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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.
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-12-27-C
ST18
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-13-1-62
President John F. Kennedy meets with civilian and military leaders of the 2506th Cuban Invasion Brigade at the residence of C. Michael Paul in Palm Beach, Florida. Standing outdoors on the patio of the residence (left to right): Alvaro Sanchez, Jr., chairman of the Cuban Families Committee for Liberation of Prisoners of War, Inc.; Roberto Pérez San Román, chief of the heavy weapons battalion; Jose Pérez San Román, commander of the brigade; President Kennedy; Manuel Artime, civilian chief of the brigade; Erneido Oliva, second in command of the brigade; Enrique Ruiz-Williams, second in command of the heavy weapons battalion. The 2506 Brigade was comprised of Cuban exiles who participated in the Bay of Pigs invasion of April 1961.