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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-MJH-01
In this interview Hillenbrand discusses President John F. Kennedy [JFK] entering office amid the Berlin crisis; working as the Director of the Office of German Affairs with JFK; the Berlin Task Force and the Ambassadorial Group; JFK's attitude towards the German problem and German reactions to the Kennedy Administration; the State Department and Germany; the 1961 Vienna talks with Nikita S. Khrushchev; the erection of the Berlin Wall and the crisis it generated; the Kennedy Administration's reaction and response to the Berlin Wall; talks with Russia over Berlin and the Wall; the press "leaks crisis" on the Germany problem; JFK's working style and approach to problems, according to Hillenbrand; the impact of the Cuban Missile Crisis on the Berlin talks; JFK's German policy and relationship with German leaders; and what JFK accomplished related to Germany, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-BBH-01
In this interview Hickenlooper discusses various meetings with President John F. Kennedy [JFK] on foreign relations; Soviet and American nuclear testing; the nuclear test ban treaty; the Bay of Pigs invasion; Laos and Vietnam; the Punta del Este Conference in 1962; the Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962; Hickenlooper's 1962 reelection campaign; traveling with JFK to Costa Rica; the 1961 Berlin crisis; JFK's congressional relations; and social occasions at the Kennedy White House, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LCH-01
In this interview Heinz discusses how he came to work in the Office of International Security Affairs [ISA] in the Department of Defense [DOD]; the changeover in the DOD between the Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy Administrations; Heinz’s view of the Bay of Pigs; the regular operations and organization within ISA, including the different regional desks’ responsibilities; relationships between the ISA and other agencies; ISA as “the little State Department”; differences of opinion between DOD and the State Department, the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the debate over whether to put troops in Laos; Robert S. McNamara and Roswell L. Gilpatric; the status of Okinawa; the question of U.S. defense perimeters; and W. Averell Harriman’s trip to Geneva and the neutralization solution for Laos, 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.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-16A-4
Sound recording of a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. They discuss Senate hearings concerning the TFX airplane. They also discuss a raid by Cuban exiles targeting a ship, concerns about a Russian ship being targeted, and consultations with John A. McCone. The recording begins in mid-conversation.
Transcript included. This sound recording was originally recorded on Dictation Belt 16A, which contains additional sound recording(s) preceding and following this one. To hear all of the recordings on the Dictation Belt, see Digital Identifier: JFKPOF-TPH-16A, Title: Telephone recordings: Dictation Belt 16A.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-16A
Dictation Belt 16A contains five sound recordings. Item 16A.1 is a recording of remarks made by President John F. Kennedy to an unidentified group of visitors. The remarks concern the United States economy. This is not a telephone conversation. The recording begins in mid-sentence. Item 16A.2 is a fragment of a telephone conversation held on March 26, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. They discuss congressional hearings. The recording begins in mid-conversation. Item 16A.3 is a telephone conversation held on March 26, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara. They discuss hearings concerning the TFX airplane. The recording begins in mid-conversation. Item 16A.4 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. They discuss Senate hearings concerning the TFX airplane. They also discuss a raid by Cuban exiles targeting a ship, concerns about a Russian ship being targeted, and consultations with John A. McCone. The recording begins in mid-conversation. Item 16A.5 is a telephone conversation held on March 28, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs William R. Tyler. They discuss press reports of Canadian Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker possessing a working paper written by Walt W. Rostow on relations between the United States and Canada.Transcript included. Each item listed above is also available individually as an excerpt derived from this full-length digitized recording. See Related Records for more information.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-14A
Dictation Belt 14A contains five sound recordings. The recording of the conversation in item 14A.1 begins on Dictation Belt 13A. Item 14A.1 is part of a telephone conversation held on March 9, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Governor Harold E. Hughes of Iowa. They continue to discuss an appeal for clemency on behalf of a prisoner awaiting execution in Iowa. They also discuss Iowa politics. Machine noise follows the conversation.Item 14A.2 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. They discuss Henry R. (“Harry”) Luce and articles in “Time” and “Newsweek” magazines. They also discuss proposed school construction on military bases in the South. A fragment of unintelligible chatter from [White House Operator?] follows the conversation. Item 14A.3 is a telephone conversation held on March 11, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Edwin Martin, Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs. They discuss whether Latin-American presidents will issue a statement on Cuba before President Kennedy’s trip to Costa Rica. Item 14A.4 is a telephone conversation held on March 11, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Assistant Secretary of Defense Arthur Sylvester. They discuss Sylvester’s remarks about hearings on the TFX airplane. The recording begins in mid-conversation. Item 14A.5 is part of a telephone conversation held on March 12, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon. They discuss Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules on expense accounts and the effects on businesses. The recording begins in mid-conversation and ends abruptly. The recording of this conversation continues on Dictation Belt 14B.
