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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.
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1961-05-25-D
AR07, ST02
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ARB-01
Burke discusses his frustrations with the Kennedy administration, including Robert S. McNamara’s changes to the Department of Defense, the Bay of Pigs Invasion, general lack of respect for procedures and lessons from the past, and censoring of a speech that Burke was to give in January 1961, among other issues.
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-ROWK-04
In this interview Komer discusses President John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] interest in Indonesia and Iran; U.S.-Indonesian relations; the Indian Ocean and Iran task forces; JFK’s contact with the Iranian Shah; Pakistani-Afghani disputes; U.S. aid to Afghanistan; Komer’s attempt to revamp the military aid program; McGeorge Bundy and Walt W. Rostow as President JFK’s advisers; and JFK’s direct contact with a select few National Security staff, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-ROWK-03
In this interview Komer discusses negotiating disengagement with Gamal Abdel Nasser and Faisal, King of Saudi Arabia; John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] involvement in the Yemen crisis and the negotiations with Nasser and Faisal; U.S. New Guinea policy and the Dutch-Indonesian conflict; JFK and counterinsurgency; Komer and police programs as part of U.S. counterinsurgency efforts; JFK’s policy towards and involvement with India and Pakistan; U.S. military assistance to India, 1962; and U.S. missions to Pakistan and India, 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-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-GHD-01
Decker discusses the Joint Chiefs of Staff Laotian policy, the Joint Chiefs’ role in the Bay of Pigs planning and execution, and the Joint Chiefs’ relationship with Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LEM-03
In this interview Martin discusses helping fill government positions after John F. Kennedy [JFK] is elected President, 1960; the appointment of African American judges, including Thurgood Marshall to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; providing African American candidates for different agency positions; civil rights crises during JFK’s Administration; Lee White as the White House advisor on civil rights; the civil rights bill introduced in 1963; religious groups in the civil rights movement; the issue of “white backlash”; and working for President JFK versus working for President Lyndon B. Johnson, among other issues.
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.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR6613-G
Cabinet Meeting. L-R: Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Jerome B. Wiesner; Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; Secretary of Agriculture, Orville Freeman; Secretary of the Interior, Stewart Udall. A map detailing the Vice President’s trip to Southeast Asia stands at left. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR6613-F
Cabinet Meeting. L-R: Secretary of the Treasury, C. Douglas Dillon; Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Jerome B. Wiesner; Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara (partially hidden); Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; Secretary of Agriculture, Orville Freeman; Secretary of the Interior, Stewart Udall; United States Representative to the United Nations, Adlai E. Stevenson; unidentified man with back to camera; Secretary of State, Dean Rusk; Assistant Special Counsel to the President, Richard Goodwin; Under Secretary of Commerce, Edward Gudeman (in back); Special Assistant to the President, Frederick G. Dutton (behind Goodwin, wearing glasses); Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA), Edward R. Murrow (with back to camera). Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR6613-E
Cabinet Meeting. L-R: Secretary of the Treasury, C. Douglas Dillon; Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; Secretary of Agriculture, Orville Freeman; Secretary of the Interior, Stewart Udall. A map detailing the Vice President’s trip to Southeast Asia stands at left. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR6613-D
Cabinet Meeting. L-R: Secretary of the Treasury, C. Douglas Dillon; Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara (partially hidden); Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; Secretary of Agriculture, Orville Freeman; Secretary of the Interior, Stewart Udall. A map detailing the Vice President’s trip to Southeast Asia stands at left. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR6613-B
Cabinet Meeting. Clockwise around table, beginning at left: Deputy Postmaster General, H. W. “Bill” Brawley; United States Representative to the United Nations, Adlai E. Stevenson; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara; Secretary of Agriculture, Orville Freeman; Secretary of Labor, Arthur Goldberg; Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Abraham Ribicoff; Under Secretary of Commerce, Edward Gudeman; Secretary of State, Dean Rusk; President John F. Kennedy; Secretary of the Treasury, C. Douglas Dillon; Secretary of the Interior, Stewart Udall; Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA), Edward R. Murrow (with back to camera). Seated at right along window, L-R: Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Jerome B. Wiesner; Chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, Walter Heller; Special Assistant to the President, Frederick G. Dutton. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-126-1-61
Cabinet Meeting. Clockwise around table, beginning at left: Director of the United States Information Agency (USIA), Edward R. Murrow (with back to camera); Deputy Postmaster General, H. W. “Bill” Brawley; United States Representative to the United Nations, Adlai E. Stevenson; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara; Secretary of Agriculture, Orville Freeman; Secretary of Labor, Arthur Goldberg; Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Abraham Ribicoff; Under Secretary of Commerce, Edward Gudeman; Secretary of State, Dean Rusk (hidden); President John F. Kennedy; Secretary of the Treasury, C. Douglas Dillon (facing away); Secretary of the Interior, Stewart Udall. Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Jerome B. Wiesner, stands at right. Chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, Walter Heller, and Special Assistant to the President, Frederick G. Dutton, sit at right in front of window. Cabinet Room, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-272-1-61
President John F. Kennedy meets with members of his administration regarding the budget for the Department of Defense at the Joseph P. Kennedy residence in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. Clockwise, from top: President Kennedy; David E. Bell, Director, Bureau of the Budget; Roswell Gilpatric, Deputy Secretary of Defense; Jerome B. Wiesner, Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology; Theodore C. “Ted” Sorensen, Special Counsel to the President; McGeorge Bundy, National Security Advisor; unidentified man; General Lyman Lemnitzer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; General Maxwell D. Taylor, Military Representative of the President; and Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense.
Collection
USDD
Records 1960-1964 (bulk 1961-1963). Microfilm copies of incoming and outgoing cables, Secretary of Defense's classified files and correspondence, material on the Special Group (Counter-Insurgency). Hard copy consists of Current News compilations and bound public statements of Secretary Robert S. McNamara and Deputy Secretary Roswell L. Gilpatric.
Collection
DODCMCBM
Material associated with the televised Department of Defense briefing of February 6, 1963, on the Cuban Missile Crisis. Includes photographs of aircraft, naval vessels, weapons, aerial reconnaissance images, charts, graphs, and other illustrations. Also includes an audio recording and written transcript of the briefing.