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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-PTH-03
In this interview Hart discusses Ellsworth Bunker’s mission in Saudi Arabia; meetings between Bunker and Prime Minister Faisal; Faisal’s distrust of Gamal Abdel Nasser and Egyptian inaction in regards to the agreement reached with Bunker; difficulties with the U.S. Department of Defense over the agreement to train Saudi pilots and use American military equipment; major problems in the Middle East, 1957–1967; communications between John F. Kennedy [JFK] and Faisal; and Saudi reactions to JFK’s death and to Lyndon B. Johnson becoming President, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ARB-01
Burke discusses his frustrations with the Kennedy administration, including Robert S. McNamara’s changes to the Department of Defense, the Bay of Pigs Invasion, general lack of respect for procedures and lessons from the past, and censoring of a speech that Burke was to give in January 1961, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-06
In this interview Komer discusses U.S. aid to India and Pakistan and some problems involved with it, including the question of long-term U.S. aid and a shift in focus from Pakistan to India; problems with the Agency for International Development; oil and U.S. policy; U.S. involvement in the Congo; Komer’s meetings with President John F. Kennedy [JFK] and how Komer briefed him; the relations among JFK, Dean Rusk, John Kenneth Galbraith, Adlai E. Stevenson, and McGeorge Bundy; JFK’s interest in India and Pakistan and his attempt at a mediation between the two on Kashmir; and JFK and Algeria and Morocco, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-05
In this interview Komer discusses working with McGeorge Bundy; the “inner circle” of the Bundy State Department; Komer’s major contacts; the intelligence system; the power and responsibilities of the State Department; how Bundy screened what President John F. Kennedy [JFK] would see; relations with other key officials; Robert F. Kennedy and foreign policy issues; the Bundy State Department and White House staff; the “little State Department” in the White House; the bureaucratic role of the State Department; U.S. foreign policy in Asia; relations with key U.S. Ambassadors; handling Arab-Israeli issues; domestic pressures of American-Jewish community on JFK; Arabists in the Kennedy Administration; working with Myer Feldman on Israeli issues; the United States, Saudi Arabia, and oil; filling the power vacuum left by the British; dealing with Congress on foreign aid matters; counterinsurgency; and looking back at programs during the Kennedy Administration, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-04
In this interview Komer discusses President John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] interest in Indonesia and Iran; U.S.-Indonesian relations; the Indian Ocean and Iran task forces; JFK’s contact with the Iranian Shah; Pakistani-Afghani disputes; U.S. aid to Afghanistan; Komer’s attempt to revamp the military aid program; McGeorge Bundy and Walt W. Rostow as President JFK’s advisers; and JFK’s direct contact with a select few National Security staff, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-03
In this interview Komer discusses negotiating disengagement with Gamal Abdel Nasser and Faisal, King of Saudi Arabia; John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] involvement in the Yemen crisis and the negotiations with Nasser and Faisal; U.S. New Guinea policy and the Dutch-Indonesian conflict; JFK and counterinsurgency; Komer and police programs as part of U.S. counterinsurgency efforts; JFK’s policy towards and involvement with India and Pakistan; U.S. military assistance to India, 1962; and U.S. missions to Pakistan and India, 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
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. White House Staff Files of Harris Wofford
JFKWHSFHW-011-029
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-319-005
This folder contains a report on the internal organization of the Joint Staff and Armed Services for counterinsurgency matters including creation of the Office of the Special Assistant for Counterinsurgency Activities (SACSA), brief biographies of officers in key positions, and organizational charts. Also included in this folder is a summary report of counterinsurgency accomplishments since January 1961.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-333-010
This file contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 119 (NSAM 119) titled, “Civic Action,” to Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Also included are memoranda from various departments and agencies regarding civic action programs and a report by the United States Army titled, “Cold War Activities of the United States Army, 1 January 1961-26 January 1962.”
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-077-010
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning the Department of Defense. Topics include the possible effects of a reduction in the number of Army Reserve officers, reports on the Navy's physical fitness program for 1961 and 1962, and the fiscal year 1964 budget for the Department of Defense. Of note is a letter to the President from Major General William F. Train regarding a condolence letter sent by the President on the death of Train's son.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-077-008
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning the Department of Defense. Topics include the Military Assistance Program Offshore Procurement (MAP/OSP), formation of the Defense Study Group on Military Compensation, civilian employment of retired military officers, and false remarks attributed to Colonel Barney Oldfield regarding a Soviet Union satellite. Of note is a report on Operation SOLANT AMITY.
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-077-005
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning the Department of Defense. Topics include restrictions on overseas military dependents and the balance of payments, the reappraisal of capabilities of conventional forces, and a meeting between Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Vinson regarding the FY 1962 defense program. Of note is a memorandum to the President from Vice President Lyndon Johnson concerning Department of Defense directive 5160-32 that established and clarified responsibilities within the Department of Defense for the development of space systems. Also included in this folder is the United Service Organizations, Inc. (USO) annual report for 1960.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-077-004
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning the Department of Defense, and contains a report titled, "Appraisal of Capabilities of Conventional Forces."
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-077-002
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 report titled, "Review of FY 1961 and FY 1962 Military Programs and Budget."
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-275-011
This folder contains a memorandum for President John F. Kennedy regarding the Department of Defense budget for FY 1964 and recommendations for the general purposes forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines). The recommendations include an increase in force levels to combat potential communist non-nuclear threats and a modernization of military equipment.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-275-010
This folder contains a draft memorandum for President John F. Kennedy regarding the Department of Defense budget for FY 1964 and recommendations for the strategic retaliatory forces ballistic missile defense programs, including cancellation of the Skybolt missile program. Also included in the memorandum are the Soviet Union strategic retaliatory forces and long-range nuclear weapons program.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-275-004
This folder contains memoranda regarding the Department of Defense budget for FY 1964 and principal issues, including civil defense incentives and strategic retaliatory forces ballistic missile defense programs.
Collection
USDD
Records 1960-1964 (bulk 1961-1963). Microfilm copies of incoming and outgoing cables, Secretary of Defense's classified files and correspondence, material on the Special Group (Counter-Insurgency). Hard copy consists of Current News compilations and bound public statements of Secretary Robert S. McNamara and Deputy Secretary Roswell L. Gilpatric.