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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.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-M9-5-61
Audience members at the presentation of the National Security Medal to Allen W. Dulles, retiring director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Seated in the first row (L-R): three unidentified women; Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara; Ethel Kennedy, wife of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; and the Attorney General. Seated in the second row (L-R): Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Lyman Lemnitzer and Commandant of the United States Marine Corps General David M. Shoup (wearing glasses). J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is seated in the third row, to the right of General Lemnitzer. CIA headquarters, Langley, Virginia.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-M9-3-61
President John F. Kennedy pins the National Security Medal on the lapel of Allen W. Dulles, retiring director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) J. Edgar Hoover (to the right of Mr. Dulles) and Commandant of the United States Marine Corps General David M. Shoup (wearing glasses; to the right of Director Hoover) are in the background. CIA headquarters, Langley, Virginia.