Nexus - 0401 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

WE MOVE TO MONTANA son to the Times, explained that this was an Army designation as It was the coldest weather in 25 years when the route was early as 1942, and asked them in fairness to run a correction mapped out. First of all, Major General Follette Bradley flew (which they did not do), since I never claimed to have "worked experimentally by way of the old gold-field airstrips of Canada. for the United Nations" and their story left the impression that I With the Russians he scratched out a route from Great Falls was lying. Here are my orders, with the original Army abbrevia- through Fairbanks, Alaska and across Siberia to Kuibeyshev and tions [see text box below]. Moscow. It is the coldest airway in the world across the Yukon to These official orders activating my post were preceded on Alaska and through the "Pole of Cold" in Siberia, but it worked. January Ist by a Presidential directive [see page opposite]. This Colonel (then Captain) Gardner, our trouble-shooter at Newark, directive was addressed to the Commanding Generals of the Air was one of the first to go ahead to Montana. Then Lieutenant Transport, Material, and Air Service Commands, through Colonel Thomas J. Cockrell arrived at Great Falls in charge of an advance H. Ray Paige, Chief, International Section, Air Staff, who worked cadre to make arrangements for the housing and quartering of directly under General Arnold. This directive gave first priority troops of the 7th Ferrying Group of the Air Transport Command, for the planes passing through our station, even over the planes of which was moving from Seattle. the United States Air Force! It was extremely important in all my Gore Field was at that time known as the Municipal Airport of — work. I quote from the crucial first paragraph: Great Falls. Although it had been selected as the home of the 7th, "...To implement these directives, the modification, equipment actual construction of barracks and and movement of Russian planes other accommodations had not been have been given first priority, started. The Great Falls Civic even over planes for U.S. Army Center was therefore selected as a Army Air Forces Air Forces..." temporary home, with headquarters, ..The Russian staff had moved barracks, mess-hall and other facili- Headquarters, 34th Sub Depot from Newark to Great Falls, with ties combined under the roof of the Air Service Command Colonel Kotikov still at their head. huge municipal structure. The Ice Office of the Commanding Officer By this time I was on a very Arena was also used as a combina- friendly personal basis with the tion barracks and mess-hall, and Colonel. As human beings, we temporary headquarters were estab- got on very well together. From lished in the office of Mayor Ed Capt GEORGE R. JORDAN, 0-468248, AC, the viewpoint of the usual Russian Shields and the offices of other city having reported for duty this sta per Par 1, SO behavior toward Americans, it officials. No. 50, AAF, ASC, Hq New York Air Serv Port could even be said that we were For nearly four months, the Civic | Area Comd, Newark Airport, N.J., dated 2 on intimate terms... Center remained the home of the 7th | January 43, is hereby asgd United Nations Ferrying Group, while contractors | Representative, 34th Sub Depot, Great Falls, THE BLACK SUITCASES rushed construction of the barracks, Montana, effective this date After my return to Great Falls I hangars and other buildings which began to realize an important fact: were to make up the post on Gore while we were a pipeline to Field. The group completed its Russia, Russia was also a pipeline move up to Gore Hill early in By order of to us. November 1942. The 7th Group | Lt. Colonel MEREDITH. One really disturbing fact which continued to supervise all stations brought this home to me was that and operations along the Northwest the entry of Soviet personnel into Route until November 17, 1942, the United States was completely when the Alaskan Wing of the Air Transport Command was uncontrolled. Planes were arriving regularly from Moscow with established to take over the operations of the route to the north unidentified Russians aboard. I would see them jump off planes, through Canada to Fairbanks, where hundreds of Russian pilots hop over fences, and run for taxicabs. They seemed to know in were waiting to take over. advance exactly where they were headed, and how to get there. It Major Alexander Cohn arrived from Spokane to establish the was an ideal set-up for planting spies in this country, with false 34th Sub-Depot for the Air Service Command. It was this depot identities, for use during and after the war. that supervised the mountains of air freight that originated from It is hard to believe, but in 1943 there was no censorship set-up all over the United States and poured into the funnel of thisend of at Great Falls. An inspector more than 70 years old, named the Pipeline. Randolph K. Hardy, did double work for the Treasury Department Colonel Gardner arranged for my transfer from Newark to in customs and immigration. His office, in the city, was four Great Falls. My orders designated me as "United Nations miles from the airfield. He played the organ in a local church, Representative". Few people realize that although the United and I was often told he was practicing and could not be interrupt- Nations organization was not set up in San Francisco until ed. I took it upon myself to provide him with telephone, type- September 1945, the name "United Nations" was being used in writer, desk, file cabinet, stenographer, interpreter and staff car. the Lend-Lease organization as early as 1942, as in my original Finally I was driven to put up a large sign over my own office orders to Newark. door, with the legend in Russian and English: "Customs Office— For the record, I want to quote my orders to Great Falls, with Report Here". When Mr Hardy was not present, I got into the one phrase italicized. One reason for this is that in 1949 the New habit of demanding passports myself and jotting down names and York Times printed the following statement of a "spokesman" for _ particulars. It was not my job, but the list in my diary of Russians the United Nations: "Jordan never worked for the United operating in this country began to swell by leaps and bounds. In Nations." I thereupon took the original copy of my orders in per- the end I had the 418 names mentioned earlier. Army Air Forces Headquarters, 34th Sub Depot Air Service Command Office of the Commanding Officer 26 - NEXUS DECEMBER 1996 - JANUARY 1997