Transcript included. Each item listed above is also available individually as an excerpt derived from this full-length digitized recording. See Related Records for more information.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-45
Sound recording of President John F. Kennedy dictating memoranda. President Kennedy dictates the first memorandum to Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs McGeorge Bundy on a proposed article on counter-guerrilla tactics. President Kennedy dictates the second memorandum to Bundy on the policy for Cuba. President Kennedy dictates the third memorandum to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Lyman Lemnitzer on troop levels in Vietnam. President Kennedy dictates the fourth memorandum to Secretary of State Dean Rusk on foreign aid, defense, and balance of payments involving West Germany and Europe. President Kennedy dictates the fifth memorandum to Special Assistant to the President Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., on a proposed electoral commission.The recording begins in mid-sentence. Occasionally, the dictation belt skips.
Sound recording
White House Audio Collection
JFKWHA-126
Sound recording of the President’s News Conference of September 13, 1962 (News Conference 43). The President begins the press conference with a statement concerning the recent shipments of supplies and technicians into Cuba from the Soviet Union, events that led to the Cuban Missile Crisis. He goes on to say that the United States would not take military action against Cuba unless necessary. The President then answers questions from the press on a variety of topics including the Alliance for Progress, civil rights, the Chicago Northwestern Railway strike, the military space program, nuclear testing, and the President’s request for special reserve mobilization powers.
Textual folder
Theodore C. Sorensen Personal Papers
TCSPP-049-006
Textual folder
Theodore C. Sorensen Personal Papers
TCSPP-048-013
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-10-22-B
ST15, KN24
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-10-18-D
AR28, ST15, KN24
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-11-02-B
KN25
Photograph folder
Department of Defense Cuban Missile Crisis Briefing Materials
DODCMCBM-010-004
Aerial photograph of medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) launch site number 3 in San Cristobal, Cuba, as it appeared on October 27, 1962 (see Briefing Board #21).
Photograph folder
Department of Defense Cuban Missile Crisis Briefing Materials
DODCMCBM-010-002
Aerial reconnaissance photograph showing an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) launch site in Guanajay, Cuba, as it appeared on October 23, 1962 (see Briefing Board #19).
Photograph folder
Department of Defense Cuban Missile Crisis Briefing Materials
DODCMCBM-009-008
Graphic depicting the types and locations of the eight categories of Soviet offensive and defensive weapons systems deployed in Cuba in the fall of 1962.
Photograph folder
Department of Defense Cuban Missile Crisis Briefing Materials
DODCMCBM-009-003
Low altitude aerial photograph made over a portion of the Remedios-area military camp in Cuba on October 25, 1962 showing a Soviet FROG missile with transporter and launcher, 130mm rocket launchers, SU-100 assault guns, T-54 tanks, and other weapons, vehicles, and associated equipment.
Photograph folder
Department of Defense Cuban Missile Crisis Briefing Materials
DODCMCBM-008-004
Aerial reconnaissance photograph showing an operational cruise missile site at Siguanea, Isle of Pines, Cuba, on November 9, 1962.
Photograph folder
Department of Defense Cuban Missile Crisis Briefing Materials
DODCMCBM-007-006
Aerial reconnaissance photograph showing a Soviet surface-to-air missile site at La Coloma, Cuba.
Photograph folder
Department of Defense Cuban Missile Crisis Briefing Materials
DODCMCBM-006-010
Aerial photograph showing the deck of the Soviet ship Kasimov at sea, with dismantled crates exposed on the deck to show cargo inside.
Photograph folder
Department of Defense Cuban Missile Crisis Briefing Materials
DODCMCBM-005-009
Low altitude reconnaissance photograph of San Julian Airfield in Cuba on October 27, 1962, showing Soviet IL-28 bombers being assembled.