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Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RH-01
In this interview Hilsman discusses his initial interactions with John F. Kennedy [JFK]; Hilsman’s appointment to the Department of State during the Kennedy Administration; Foreign Service officers and “hot-seat” jobs; issues with Dean Rusk as Secretary of State; reorganizing the Bureau of Intelligence and Research; the flow of information between the State Department and the White House; staffing the State Department; the use of satellite intelligence; John A. McCone; working with and around Robert F. Kennedy [RFK]; JFK, RFK, and Vietnam; Edward G. Lansdale; Maxwell D. Taylor; the connection between Vietnam and Laos; U.S. action in Laos; the Buddhist crisis in Vietnam; the impact of WWII on Hilsman and JFK’s generation; and the 1963 coup in Vietnam, among other issues.
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-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-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-RAH-01
Hare discusses his time in the Foreign Service, his term as Ambassador of Turkey, and Near East politics during the Kennedy administration, 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-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.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-328-001
This folder contains an index of National Security Action Memoranda (NSAMs), lists of NSAMs assigned to the Department of State, and a list of completed NSAMs. Also included in this folder are memoranda regarding the creation of a Latin American Policy Committee and letters from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, to various Cabinet officials discussing the establishment of NSAMs.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-335-013
This file contains copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 134 (NSAM 134) titled, "Report on Internal Security Situation in South America," to Secretary of State Dean Rusk from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Also included is the Department of State report titled, “Report and Recommendations of Washington Assessment Team on Internal Security Situation in South America.”
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-334-014
This file contains memoranda and papers regarding continuing education and training in the areas of national security and foreign affairs, counter-insurgency training objectives, and the implementation of National Security Action Memoranda number 131 (NSAM 131) titled, “Training Objectives for Counter-Insurgency.” Also included is a copy of NSAM 131 to Secretary of State Dean Rusk; Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara; Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; General Lyman Lemnitzer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Director of Central Intelligence John McCone; Fowler Hamilton, Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID); and Edward R. Murrow, Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA), from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-334-010
This file contains a panel report of a review of National Security Action Memoranda number 131 (NSAM 131) titled, “Training Objectives for Counter-Insurgency,” and the response to NSAM 131 by the Department of State. Also included is a memorandum to President John F. Kennedy from Secretary of State Dean Rusk regarding the panel’s report.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-333-024
This file contains copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 128 (NSAM 128) titled, “Responses to Soviet Action Regarding Air Corridors,” to Secretary of State Dean Rusk from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Also included is a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) memorandum titled, “Comment on Soviet Action in the Berlin Air Corridors.”
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-333-016
This file contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 124 (NSAM 124) titled, “Establishment of the Special Group (Counter-Insurgency),” from President John F. Kennedy to Secretary of State Dean Rusk; Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara; Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; General Lyman Lemnitzer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Director of Central Intelligence John McCone; Fowler Hamilton, Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID); Edward R. Murrow, Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA); and General Maxwell Taylor, Military Representative to the President.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-333-013
This file contains copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 122 (NSAM 122) 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, requesting an assessment of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Lauris Norstad’s response to a request by President John F. Kennedy for his views on command and control procedures for employment of nuclear weapons.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-333-011
This file contains copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 120 (NSAM 120) titled, “Intelligence on Operations in the Congo,” to Under Secretary of State George Ball from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-333-003
This file contains memoranda for McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, from the Department of State regarding policies and program recommendations from the Departments of State and Defense, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in response to National Security Action Memoranda number 118 (NSAM 118) titled, “Participation of U.S. and Latin American Armed Forces in the Attainment of Common Objectives in Latin America.”
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-333-002
This file contains copies and drafts of National Security Action Memoranda number 118 (NSAM 118) titled, “Participation of U.S. and Latin American Armed Forces in the Attainment of Common Objectives in Latin America,” 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.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-332-019
This file contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 117 (NSAM 117) titled, “Contingency Planning on Berlin,” to Secretary of State Dean Rusk from President John F. Kennedy.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-332-017
This file contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 115 (NSAM 115) titled, "Defoliant Operations in Vietnam," 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. Of note are memoranda for President John F. Kennedy from Secretary Rusk, Secretary McNamara, and Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell Gilpatric on defoliant operations in Vietnam.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-332-016
This file contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 114 (NSAM 114) titled, "Training for Friendly Police and Armed Forces in Counter-Insurgency, Counter-Subversion, Riot Control and Related Matters," to Secretary of State Dean Rusk from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-340-021
This file contains a draft and copies of National Security Action Memoranda number 233 (NSAM 233) titled, “MLF [multilateral force] and IANF [inter-allied nuclear force] Developments,” 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.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-340-019
This file contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 231 (NSAM 231) titled, “Middle Eastern Nuclear Capabilities,” to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Glenn T. Seaborg, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-340-018
This file contains a copy of National Security Action Memoranda number 230 (NSAM 230) titled, “Assignment of Highest National Priority to Project PAL (Permissive Links for Nuclear Weapons in NATO),” to Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Commerce Luther H. Hodges, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Glenn T. Seaborg, Administrator for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) James E. Webb, Director of the Bureau of the Budget Kermit Gordon, and Director of the Office of Emergency Planning (OEP) Edward McDermott from McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.