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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.
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1963-11-25-B
AR41, ST34
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1963-11-25-A
AR41, ST34, KN40
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-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-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.
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-10-29-A
ST15
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-11-14-A
AR29, ST15, KN25
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C28855
President John F. Kennedy attends arrival ceremonies for President of India, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Left to right: unidentified; US Chief of Protocol, Angier Biddle Duke; unidentified Indian military aide; Military Aide to President Kennedy, General Chester V. Clifton; President Radhakrishnan; Naval Aide to President Kennedy, Captain Tazewell Shepard; President Kennedy; Secretary of State, Dean Rusk; General Maxwell D. Taylor; Indian Ambassador to the United States, B. K. Nehru, and his wife, Shobha “Fori” Nehru; unidentified; US Ambassador to India, John Kenneth Galbraith. North Portico, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-M13-6-61
State dinner in honor of President Mohammad Ayub Khan of Pakistan. (Clockwise from top): Jean Kennedy Smith; David Bell, Director of the Office of Management and Budget; General Maxwell Taylor, former Chief of Staff of the United States Army; Miriam Judd, wife of Minnesota Congressman Walter H. Judd; Secretary of State Dean Rusk (back to camera); Ruth duPont, wife of Henry Francis duPont (back to camera); businessman and philanthropist Charles W. Engelhard, Jr.; Pauline V. Hoving, wife of Tiffany & Company owner Walter Hoving (partially hidden); Aziz Ahmed, Pakistan Ambassador to the United States. Marquee; Mount Vernon, Virginia.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-M13-10-61
State dinner in honor of President Mohammad Ayub Khan of Pakistan. (Clockwise from top): General Maxwell Taylor, former Chief of Staff of the United States Army; Miriam Judd, wife of Minnesota Congressman Walter H. Judd; Secretary of State Dean Rusk; businessman and philanthropist Charles W. Engelhard, Jr.; Pauline V. Hoving, wife of Tiffany & Company owner Walter Hoving (back to camera); Aziz Ahmed, Pakistan Ambassador to the United States (back to camera); Jean Kennedy Smith (partially hidden); David Bell, Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Marquee; Mount Vernon, Virginia.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-A26-25-62
President John F. Kennedy meets with members of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) regarding the crisis in Cuba. Clockwise from top right side of table: Under Secretary of State George Ball, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, President Kennedy, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell Gilpatric, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell D. Taylor, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Paul Nitze, Acting Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA) Donald Wilson, Special Counsel to the President Theodore C. Sorensen, Special Assistant to the President for National Security McGeorge Bundy, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson (mostly hidden), Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union Llewellyn Thompson, Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) William C. Foster, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone (mostly hidden behind Director Foster). Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-A26-18-62
President John F. Kennedy meets with members of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) regarding the crisis in Cuba. Seated at table (clockwise from bottom left): Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Paul Nitze, Acting Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA) Donald Wilson (partially hidden), Special Counsel to the President Theodore C. Sorensen, Special Assistant to the President for National Security McGeorge Bundy, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union Llewellyn Thompson, Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) William C. Foster, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone (mostly hidden), Under Secretary of State George Ball (partially hidden), Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell Gilpatric, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell D. Taylor. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy stands at far left; President Kennedy (looking down, with hands on table) and Secretary of State Dean Rusk stand at far right; Executive Secretary of the National Security Council Bromley Smith (back left) sits against the wall, near the bookcase. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-A26-16-62
President John F. Kennedy meets with members of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) regarding the crisis in Cuba. Seated at table (clockwise from bottom left): Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Paul Nitze, Acting Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA) Donald Wilson (partially hidden), Special Counsel to the President Theodore C. Sorensen, Special Assistant to the President for National Security McGeorge Bundy, Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union Llewellyn Thompson, Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) William C. Foster, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone, Under Secretary of State George Ball (mostly hidden), Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell Gilpatric, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell D. Taylor. Secretary of State Dean Rusk, President Kennedy (mostly hidden behind Secretary Rusk), and White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger (on far edge of frame) stand at right; Executive Secretary of the National Security Council Bromley Smith (back left) sits against the wall, near the bookcase. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-A26-1-62
President John F. Kennedy meets with members of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (EXCOMM) regarding the crisis in Cuba. Clockwise from top right side of table: Under Secretary of State George Ball, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, President Kennedy, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell Gilpatric, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Maxwell D. Taylor, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Paul Nitze, Acting Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA) Donald Wilson, Special Counsel to the President Theodore C. Sorensen, Special Assistant to the President for National Security McGeorge Bundy (mostly hidden), Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson (mostly hidden), Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union Llewellyn Thompson, Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) William C. Foster, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John McCone (mostly hidden behind Director Foster). Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C24888
