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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-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-MGB-04
Bundy discusses documents relating to military aide, Vietnam, and the coup against Diem.
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-UAJ-01
Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. In this interview, U. Alexis Johnson discusses working with John F. Kennedy [JFK] during the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Laos Crisis and the Cuban Missile Crisis, in addition to his personal experience with JFK’s conduct in official meetings, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RHJ-01
In this interview, Johnson discusses his personal experience working for the NSC, the transition into John F. Kennedy’s administration, and how the NSC handled conflict in Southeast Asia among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-MDT-02
In this interview Taylor discusses differences between the Eisenhower and Kennedy Administrations, the National Security Council, Taylor’s appointment and role as Military Representative to the President, Vietnam, and Cuba among other topics.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-JKR-01
In this interview Ruina discusses the Nike-Zeus antiballistic-missile-missiles; briefing President John F. Kennedy [JFK] on the Nike-Zeus missiles; JFK’s comprehension of the briefing material and the type of questions he asked; Project Defender; the background and organization of the Advanced Research Projects Agency; the leadership and organization of the Department of Defense; interactions with Robert S. McNamara; competition between the military and the Defense Department on research and development and for resources and congressional funds; the period of new, advanced—but not always useful—technology; and Project AGILE and counterinsurgency efforts in Vietnam, among other issues.
Sound recording
White House Audio Collection
JFKWHA-073
Sound recording of the President’s News Conference of February 14, 1962 (News Conference 24). The President begins the press conference with a statement concerning the release of Soviet intelligence officer Colonel Rudolph Abel in exchange for the release of the American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers and American student Frederic Pryor from detention in the Soviet Union and East Germany. Following this statement the President answers questions from the press on a variety of topics including United States involvement in Vietnam, the status of the nuclear test ban treaty, and restrictions on public statements by military personnel.
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1963-10-02-C
AR40
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-202-003
This file contains Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) telegrams, memoranda, and reports regarding South Vietnam (officially known as the Republic of Vietnam) following a coup d'état ousting President Ngo Dinh Diem. Topics include establishment of a provisional government; dissension among the leaders of the coup; and public reactions to administrative appointments.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-202-002
This folder contains Department of State telegrams regarding a coup d’etat in South Vietnam and the deaths of President Ngo Dinh Diem and Ngo Dinh Nhu, the President's brother and chief advisor; establishment of a provisional government; reactions to the coup; and potential United States involvement. Also included are telegrams regarding the South Vietnamese economy and U.S. aid, and military efforts against the Viet Cong.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-200-011
This folder contains Department of State telegrams regarding South Vietnam. Topics include United States policy towards South Vietnam and the government of President Ngo Dinh Diem, Ngo Dinh Nhu, and his wife Madame Nhu (Tran Le Xuan); U.S. aid; demonstrations by Buddhists and students; the conflict against the Viet Cong; and reports of a proposed attack on the U.S. embassy in Saigon.
Textual folder
Roger Hilsman Personal Papers
RHPP-003-011
Textual folder
Roger Hilsman Personal Papers
RHPP-003-010
Textual folder
Roger Hilsman Personal Papers
RHPP-003-006
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-323-006
This folder contains memoranda from Walt Rostow, Deputy Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, to President John F. Kennedy and McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Topics include the threat of communism, guerilla warfare, Vietnam, and policy planning. Also included in this folder is a copy of a speech given by Rostow on disarmament at the 6th Pugwash Conference held in Moscow. Of note is a letter to Rostow from Massachuetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Professor Leon Trilling regarding the Soviet Union’s space program.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-325-023
This folder contains memoranda regarding meetings on unconventional warfare and deterrence of guerilla warfare; and notes by Kenneth T. Young, Director of the Office of Southeast Asian Affairs in the Department of State, on his trip to Vietnam. Also included in this folder is a letter to Walt Rostow, Deputy Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, from Young discussing a proposed “agrimetro” design to create compound communities that would aid in development and protection against communist forces in Southeast Asia.
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-320-005
This folder contains memoranda to and from Michael V. Forrestal, senior staff member of the National Security Council (NSC), regarding the food shortage in Communist China; military action plans against Communist China; and issues in Asian countries including South Korea, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Also included in this folder are memoranda discussing the situation in Cuban between the U.S. and Soviet Union (later known as the Cuban Missile Crisis).
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-320-004
This folder contains memoranda to and from Michael V. Forrestal, senior staff member of the National Security Council (NSC). Topics include the appointment of Forrestal to the NSC, casualty information for United States and foreign troops in Laos and South Vietnam, the estimated number of North Vietnamese troops in Laos, and potential military sanctions in order to preserve neutrality for Laos. Also included in this folder is a memorandum for the Joint Chiefs of Staff regarding military activity and operations in Laos and South Vietnam, including Operation Sunshine.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-320-002
This folder contains memoranda to and from General Chester V. Clifton (C.V. Clifton), Military Aide to President John F. Kennedy, on various issues of national security, foreign affairs, and information requested by the President. Topics include Vietnam, Laos, a proposal to increase the size of the United States Army and conventional military forces, and the swiftness of U.S. responses to messages from the Soviet Union. Also included in this folder are background memoranda on the Geneva Protocol of 1925 and actions of the U.S. in relation to the Protocol.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. White House Central Subject Files
JFKWHCSF-0375-003
Materials in this folder include a letter to the President from Herbert Brucker, editor of the Hartford Courant newspaper, inquiring into the journalistic freedom of American correspondents in Vietnam. Also included in this folder are excerpts from a speech by Congressman John E. Moss, Chairman of the House Foreign Operations and Government Information Subcommittee, before the New York State Society of Newspaper Editors concerning the access of news reporters and photographers to military accident sites.