HARRY TRUMAN LIBRARY Papers of NATHANIEL DAVIS HE IT MO San Jose, Costa Rica, Anril 25, 1948, Dear Mother: with my last letter enclosed some sheets from my diary giving you a play by play account of the exciting days through which we have been passing.
For the first couple of days after the peace was signed there was a general let down of tension and was able to rest up and resume attention to my normal duties. Yesterday morning early the victorious revolutionary army made ita entry into the capital. We were awakened about six by a great tooting OT auto horns. Clad in pyjamas and bath robes we stood on a balcony and watched them pass, some two thousand strong, in busses, trucks, jeeps, and a few Bedans.
Figueres and some of his staff left the line of march to enter the fortress across the street while the rest of the arny kept on towards the center of town. short time later we saw some men on one of the towers of the fortress. St111 in our night clothes we went out on the balcony again and looked at them through field classes. Among them we saw Mr. Brenes, the interim secretary of national security who had handled the demobilization of the povernment troops, and Mr. Figueres, while we were watching them they gpotted us and waved, Figueres climbing up on the paranet to be aure we saw him. Being caught in that way was a little embarrassing.
but everybody was in a good mood. Even our housemaid who had been a dyed in the wool Calderonista, was out waving and wearing a broad grin, and ended up by helping one of the revolutionary soldiers direct trarrio which was being diverted from in front of the fortress.
Later in the morning we took a drive out into the suburbs to look at the property the government recently bought for a new Embassy. During the lighting the grass had been set on fire and we had heard that some of the fine old trees had been burned. It turned out, however, that only a little grass had been burned and there was no sign or any other damage. We atopped to look at several private houses that had been looted and burned to the ground. Going through a village we came upon a youngster of about fifteen with a rirle on his shoulder doing emergency police duty. He called to us to HALT and then in a small voice ad led 1f you please. We also paid our first visit to the country club. It is a beautiful spot and now that the war is over we look forward to enjoying it a lot. In the afternoon we went to our first recention for weeks and later called on the new British Minister and his wife. They arrived about the time the revolt started and he had only yesterday been able to present his credentials,