Chancellor of West Germany, Dr. Konrad Adenauer (at microphones), delivers remarks during arrival ceremonies in his honor. Standing on reviewing platform: President John F. Kennedy; First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy; Libeth Werhahn, daughter of Chancellor Adenauer; interpreter for the German Foreign Ministry, Heinz Weber; U.S. Secretary of State, Dean Rusk; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Maxwell D. Taylor; Ambassador of West Germany, Karl Heinrich Knappstein. Also pictured: Assistant Chief of Language Services at the State Department, interpreter Nora Lejins; Air Force Aide to the President, Brigadier General Godfrey T. McHugh; Virginia Rusk. South Lawn, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C24887
Chancellor of West Germany, Dr. Konrad Adenauer (at microphones), delivers remarks during arrival ceremonies in his honor. Standing on reviewing platform: President John F. Kennedy; First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy; Libeth Werhahn, daughter of Chancellor Adenauer; interpreter for the German Foreign Ministry, Heinz Weber; U.S. Secretary of State, Dean Rusk; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Maxwell D. Taylor; Ambassador of West Germany, Karl Heinrich Knappstein. Also pictured: Assistant Chief of Language Services at the State Department, interpreter Nora Lejins; State Secretary of the German Foreign Office, Dr. Karl Carstens; Virginia Rusk. South Lawn, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C24873
President John F. Kennedy and Chancellor of West Germany, Dr. Konrad Adenauer (both at center left), greet dignitaries in the receiving line during arrival ceremonies in honor of Chancellor Adenauer. Also pictured: First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy; Libeth Werhahn, daughter of Chancellor Adenauer; U.S. Secretary of State, Dean Rusk; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Maxwell D. Taylor; Military Aide to the President, General Chester V. Clifton; Ambassador of Nicaragua and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Dr. Guillermo Sevilla-Sacasa; Assistant Chief of Protocol for Visits and Public Events, Samuel L. King; U.S. Chief of Protocol, Angier Biddle Duke; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs, William R. Tyler; Bettine “Betsy” Tyler; Chief of White House Police, Major Ralph C. “Smokey” Stover; White House Secret Service agents, Jim Johnson and Floyd Boring. South Portico, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C24872
President John F. Kennedy (at microphones) delivers remarks during arrival ceremonies in honor of Chancellor of West Germany, Dr. Konrad Adenauer. Standing on reviewing platform: Chancellor Adenauer; First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy; Libeth Werhahn, daughter of Chancellor Adenauer; Minister of Foreign Affairs of West Germany, Gerhard Schröder; interpreter for the German Foreign Ministry, Heinz Weber; U.S. Secretary of State, Dean Rusk; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Maxwell D. Taylor; Ambassador of West Germany, Karl Heinrich Knappstein; U.S. Chief of Protocol, Angier Biddle Duke; Assistant Chief of Language Services at the State Department, interpreter Nora Lejins. Also pictured: State Secretary of the German Foreign Office, Dr. Karl Carstens; Virginia Rusk; Air Force Aide to the President, Brigadier General Godfrey T. McHugh. South Lawn, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C24871
President John F. Kennedy (at microphones) delivers remarks during arrival ceremonies in honor of Chancellor of West Germany, Dr. Konrad Adenauer. Standing on reviewing platform: Chancellor Adenauer; First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy; Libeth Werhahn, daughter of Chancellor Adenauer; Minister of Foreign Affairs of West Germany, Gerhard Schröder; interpreter for the German Foreign Ministry, Heinz Weber; U.S. Secretary of State, Dean Rusk; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Maxwell D. Taylor; Ambassador of West Germany, Karl Heinrich Knappstein; U.S. Chief of Protocol, Angier Biddle Duke; Assistant Chief of Language Services at the State Department, interpreter Nora Lejins. Also pictured: State Secretary of the German Foreign Office, Dr. Karl Carstens; Virginia Rusk; U.S. Ambassador to West Germany, Walter C. Dowling; Air Force Aide to the President, Brigadier General Godfrey T. McHugh. South Lawn, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C24869
President John F. Kennedy and others await the arrival of Chancellor of West Germany, Dr. Konrad Adenauer, at the White House. President Kennedy (at right, back to camera) greets Ambassador of West Germany, Karl Heinrich Knappstein; First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy shakes hands with Ambassador of Nicaragua and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Dr. Guillermo Sevilla-Sacasa. Also pictured: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Maxwell D. Taylor; Lydia Taylor; Deputy Chief of Protocol, William J. Tonesk; U.S. Secretary of State, Dean Rusk; Virginia Rusk; Naval Aide to the President, Captain Tazewell Shepard; Military Aide to the President, General Chester V. Clifton; Assistant Chief of Language Services at the State Department, interpreter Nora Lejins; White House Secret Service agents, Walt Coughlin and Jim Johnson. Members of the United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps stand on balcony and stairs. South Portico, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-C200-5-63
President John F. Kennedy attends arrival ceremonies for President of India, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Left to right: US Chief of Protocol, Angier Biddle Duke; unidentified Indian military aide; Military Aide to President Kennedy, General Chester V. Clifton (in back, mostly hidden); President Radhakrishnan; Air Force Aide to President Kennedy, Brigadier General Godfrey T. McHugh (in back, mostly hidden); President Kennedy; Secretary of State, Dean Rusk; General Maxwell D. Taylor; Minister of External Affairs of India, Lakshmi N. Menon (in back). North Portico, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-C200-4-63
President John F. Kennedy attends arrival ceremonies for President of India, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Left to right: four unidentified men; US Chief of Protocol, Angier Biddle Duke (hands folded); unidentified Indian military aide; Military Aide to President Kennedy, General Chester V. Clifton (in back, mostly hidden); President Radhakrishnan; Air Force Aide to President Kennedy, Brigadier General Godfrey T. McHugh (in back, mostly hidden); President Kennedy; US Secretary of State, Dean Rusk; General Maxwell D. Taylor; Minister of External Affairs of India, Lakshmi N. Menon (in back); Director of the Historical Division of the Ministry of External Affairs of India, Dr. Sarvepalli Gopal (in back, mostly hidden); Indian Ambassador to the United States, B. K. Nehru, and his wife, Shobha “Fori” Nehru; unidentified; US Ambassador to India, John Kenneth Galbraith. North Portico, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-C200-1-63
President John F. Kennedy and others visit with President of India, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (right), following his arrival at the White House. General Maxwell D. Taylor and Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, stand at left; Naval Aide to President Kennedy, Captain Tazewell Shepard, stands at center in background. Others are unidentified. Entrance Hall, White House, Washington, D.C.