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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-02
In this interview Heinz discusses his primary contacts in other government agencies; the Vietnam task force; the different political trips and survey missions to Vietnam; the Maxwell D. Taylor-Walt W. Rostow mission to Vietnam and subsequent report; the Ngo Dinh Diem regime; the rise in interest in the concept of counterinsurgency; problems with working in Vietnam; changing the terrain in Vietnam with the use of defoliants; the Strategic Hamlet program; how to measure success in warfare; the International Control Commission; General Paul D. Harkins; the various agency reports coming out of Vietnam and interagency meetings; the Buddhist crisis in the summer of 1963; the appointment of Henry Cabot Lodge as Ambassador; and the military coup in Saigon and the rumors leading up to it, 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-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.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-327-012
This folder contains memoranda to President John F. Kennedy from General Maxwell Taylor, Military Representative to the President. Topics include Soviet Union aggression in Berlin and United States response, an increase in military divisions to Europe, and a trip by General Taylor to Saigon to assess the situation in South Vietnam (officially known as the Republic of Vietnam) and its conflict with North Vietnam (officially known as the Democratic Republic of Vietnam).
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-098-006
This folder contains materials collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning research on and policies addressing counter-insurgency and internal warfare in Laos, North Vietnam, and the Soviet Union. Materials in this folder include a copy of the 3d Marine Division newspaper TRIAD, a copy of Leatherneck magazine with an article on reconnaissance operations, a report on the activities of the Viet Cong in the village of Binh-Hung, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara's responses to questions regarding specific training programs for military involved in reconnaissance and counter-insurgency in Laos and Vietnam, a memorandum for Commander Tazewell Shepard, Military Aide to the President for the Navy, concerning the experience necessary for Marine Corps engaged in guerilla or anti-guerilla operations, "Guerilla and Anti-Guerilla Operations," a training booklet published by the Marine Corps Educational Center, and a report on a policy research study entitled "Internal Warfare and the Security of the Underdeveloped States" produced by the Department of State Bureau of Intelligence and Research.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-328-013
This folder contains a memorandum to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Lyman L. Lemnitzer in reference to National Security Action Memoranda number 12 (NSAM 12) discussing the distribution of United States military forces in Vietnam to more effectively combat guerilla warfare.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-DDR-02
This interview covers the United States’ military involvement in South Vietnam, the overthrow of President Ngo Dinh Diem’s regime, and the State Department’s relationship with the Defense Department, the Pentagon, and the White House, among other topics.