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Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-17B-2
Sound recording of a telephone conversation held on April 3, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara. They discuss possible requests by the Air Force Inspector General to use polygraph tests to investigate a Defense Department leak. They also discuss seeking input on the matter from Press Secretary Pierre Salinger and Assistant Secretary of Defense Arthur Sylvester.Machine noise follows the conversation.
Transcript included. This sound recording was originally recorded on Dictation Belt 17B, 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-17B, Title: Telephone recordings: Dictation Belt 17B.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-17B
Dictation Belt 17B contains four sound recordings. The recording of the conversation in item 17B.1 begins on Dictation Belt 17A.4. Item 17B.1 is part of a telephone conversation held on April 2, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Sargent Shriver, Director of the Peace Corps. They discuss speaking to Richard M. Helms about the suspicion that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is trying to place people in the Peace Corps. They also discuss facilitating the movement of members of the Peace Corps into the Foreign Service. Machine noise follows the conversation. Item 17B.2 is a telephone conversation held on April 3, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara. They discuss possible requests by the Air Force Inspector General to use polygraph tests to investigate a Defense Department leak. They also discuss seeking input on the matter from Press Secretary Pierre Salinger and Assistant Secretary of Defense Arthur Sylvester. Machine noise follows the conversation. Item 17B.3 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and Louis Harris. They discuss polling on upcoming elections in Canada and Kentucky. They also discuss Harris’s professional plans. Item 17B.4 is a telephone conversation between President John F. Kennedy and an unidentified man. First they discuss a topic that is unclear. Then they discuss providing a recommendation for a student applying to Harvard. There is a brief delay before the conversation, and machine noise follows the conversation.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.
Textual folder
Adam Yarmolinsky Personal Papers
AYPP-031a-002
This folder includes memoranda and correspondence relating to Adam Yarmolinksy's involvement in the preparation of a speech given by Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in August 1966.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-078-002
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning the Department of Defense. Materials include comments on a Readers Digest article titled, "We're Running the Wrong Race with Russia," a progress report for the Department of Defense cost reduction program, Space Project 461, and a report by Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Maxwell D. Taylor of their mission to South Vietnam.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-077-014
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning the Department of Defense. Materials consist of a copy of the testimony given by Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Government Operations regarding the TFX fighter plane contract controversy.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-077-013
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning the Department of Defense, and consists of a stenotype transcript of a press conference concerning Cuba held by Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-077-007
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning the Department of Defense. Topics include civil defense, the establishment of Logistics Management Institute to improve the procurement of defense supplies, and the reorganization of Army National Guard and Reserves. Of note is a memorandum to the President from Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara regarding the Department of Defense FY 1963 budget and the 1963-1967 defense program. Also included in this folder is a memorandum to the President from McNamara regarding a military build-up and possible action in Europe.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-077-003
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning the Department of Defense, and consists of a memorandum from Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara to the President regarding proposed actions to discontinue excess defense installations.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-338-013
This file contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 185 (NSAM 185) titled, “Approval of Additional Nuclear Tests,” to Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara and Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Glenn T. Seaborg from President John F. Kennedy. Also included is a letter to the President from Secretary McNamara and Chairman Seaborg regarding high altitude nuclear tests in the Johnston Island area and a request for approval of additional tests.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-331-023
This folder contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 93 (NSAM 93) titled, “Berlin Build-Up,” to Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Also included in this folder is a memorandum to President Kennedy from Secretary McNamara titled, “Status of Berlin Build-up and Planning.”
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-328-003
This folder contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number two (NSAM 2) titled, “Development of Counter-Guerrilla Forces,” to the Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and a response by McNamara.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-273-007
This file contains a copy of Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara's testimony before the United States Senate Armed Services Committee discussing appropriations for the Department of Defense, national security, and strategic missile programs.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-273-004
This folder contains a report from Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara to President John F. Kennedy containing a review of the military programs and budgets for fiscal years 1961 and 1962.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-MTG-085-004
Sound recording of an undated meeting, possibly held on May 7, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara. They discuss various issues concerning the Department of Defense (DOD), including the military situation in Vietnam, the Congressional budget fight on military spending in Vietnam and personnel issues in DOD, specifically the nomination of a new Deputy Secretary of Defense. The exact date of this meeting is uncertain since it does not appear in the President’s Appointment Books. Secretary McNamara refers to his discussion "yesterday" on the same issues, which could refer to the SECDEF (Secretary of Defense) Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii, that took place on May 6, 1963. One segment of the recording totaling 1 minute and 50 seconds has been removed for reasons of national security. This sound recording has been excerpted from Tape 85, which contains additional sound recording(s) preceding and following this one. See Related Records to access Tape 85 in its entirety.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-MTG-120-003
Sound recording of a meeting on defense contracts held on November 8, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara. This brief discussion touches on a variety of subjects including the TFX aircraft contract issue, the futures of General Thomas Power and General Curtis LeMay, the 1964 presidential campaign, the FY1965 (Fiscal Year 1965) Budget review and stockpile discussion with Congress, and Admiral George W. Anderson’s conduct during the Cuban Missile Crisis. This sound recording has been excerpted from Tape 120/A56, which contains additional sound recording(s) preceding and following this one. See Related Records to access Tape 120/A56 in its entirety.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Pre-Presidential Papers. Presidential Campaign Files, 1960
JFKCAMP1960-1060-011
This folder contains a transcript of a press conference given by President-elect John F. Kennedy and Robert S. McNamara at the President-elect’s home in Washington, D.C. President-elect Kennedy begins the press conference by announcing the appointment of Mr. McNamara as Secretary of Defense and is followed with a statement by Secretary-designate McNamara. The President-elect and Secretary-designate go on to answer questions from the press regarding Secretary-designate McNamara’s stock holdings in the Ford Motor Company and Scott Paper Company, his qualifications to be Secretary of Defense, and proposed changes to the Defense Department.