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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RH-01
In this interview Hilsman discusses his initial interactions with John F. Kennedy [JFK]; Hilsman’s appointment to the Department of State during the Kennedy Administration; Foreign Service officers and “hot-seat” jobs; issues with Dean Rusk as Secretary of State; reorganizing the Bureau of Intelligence and Research; the flow of information between the State Department and the White House; staffing the State Department; the use of satellite intelligence; John A. McCone; working with and around Robert F. Kennedy [RFK]; JFK, RFK, and Vietnam; Edward G. Lansdale; Maxwell D. Taylor; the connection between Vietnam and Laos; U.S. action in Laos; the Buddhist crisis in Vietnam; the impact of WWII on Hilsman and JFK’s generation; and the 1963 coup in Vietnam, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RMB-02
Bissell discusses the Bay of Pigs invasion and its aftermath, including the decision not to support the invaders with air strikes, and investigations by the CIA Inspector General and General Maxwell D. Taylor, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-08
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] Cabinet and appointing the various secretaries; problems in and JFK’s wariness of the Department of State; the ideal State Department organization; problems with Dean Rusk; Maxwell D. Taylor’s Cuba investigation; the Bay of Pigs and its effect on U.S. action in Laos; John McCone’s prediction of missiles in Cuba; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson and foreign policy; JFK’s vice-presidential choice at the 1960 Democratic National Convention; Johnson’s hesitant acceptance of the vice-presidential slot; RFK’s appointment as Attorney General; RFK’s involvement in staffing the White House for JFK and other presidential appointments; Lord Harlech (William David Ormsby-Gore); and State Department staff, 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-RFK-01
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses beginning John F. Kennedy's [JFK] presidential Administration with no political obligations; carefully picking Cabinet members, specifically Secretaries of State, Defense, and Treasury; RFK’s decision on what role to play in JFK’s Administration; JFK’s unhappiness with Dean Rusk as Secretary of State; JFK’s advisers and other presidential appointments; Cabinet meetings; Department of Justice organization under RFK; the first 100 days of the Kennedy Administration; the role of the Vice President, according to RFK; JFK’s relationship with Lyndon B. Johnson and why JFK put Johnson on the ticket in 1960; what JFK was most concerned with as President; domestic programs versus foreign affairs in the Kennedy Administration; Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.’s role during JFK’s presidency; the Bay of Pigs, the aftermath, and its effect on JFK; how JFK approached problems as President; dealing with Georgi Bolshakov; negotiating with the Soviet Union in Vienna, over Laos and Cuba, etc.; JFK’s relationship with foreign heads of state; State Department staff and U.S. Ambassadors; the military coup in Vietnam; the Berlin crisis of the summer of 1961 and the Berlin Wall; RFK’s 1961 trip to the Ivory Coast; and Soviet and American nuclear testing, among other issues.
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1963-06-07-B
ST25, KN36
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1963-06-06-E
ST25, KN36
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1963-10-02-C
AR40
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-10-09-E
ST14
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-10-29-A
ST15
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1963-01-25-E
KN29
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-327-011
This folder contains memoranda and letters regarding the appointment of General Maxwell Taylor as Military Representative to the President, his responsibility in the role to strengthen the President’s knowledge of military and intelligence matters, and General Taylor’s working relationship with the National Security Council (NSC). Also included in this folder is a memorandum to the President on military policy and a set of questions and answers on an increase in military divisions to Europe.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-330-019
This folder contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 69 (NSAM 69) titled, “Intelligence Aspects of Nuclear Testing,” to General Maxwell Taylor from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-26282
President John F. Kennedy meets with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Maxwell D. Taylor (center), and Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara (left), following a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM). Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C29092
President John F. Kennedy (center, wearing sunglasses) views weapons demonstrations from his seat in the reviewing stand during his visit to Naval Air Facility (NAF) China Lake's Naval Ordnance Test Station (NOTS) in China Lake, California. Seated in reviewing stand (left to right): Undersecretary of the Navy, Paul "Red" Fay; Senator Clair Engle of California (wearing safari hat); Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Maxwell D. Taylor; Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet (CINCPACFLT), Admiral John H. Sides; Governor of California, Edmund G. "Pat" Brown (face partially obscured); White House Secret Service agent, Gerald A. "Jerry" Behn (mostly obscured); President Kennedy; Military Aide to the President, General Chester V. Clifton (in back); Commander of NOTS, Captain Charles Blenman, Jr.; Naval Aide to the President, Captain Tazewell T. Shepard, Jr.; Secretary of the Navy, Fred Korth; unidentified; Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral George W. Anderson, Jr.; unidentified (facing away); Secret Service agent, Roy Kellerman.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C28966
