A second letter from Moscow demanding tougher terms, including the removal of obsolete Jupiter missiles from Turkey, is received in Washington. An American U-2 plane is shot down over Cuba by a Soviet-supplied surface-to-air missile and the pilot, Major Rudolph Anderson, is killed.

Left: President Kennedy writes to the widow of USAF Major Rudolf Anderson, Jr., the U-2 photographic reconnaissance pilot who was shot down on October 27, 1962 while on a flying mission over Cuba.

Read summary record of seventh ExComm meeting
Read summary record of eighth ExComm meeting
Read summary record of ninth ExComm meeting

Above: October 27 letter from Khrushchev demanding the removal of American Jupiter missiles from Turkey

Read text or Premier Khrushchev's letter

At a tense meeting of the Executive Committee, President Kennedy resists pressure for immediate military action against the SAM sites. At several points in the discussion, Kennedy insists that removal of the American missiles in Turkey will have to be part of an overall negotiated settlement. The Committee ultimately decides to ignore the Saturday letter from Moscow and respond favorably to the more conciliatory Friday message. Air Force troop carrier squadrons are ordered to active duty in case an invasion is required.

Left: President Kennedy's October 27 letter to Chairman Khrushchev

Read text of President Kennedy's letter

That night, Robert Kennedy meets secretly with Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin. They reach a basic understanding: the Soviet Union will withdraw the missiles from Cuba under United Nations supervision in exchange for an American pledge not to invade Cuba. In an additional secret understanding, the United States agrees to eventually remove the Jupiter missiles from Turkey.

Read Robert Kennedy's memorandum