Close
Not finding the information you're looking for? Please contact the Archives research staff.
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-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.
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-09-11-D
ST13, KN22
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-09-11-C
ST13, KN22
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-12-27-B
ST18
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-03-23-D
KN14
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-03-23-C
KN13
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-03-23-B
KN13
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-04-14-C
KN15
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-04-14-B
KN15
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-04-14-A
KN15
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-04-13-C
KN15
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-01-03-A
ST08
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C20728
President John F. Kennedy views “Pioneer 5” probing satellite during a tour of space craft displays inside a hangar at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Left to right: Director of Research and Development for the Department of Defense, Dr. Harold Brown (wearing glasses); Air Force Aide to the President, Brigadier General Godfrey T. McHugh; Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara; President Kennedy; Commander of Strategic Air Command, General Thomas S. Power.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C20727
President John F. Kennedy (center) views the Discoverer XIV satellite during a tour of space craft displays inside a hangar at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara, stands behind President Kennedy.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C20719
President John F. Kennedy and others watch Atlas 134D missile launch at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Left to right: Director of Research and Development for the Department of Defense, Dr. Harold Brown (in back); President Kennedy; Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara; Commander of Strategic Air Command, General Thomas S. Power; Major General Joseph J. Preston (behind General Power); Brigadier General Seth J. McKee.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C20718
President John F. Kennedy (wearing sunglasses) and others gather to watch Atlas 134D missile launch at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Left to right: Director of Research and Development for the Department of Defense, Dr. Harold Brown; President Kennedy; Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara (in back, partially hidden); Commander of Strategic Air Command, General Thomas S. Power; Major General Joseph J. Preston.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C20717
President John F. Kennedy (wearing sunglasses) and others watch Atlas 134D missile launch at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Left to right: Director of Research and Development for the Department of Defense, Dr. Harold Brown; unidentified man in back; President Kennedy; Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara (behind the President); Commander of Strategic Air Command, General Thomas S. Power; Brigadier General Seth J. McKee.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C20713
President John F. Kennedy views silo-lift launcher and Minuteman missile in its underground silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Left to right: Unidentified photographer; Military Aide to the President, General Chester V. Clifton; Brigadier General Seth J. McKee; White House Secret Service agent, Roy Kellerman; President Kennedy; Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara; Director of Research and Development for the Department of Defense, Dr. Harold Brown; White House Secret Service agent, Gerald A. “Jerry” Behn; Air Force Aide to the President, Brigadier General Godfrey T. McHugh; unidentified.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C20712
President John F. Kennedy (wearing sunglasses) views silo-lift launcher and Minuteman missile in its underground silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Left to right: Brigadier General Seth J. McKee; Director of Research and Development for the Department of Defense, Dr. Harold Brown; Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara; Major General Joseph J. Preston; President Kennedy; Commander of Strategic Air Command, General Thomas S. Power; White House Secret Service agent, Gerald A. “Jerry” Behn; unidentified; Air Force Aide to the President, Brigadier General Godfrey T. McHugh.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C20711
President John F. Kennedy (wearing sunglasses) views silo-lift launcher and Minuteman missile in its underground silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Left to right: Brigadier General Seth J. McKee; Director of Research and Development for the Department of Defense, Dr. Harold Brown; Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara; Major General Joseph J. Preston; President Kennedy; Commander of Strategic Air Command, General Thomas S. Power; unidentified; Air Force Aide to the President, Brigadier General Godfrey T. McHugh.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C20702
President John F. Kennedy tours Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Left to right: Brigadier General Seth J. McKee; Commander of Strategic Air Command, General Thomas S. Power; President Kennedy; Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara; Air Force Aide to the President, Brigadier General Godfrey T. McHugh (on edge of image).
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C20691
President John F. Kennedy (center) meets members of Warren Air Force Base’s 389th Strategic Missile Wing, following the launch of the Atlas 134D missile. Crew members (L-R): Kenneth Haithcoat, Major Clifford W. Simonson (left of President Kennedy), SMSgt Chupka (behind Major Simonson), Roger Egert, Sherman Jackson, Gerald Beth, MSgt Reginald Bufkin, TSgt Arnold Kovakka, SSgt Dale Howe, A1C J. W. Hill, and Frank Waters. Also pictured: Commander of Strategic Air Command, General Thomas S. Power; Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara; Director of Research and Development for the Department of Defense, Dr. Harold Brown; Major General Joseph J. Preston; Air Force Aide to the President, Brigadier General Godfrey T. McHugh; White House Secret Service agents, Gerald A. “Jerry” Behn and Toby Chandler. Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.