President John F. Kennedy (seated in high-back chair at center) and other distinguished guests watch U.S. Pacific Fleet demonstrations from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63), at sea off the coast of San Diego, California. Seated in front row (left to right): Commander of the First Fleet, Vice Admiral Robert T. S. Keith; Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral George W. Anderson, Jr.; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Maxwell D. Taylor; Secretary of the Navy, Fred Korth; Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet (CINCPACFLT), Admiral John H. Sides; President Kennedy; Governor of California, Edmund G. "Pat" Brown; Senator Clair Engle (California); Under Secretary of the Navy, Paul "Red" Fay; Commandant of the Marine Corps, General David M. Shoup. Also pictured: Commander of Carrier Division One, Rear Admiral Paul Masterton; Naval Aide to the President, Captain Tazewell T. Shepard, Jr.; Personal Secretary to the President, Evelyn Lincoln.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C28957
President John F. Kennedy (third from right, back to camera) and other distinguished guests watch U.S. Pacific Fleet demonstrations from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63), at sea off the coast of San Diego, California. Also pictured: Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral George W. Anderson, Jr.; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Maxwell D. Taylor; Secretary of the Navy, Fred Korth.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C28945
President John F. Kennedy (center left, wearing sunglasses) and other distinguished guests watch U.S. Pacific Fleet demonstrations from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63), at sea off the coast of San Diego, California. Seated in front row (left to right): Commandant of the Marine Corps, General David M. Shoup (gesturing with right hand); Under Secretary of the Navy, Paul "Red" Fay (mostly hidden); Senator Clair Engle (California); Governor of California, Edmund G. "Pat" Brown (looking through binoculars); President Kennedy; Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet (CINCPACFLT), Admiral John H. Sides (mostly hidden); Secretary of the Navy, Fred Korth (back to camera); Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Maxwell D. Taylor; Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral George W. Anderson, Jr.; Commander of the First Fleet, Vice Admiral Robert T. S. Keith. Also pictured: Commander of Carrier Division One, Rear Admiral Paul Masterton; Special Assistant to the President, Larry O'Brien; Air Force Aide to the President, Brigadier General Godfrey T. McHugh; Press Secretary, Pierre Salinger; Special Assistant to the President, Dave Powers; Personal Secretary to the President, Evelyn Lincoln; White House photographer, Captain Cecil Stoughton.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C28944
President John F. Kennedy (center) and other distinguished guests watch U.S. Pacific Fleet demonstrations from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63), at sea off the coast of San Diego, California. Seated in front row (left to right): Senator Clair Engle (California); Governor of California, Edmund G. "Pat" Brown; President Kennedy; Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet (CINCPACFLT), Admiral John H. Sides; Secretary of the Navy, Fred Korth; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Maxwell D. Taylor; Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral George W. Anderson, Jr. Also pictured: Commander of Carrier Division One, Rear Admiral Paul Masterton; Air Force Aide to the President, Brigadier General Godfrey T. McHugh; Naval Aide to the President, Captain Tazewell T. Shepard, Jr.; Special Assistant to the President, Larry O'Brien; White House Secret Service agent, Ron Pontius.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-M27-2-62
Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara (left), Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Paul Nitze (partially hidden), and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell D. Taylor leave the White House after meeting with President John F. Kennedy and other members of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) regarding the crisis in Cuba. West Wing Colonnade, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-A26-8-62
President John F. Kennedy (left) speaks with members of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) in the West Wing Colonnade outside the Oval Office, White House, Washington, D.C. (L-R) President Kennedy, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell D. Taylor, and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara. The President met with members of the EXCOMM that day regarding the crisis in Cuba.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-A26-7-62
President John F. Kennedy (left) speaks with members of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) in the West Wing Colonnade outside the Oval Office, White House, Washington, D.C. (L-R) President Kennedy, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Paul Nitze (mostly hidden behind the President), Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell D. Taylor, and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara. The President met with members of the EXCOMM that day regarding the crisis in Cuba.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-A26-3-62
Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Paul Nitze (left), Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell D. Taylor, and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara (right) leave the White House after meeting with President John F. Kennedy and other members of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) regarding the crisis in Cuba. West Wing Colonnade, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-A26-25-62
President John F. Kennedy meets with members of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) regarding the crisis in Cuba. Clockwise from top right side of table: Under Secretary of State George Ball, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, President Kennedy, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell Gilpatric, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell D. Taylor, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Paul Nitze, Acting Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA) Donald Wilson, Special Counsel to the President Theodore C. Sorensen, Special Assistant to the President for National Security McGeorge Bundy, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson (mostly hidden), Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union Llewellyn Thompson, Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) William C. Foster, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone (mostly hidden behind Director Foster). Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.