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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.
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1961-09-26-C
ST05
Textual folder
United States General Services Administration Records
USGSA-MF12-004
This folder contains memoranda and correspondence pertaining to an investigation of government contracts for strategic materials that was undertaken by the Senate Subcommittee on the National Stockpile and Naval Petroleum Reserves. It Includes the testimony of Maurice J. Connell, Commissioner of the Defense Materials Service, before the Senate Subcommittee.
Textual folder
United States General Services Administration Records
USGSA-MF12-003
This folder contains memoranda, correspondence, and press releases pertaining to a General Services Administration investigation into expense reimbursement claims made by the Hanna Smelting Company. The investigation was undertaken in conjunction with the Senate Subcommittee on the National Stockpile and Naval Petroleum Reserves, chaired by Senator Stuart Symington.
Textual folder
United States General Services Administration Records
USGSA-MF12-002
This folder contains memoranda, correspondence, reports, and drafts pertaining to the Executive Stockpile Committee. The committee was directed by President Kennedy to review the policies and principles for the country's program of stockpiling strategic materials. It was chaired by Edward A. McDermott, Acting Director of the Office of Emergency Planning, and work within the General Services Administration was coordinated by Maurice J. Connell of the Defense Materials Service. The file includes the final copy of "The Barter Program: A Report to the President" (22 August 1962), information on proposed legislation to amend the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act, summary and analysis of recommendations contained in the committee's report, and a copy of "Disposing of Excess Stockpile Materials: Report to the President" (16 January 1963).
Textual folder
United States General Services Administration Records
USGSA-MF12-001
This folder contains memoranda, correspondence, outlines, and drafts pertaining to the Executive Stockpile Committee. The committee was directed by President Kennedy to review the policies and principles for the country's program of stockpiling strategic materials. It was chaired by Edward A. McDermott, Acting Director of the Office of Emergency Planning, and work within the General Services Administration was coordinated by Maurice J. Connell of the Defense Materials Service. The file includes a copy of the final draft of "Report of the Executive Stockpile Committee to the President," two drafts of a report on the barter program, and a list of "Essential Survival Items" published by the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JSC-01
Clark discusses John F. Kennedy as a senator, Senate infighting, Kennedy Administration legislation, urbanization problems, and the 1960 Democratic convention, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JVC-01
Charyk discusses the Air Force programs that continued from the Eisenhower Administration to the Kennedy Administration, members of the U.S. military command, and the B-70 and RS-70 aircraft programs, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-GAB-01
Behn discusses the Secret Service before, during, and after the Kennedy administration, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-MGB-04
Bundy discusses documents relating to military aide, Vietnam, and the coup against Diem.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RIB-01
Bouck discusses John F. Kennedy’s tape recording systems within the White House, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-FMB-01
Boring discusses John F. Kennedy’s (JFK) trip to Lyndon Baines Johnson’s ranch in Texas after the election in 1960, advance work that Boring did for JFK’s international trips, and refutes media claims about JFK’s extramarital affairs, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RMB-02
Bissell discusses the Bay of Pigs invasion and its aftermath, including the decision not to support the invaders with air strikes, and investigations by the CIA Inspector General and General Maxwell D. Taylor, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RMB-01
Bissell discusses the planning for the Bay of Pigs invasion, including the timing of when John F. Kennedy learned of the plans, the Joint Chiefs of Staffs’ involvement in the planning, and the possibility for alternate outcomes, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-FDK-01
Fred Korth (1909-1998) was the Secretary of the Navy from 1961 to 1963. This interview focuses on the inner workings of the Department of Defense during the Kennedy administration, in particular the TFX contract and the ensuing McClellan Committee hearings, among other topics.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-TAK-01
In this interview, Kennedy discusses his personal relationships with John F. Kennedy [JFK] and his family, JFK’s early career, and what it was like to work under his 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.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-CK-01
Kaysen discusses his role as Deputy Special Assistant, strategic retaliatory forces and retaliatory missile defense, the Congo, Civil Defense, balance of payments, and the Basic National Security Policy [BNSP], among other issues.