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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
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-C206-69-63
President John F. Kennedy (seated in high-back chair at right) 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. 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; Under Secretary of the Navy, Paul "Red" Fay; and Commandant of the Marine Corps, General David M. Shoup (mostly hidden). Commander of Carrier Division One, Rear Admiral Paul Masterton, sits in the second row, directly behind the President.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-C206-67-63
Military officials pose aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63), during President John F. Kennedy's visit to the U.S. Pacific Fleet, at sea off the coast of San Diego, California. Left to right: 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-ST-C206-66-63
President John F. Kennedy speaks with military officials aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63), during a visit to the U.S. Pacific Fleet at sea off the coast of San Diego, California. Left to right (in foreground): Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral George W. Anderson, Jr.; President Kennedy; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Maxwell D. Taylor; and Secretary of the Navy Fred Korth. The President sailed aboard the aircraft carrier to view fleet exercises.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-C206-65-63
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 first row (left to right): Under Secretary of the Navy, Paul "Red" Fay; 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 (mostly obscured); Secretary of the Navy, Fred Korth (mostly obscured); Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Maxwell D. Taylor; Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral George W. Anderson, Jr. Commanding Officer of the USS Kitty Hawk, Captain Horace Hardaway Epes, Jr., and Commander of the First Fleet, Vice Admiral Robert T. S. Keith (holding binoculars), stand near center right.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C28963
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 first row, left to right: Commandant of the Marine Corps, General David M. Shoup; Under Secretary of the Navy, Paul "Red" Fay; 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.; Commander of the First Fleet, Vice Admiral Robert T. S. Keith. Also pictured: Naval Aide to the President, Captain Tazewell T. Shepard, Jr.; Air Force Aide to the President, Brigadier General Godfrey T. McHugh; White House Secret Service agent, Gerald A. "Jerry" Behn; Special Assistants to the President, Larry O'Brien and Kenneth P. O'Donnell.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C28959
President John F. Kennedy (seated in high-back chair at right, 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): 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). Also pictured: Personal Secretary to the President, Evelyn Lincoln; Special Assistant to the President, Dave Powers.