GENERAL ALBERT COADY WEDEMEYER - TELEGRAM UNSIGNED - HFSID 9011356

ALBERT COADY WEDEMEYER
The General and his wife send this telegram to John R. Norpel Jr., director of research for the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, congratulating Benjamin Mandel on his retirement in 1967
Telegram unsigned, 8¼x5½. Rockville, Maryland, November 15, 1967. Addressed to “Jack Norpel, Internal Security Subcommitee/ 3232 Senate Office Bldg Wash DC”. In the telegram, the general states that he cannot attend the reception, but thanks Mandel for his efforts “…made in protecting and preserving out American heritage…”. General ALBERT COADY WEDEMEYER (1897-1989, born in Omaha, Nebraska), appointed U.S. Deputy Chief of Staff under Lord Mountbatten at his Southeast Asia Command, planned the invasion of Japanese-held bases. In October 1944, he became Commander of the China Theatre and Chiang kai-Shek's Chief of Staff. Wedemeyer's task was to attempt to establish some cooperation between Chiang and the Communists and to ensure that U.S. aid was correctly used. BENJAMIN MANDEL (1887-1973) was a New York City school teacher and activist. He joined the Communist Party in 1920 as "Bert Miller" and eventually became Organization Secretary for the New York district. Mandel was elected to the organization's Central Committee at its Fifth congress in 1927, and reelected as a "candidate member" in March 1929. By the later 1930s he had become a dedicated anti-communist, and as "Benjamin Mandel," served as the research director for the Dies Committee from 1939 to 1945. He worked with the New York legislature during the Rapp-Courdert inquiry into the presence of Communist teachers in New York schools. In 1951 he became research director in the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, and stayed in that position until his retirement in 1967. Top and bottom edges irregular from perforation. Toned, especially at edges. Otherwise, fine condition.