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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-WFL-01
This interview focuses on his time serving in the Solomon Islands, John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] ship being sunk, and his involvement in JFK’s 1960 presidential campaign, among other topics.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LLL-01
This interview focuses on John F. Kennedy’s policies regarding the United States military and international relations, among other topics.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RLG-03
This interview focuses on the Skybolt Crisis and the inner workers of the Defense Department and related agencies during the Kennedy administration.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JWUF-02
Fulbirght discusses the 1961 “Muzzling the Military” memorandum limiting political activity by members of the military, several Foreign Agents Registration Act cases, United States relations with the Soviet Union, and an October 1963 trip to Arkansas that Fulbright took with John F. Kennedy, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-DBF-01
Frost discusses life in the Pacific Theater, the rescue mission, and operating PT boats, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-FUF-02
Freeman discusses presidential visits between the United States, Colombia, and Venezuela, ambassadorial involvement with monetary matters, and Peace Corps activities in Colombia, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-EL-01
This interview focuses on the United States’ involvement in foreign countries’ conflicts, in particular the unrest in Vietnam during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations, among other topics.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LIK-01
Liz Kovacs was the daughter of a serviceman in the United States Navy who was stationed in Guantanamo during the Cuban Missile Crisis. This interview focuses on Kovacs’ recollections of living on the Naval base in Guantanamo and of the base being evacuated during the crisis.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-FDK-01
Fred Korth (1909-1998) was the Secretary of the Navy from 1961 to 1963. This interview focuses on the inner workings of the Department of Defense during the Kennedy administration, in particular the TFX contract and the ensuing McClellan Committee hearings, among other topics.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-06
In this interview Komer discusses U.S. aid to India and Pakistan and some problems involved with it, including the question of long-term U.S. aid and a shift in focus from Pakistan to India; problems with the Agency for International Development; oil and U.S. policy; U.S. involvement in the Congo; Komer’s meetings with President John F. Kennedy [JFK] and how Komer briefed him; the relations among JFK, Dean Rusk, John Kenneth Galbraith, Adlai E. Stevenson, and McGeorge Bundy; JFK’s interest in India and Pakistan and his attempt at a mediation between the two on Kashmir; and JFK and Algeria and Morocco, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-05
In this interview Komer discusses working with McGeorge Bundy; the “inner circle” of the Bundy State Department; Komer’s major contacts; the intelligence system; the power and responsibilities of the State Department; how Bundy screened what President John F. Kennedy [JFK] would see; relations with other key officials; Robert F. Kennedy and foreign policy issues; the Bundy State Department and White House staff; the “little State Department” in the White House; the bureaucratic role of the State Department; U.S. foreign policy in Asia; relations with key U.S. Ambassadors; handling Arab-Israeli issues; domestic pressures of American-Jewish community on JFK; Arabists in the Kennedy Administration; working with Myer Feldman on Israeli issues; the United States, Saudi Arabia, and oil; filling the power vacuum left by the British; dealing with Congress on foreign aid matters; counterinsurgency; and looking back at programs during the Kennedy Administration, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-04
In this interview Komer discusses President John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] interest in Indonesia and Iran; U.S.-Indonesian relations; the Indian Ocean and Iran task forces; JFK’s contact with the Iranian Shah; Pakistani-Afghani disputes; U.S. aid to Afghanistan; Komer’s attempt to revamp the military aid program; McGeorge Bundy and Walt W. Rostow as President JFK’s advisers; and JFK’s direct contact with a select few National Security staff, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-03
In this interview Komer discusses negotiating disengagement with Gamal Abdel Nasser and Faisal, King of Saudi Arabia; John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] involvement in the Yemen crisis and the negotiations with Nasser and Faisal; U.S. New Guinea policy and the Dutch-Indonesian conflict; JFK and counterinsurgency; Komer and police programs as part of U.S. counterinsurgency efforts; JFK’s policy towards and involvement with India and Pakistan; U.S. military assistance to India, 1962; and U.S. missions to Pakistan and India, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-02
In this interview Komer discusses John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] personal diplomacy with the United Arab Republic [UAR] through letters; normalizing U.S.-Egypt relations; the Yemen conflict and U.S. interests; negotiating Yemen with M. Harold Macmillan and the attempt to have the United Kingdom recognize the Yemen Republic; dealing with Gamal Abdel Nasser; and difficulties with Saudi Arabia and the UAR, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-06
