeated nation but they regard the defeat as a setback and nothing more...."

Diary: 18 March 1947
"Tuesday - Spent morning in the office. Attended regular Tuesday morning conference. The great interest of the day was the press release given out by General MacArthur stating that the time had now arrived to make peace with the Japanese and send the Army home. This is a bit different from what he has told me which was that the minimum time would be 3 years. I do not know what has caused him to change his mind. I imagine this release will attract a lot of attention all over the world. He wants to turn Japan over to the United Nations although insofar as I know United Nations is still a debating society. Read official papers last night for many hours including a long I.G. report on Colonel Case and the P.X."

Diary: 20 December 1947
"Received word that Gen. MacArthur would like to see me at 11:30. Arrived there on time. Very cordial. Discussed presidential things at length. Doesn't feel that he should go home because he would be attacked by all sides .... said that the only question he (McCormick) asked was "Will you accept the nomination if offered?" I (Gen. McA) said "Yes!" "McCormick is for Taft first and me second. In other words he will support Taft but will be for me in case of a deadlock and in any case will be friendly".... There were many other things said about the presidential chances and I told him some more of the things told me by various prominent people back home. He said "If I go home I will be attacked on all sides as a politician without having either the Democrat or Republican press to defend me. But if I get the nomination I will have the Republican press to defend me. Out here I have a certain mysticism!"..."

Part 3
covers all General Eichelberger's Correspondence, 1872-1961 (contained in Boxes 5-27) including Personal and Official Correspondence. The bulk of the material is for the years 1942-1961.

The following is an extract from a long letter (from Box 10) dated the Philippines, 16 May 1945, 4:00PM, Headquarters Eighth Army, United States Army, Office of its Commanding General, APO 343:
"Dearest Emmalina ! -
Right now I am standing outside by my new house in my bathing suit dictating to Mr. Schneider who is sitting on the verandah. I am going to sleep in there tonight. About half of the walls are screen and the screens are made of copper wire ....the house looks native but inside it is one of the most luxurious tropical homes I have ever seen. There are two big rooms 16 X 20, a hallway for the icebox and Dombrowski's working table ....Dombrowski just came out to tell me that the fluorescent lights are already working...."

The correspondence contains much material on General Douglas MacArthur and events in Japan after 1945. Most of the personal letters, 1942-1945, were written by Eichelberger to his wife, Emma Gudger Eichelberger, describing the fighting in the Pacific as well as the difficulties of jungle life. In correspondence and dictations after the war, Eichelberger reflects upon his military career and various people, including Generals Douglas MacArthur, George Marshall, Clovis Byers, Dwight D Eisenhower and Robert C Richardson. After leaving Japan, Eichelberger served for about six years in the War Department and then in the Pentagon as an advisor on the Far East. He was also very active on numerous committees and on American political matters from 1948 through to 1961. There are many interesting letters to friends and colleagues during this period, in America, Europe, Australia and Japan, dealing with the situation in the Far East - especially Japan and Korea; also Cuba, Berlin and the communist threat; politics and economics, both in Japan and America, as well as many other subjects. All these letters reveal the deep respect for Eichelberger's views and opinions.

Part 4 brings together further Subject Files, Writings, Speeches, Photographs and Oversize material. Boxes 28-31 relate to the Siberian Expedition, 1917-1924. Boxes 66-69 cover Writings and Speeches from 1920-1960, arranged chronologically and by subject, which include: Australia; Biak, Buna, the Hollandia Campaigns; the Formation of the Eighth Army; the Future of Japan, 1947-1952; Glider Infantry; the Occupation of Japan, 1945-1952; the Korean War; General Douglas MacArthur; the Philippines; and Siberia.

Boxes 79-88, with Illustrated Material from Eichelberger's army career, including files on Australia, the New Guinea Campaign, the Philippines Campaign, together with illustrative material on the Occupation of Japan 1945-1949, had to be omitted. Finally, much of Boxes 93-98, containing photograph albums arranged in order by volume, number and date, ranging from Volume I, 1910-1918, "Panama and Cuba"; to Volume XXI, 1948, Aug. 3-10 "Occupation of Japan and Ceremonies at General Eichelberger's Retirement", also had to be omitted from this microfilm project for technical and other reasons. Volumes VII to XXI cover the Occupation of Japan. Scholars wishing to inspect the numerous photographs in this part of the archive are advised to contact the William R Perkins Library at Duke University.

Eichelberger's memoir, "Our Bloody Jungle Road to Tokyo", serialized in the Saturday Evening Post in 1949, located in Oversize Box 79 is included in this microfilm edition.

A paperback guide covering all 4 parts accompanies this microfilm collection.

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