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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-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-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.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JKR-01
In this interview Ruina discusses the Nike-Zeus antiballistic-missile-missiles; briefing President John F. Kennedy [JFK] on the Nike-Zeus missiles; JFK’s comprehension of the briefing material and the type of questions he asked; Project Defender; the background and organization of the Advanced Research Projects Agency; the leadership and organization of the Department of Defense; interactions with Robert S. McNamara; competition between the military and the Defense Department on research and development and for resources and congressional funds; the period of new, advanced—but not always useful—technology; and Project AGILE and counterinsurgency efforts in Vietnam, among other issues.
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-10-29-A
ST15
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1963-01-25-E
KN29
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-ST-M27-5-62
President John F. Kennedy speaks with Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara (right) in the West Wing Colonnade outside the Oval Office, White House, Washington, D.C. President Kennedy met with Secretary McNamara and other members of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) that day regarding the crisis in Cuba.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-M27-4-62
President John F. Kennedy speaks with Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara (right) in the West Wing Colonnade outside the Oval Office, White House, Washington, D.C. President Kennedy met with Secretary McNamara and other members of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) that day regarding the crisis in Cuba.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-M27-3-62
President John F. Kennedy speaks with Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara (right) in the West Wing Colonnade outside the Oval Office, White House, Washington, D.C. President Kennedy met with Secretary McNamara and other members of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) that day regarding the crisis in Cuba.
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-M27-1-62
President John F. Kennedy speaks with Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara (right) in the West Wing Colonnade outside the Oval Office, White House, Washington, D.C. President Kennedy met with Secretary McNamara and other members of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) that day regarding the crisis in Cuba.
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-A26-6-62
President John F. Kennedy speaks with Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara (right) in the West Wing Colonnade outside the Oval Office, White House, Washington, D.C. President Kennedy met with Secretary McNamara and other members of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (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.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-A26-23-62
President John F. Kennedy meets with members of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) regarding the crisis in Cuba. (L-R) President Kennedy, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, and Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell Gilpatric. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-A26-22-62
President John F. Kennedy meets with members of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) regarding the crisis in Cuba. (L-R) President Kennedy, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara (seated). Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-A26-21-62
Meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM). Seated at table (clockwise from bottom left): Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell D. Taylor, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, 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, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, and Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell Gilpatric. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-A26-20-62
Meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM). Seated at table (clockwise from bottom left): Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell D. Taylor, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, 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, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, and Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell Gilpatric. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-A26-2-62
President John F. Kennedy (back to camera) 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) Special Assistant to the President for National Security McGeorge Bundy, President Kennedy, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Paul Nitze, 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-A26-19-62
President John F. Kennedy meets with members of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) regarding the crisis in Cuba. (L-R) President Kennedy, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara (seated), and White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.