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] and Marshall discuss civil rights legislation, and how it was innovative and yet inevitable; meetings between RFK and businessmen on civil rights legislation; RFK’s unintentional intimidation of the businessmen based on his history with Senate hearings on labor; attempting to put leadership in the community (North and South) to deal with the problem of segregation and other racial discrimination; hostile treatment of RFK in Alabama; working with the NAACP on school desegregation; the desegregation of the University of Alabama, and the question of if and how to bring in troops to help; and using the incident at the University of Alabama as a political stepping stone, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-03
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses the 1962 steel crisis; some major issues and accomplishments of John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] presidency; choosing the U.S. Ambassador to Russia; foreign aid and treaties; the military coup in Peru; the space race during the Kennedy Administration; the 1962 congressional and gubernatorial campaigns; JFK’s dinner for the Nobel Prize winners; the Polaris submarines; problems with the New York Herald Tribune; New York politics; various pieces of federal legislation, 1961–1963; the Dominican Republic; Department of Justice investigations under RFK; the difficulties of being Attorney General; congressional issues in early 1963; the Vietnam War escalation in 1963; American support of the coup in Vietnam; Henry Cabot Lodge as the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam; the prisoners from the Bay of Pigs invasion; American actions in Cuba; unemployment and civil rights; RFK’s meeting with James Baldwin; JFK’s trips to the South and speeches on civil rights; the nuclear test ban treaty; and JFK’s trip to Ireland and Rome, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-02
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses the 1961 Berlin crisis; American forces, military and diplomatic, in Germany; John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] recommendation for Americans to have fallout shelters; nuclear testing; problems with the Department of State; the start of the conflict in Vietnam, 1961; the Department of Justice under RFK and organized crime; RFK’s difficult relationship with J. Edgar Hoover; the wiretapping bill; new federal judgeships in 1961 and other presidential appointments; the Alliance for Progress; Red China; crises during JFK’s presidency and how he was an optimist; RFK’s move for an income tax increase during the Berlin crisis; RFK’s disagreements with President JFK; indecisiveness over picking JFK’s running mate, 1960; the missile gap; fighting and UN operations in the Congo; Nikita S. Khrushchev’s speeches; RFK’s 1962 trip to Japan, Indonesia, Germany, and other countries; the release of Allen L. Pope; Dutch disputes in Southeast Asia; the 1961 crisis in the Dominican Republic and the assassination of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina; the 1962 disarmament conference in Geneva; Edward M. Kennedy’s 1962 campaign for U.S. Senate; the Kennedy family national and political reputation; the Justice Department under RFK and civil rights; and the 1962 steel crisis, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JBD-01
Drachnik discusses his work as a military advisor, the Vietnamese navy, and the Vietnamese military coup of November 1963, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RD-02
Donahue discusses recruiting talent for the John F. Kennedy (JFK) administration, working with the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration, and JFK’s treatment of his staff and cabinet, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-GHD-01
Decker discusses the Joint Chiefs of Staff Laotian policy, the Joint Chiefs’ role in the Bay of Pigs planning and execution, and the Joint Chiefs’ relationship with Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-MJD-01
Dalton discusses John F. Kennedy's (JFK) 1946 congressional campaign, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.’s role in the 1946 campaign, and JFK’s opposition to the Taft-Hartley bill, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RIF-01
In this interview Flood discusses his friendship with Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.; the relationship, similarities, and differences between John F. Kennedy [JFK] and his older brother while together at Harvard; his interactions with JFK at Harvard, during WWII, and later on up until 1963; his experiences working on JFK’s 1946 congressional campaign and 1952 Senate campaign; and his impressions of some of JFK’s work as a politician, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-PBF-04
Fay discusses playing golf with President John F. Kennedy (JFK), JFK’s reflections on being president, the Bay of Pigs, Robert McNamara’s ability to communicate, and the Cuban Missile Crisis, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-PBF-03
Fay discusses Admiral George Anderson, Fay’s role as Under Secretary of the Navy, President John F. Kennedy’s (JFK) relationships with heads of state, foreign visits, JFK’s interest in General Douglas MacArthur, the missile gap, and the Kennedy family, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ACE-01
Enthoven discusses his impressions of Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara and his work applying systems analysis to Defense Department problems, among other issues.