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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 folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-05-04-D
ST10
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-09-11-D
ST13, KN22
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-12-27-B
ST18
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-02-23-B
ST08, KN12
Textual folder
Kennedy Family Collection
KFC-042-001
This photograph album, compiled by Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, documents her travels as a young woman, specifically a 1911 Boston Chamber of Commerce trip to Europe, as well as later social activities and family vacations during the first several years of her marriage to Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. Photographs of the Boston Chamber of Commerce trip, on which Rose and her sister, Agnes, accompanied their father, then-Mayor of Boston, John F. "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, capture the trans-Atlantic voyage aboard the R.M.S. Franconia, as well as numerous travel destinations, including Ireland, England, Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Cities that are pictured include London, England; Paris, France; Hamburg, Dresden, Nuremberg, and Berlin, Germany; and Vienna, Austria. Other locations and landmarks pictured include the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the Loreley Rock in Germany, the Rhine River, and the Alps. Later photographs, dated between 1916 and 1923, document Fitzgerald and Kennedy family vacations in Palm Beach, Florida, and Poland Spring, Maine, as well as other events and activities. Of note are photographs of Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., as a baby at the Kennedy family home on Beals Street in Brookline, Massachusetts; of Rose's brother, Thomas A. Fitzgerald, posing in military dress; and of a Cecilian Guild picnic in June 1921. Others who appear in the album include Rose's mother, Mary Josephine Hannon Fitzgerald; her brothers, John F. Fitzgerald, Jr., and Frederick H. Fitzgerald; and family friends and associates, including Sir Thomas Lipton; John Hays Hammond, Sr.; Francis Abott Goodhue, Jr.; Lillian M. "Lilla" Morrison; and Hugh Nawn. Original handwritten captions are written in white ink on the leaves beneath many photographs, or in black ink and pencil on the rectos of some photographs. Some photographs, including five full panoramic views, were printed on postcard stock. This photograph album contains 171 photographic prints.
Textual folder
Kennedy Family Collection
KFC-071-001
This scrapbook, compiled by Joseph P. “Joe” Kennedy, Jr., documents his education, travels, and family life from 1938 to 1941. The gold stamped title on the cover reads, "Scrap Book." It contains photographs of and printed ephemera related to trips to Europe in 1938 and 1939; his election as a Massachusetts delegate to the 1940 Democratic National Convention; his enrollment at Harvard Law School in 1940; and time spent with family and friends at the Kennedy family residence in Palm Beach, Florida, and on trips to St. Moritz, Switzerland, and the French Riviera, including at the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, France. Other destinations pictured in photographic prints and postcards include Mexico, Spain, Poland, Ireland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, and California. Of note are photographs of the Argelès-sur-Mer concentration camp for Republican refugees in Argelès-sur-Mer, France, which Joe, Jr., visited before touring Spain in the final months of the Spanish Civil War, as well as a photograph of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy christening the Esso Richmond, a new tanker ship, alongside her parents, John F. “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald and Mary Josephine Hannon Fitzgerald, and her daughter, Eunice Kennedy. Printed ephemera pasted into the scrapbook include invitations to various parties, receptions, luncheons, dinners, weddings, meetings, and banquets, including an event at Buckingham Palace; fliers for discussions, rallies, and debates featuring Joe, Jr., that were held by organizations including College Men for Defense First, Brotherhood of Temple Ohabei Shalom, and the Young Democrats of Massachusetts; Spanish paper currency; and telegrams regarding political events and rallies sent by representatives of both State and National Democratic Committees. Other Kennedy family members and friends pictured in photographs and clippings include Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.; John F. Kennedy; Rosemary Kennedy; Kathleen Kennedy; Patricia Kennedy; Robert F. Kennedy; Jean Kennedy; Edward M. Kennedy; Torbert Macdonald; Hugh Fraser; Tom Killefer; Tom Egerton; and Diana Maria Gerli. Loose materials include a photographic postcard from Sofia, Bulgaria and Shawmut Bank promotional material, possibly a bookmark. The scrapbook contains 133 photographic prints (including a contact print of a strip of three 35mm black and white negatives, and one photo fragment); 32 photographic postcards; and 62 pieces of ephemera, including invitations, correspondence, telegrams, tickets, newspaper clippings, calling cards, advertisements, programs, and fliers.
Textual folder
Kennedy Family Collection
KFC-070-001
This scrapbook, compiled by Joseph P. “Joe” Kennedy, Jr., documents his travels, family life, political work, and naval career between 1938 and 1941. The gold stamped title on the cover reads, “Scrap Book.” It contains newspaper clippings, photographic prints and postcards, handwritten and typed letters, and printed ephemera related to his travels in the United States and Europe, including a 1939 visit to Spain at the end of the Spanish Civil War; his involvement with the Democratic Party, including as a Massachusetts delegate to the 1940 Democratic National Convention; his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., and his diplomatic work as U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom; his family's travels between the U.S. and England; his naval training at the Squantum Naval Air Station in Quincy, Massachusetts; and other news and current events of the time. Other Kennedy family members mentioned in clippings include Joe, Jr.’s mother, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy; his siblings, John F. Kennedy, Kathleen Kennedy, Eunice Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy; grandparents, John F. “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald and Mary Josephine Hannon Fitzgerald; aunt, Margaret L. Burke; uncle, Thomas A. Fitzgerald; cousins, Marion Eunice Fitzgerald and John F. “Jack” Fitzgerald; and his sister Kathleen's future husband, William "Billy" Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington. Photographs feature Joe, Jr., attending unidentified events, with fellow trainees at the Squantum Naval Air Station, and holding a fish. An additional photograph shows an aerial view of the Kennedy family home in Palm Beach, Florida. Photographic postcards feature images of canals in Xochimilco, Mexico, and of Joe, Jr., in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Senders of typed and handwritten correspondence include British politician Arthur Greenwood; politician and Democratic National Convention Chairman, James A. Farley; journalist Arthur Krock; Executive Director of the Massachusetts Committee on Public Safety, J. W. Farley; and Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby. Printed ephemera include a dance card with a pencil attached by string; a flier advertising a debate on Lend-Lease policy; a printed menu and seating chart for a dinner attended by Chairman of the London Stock Exchange, R. B. Pearson; a ticket book for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, in July 1940; and a printed booklet published by the Squantum Naval Air Station titled, "Flight 62 / Knocks It Off," and dated August 7, 1941. Another item of note is a paper bag printed with Spanish text; bags of this type originally contained loaves of bread and were part of a campaign by General Francisco Franco in which airplanes dropped bread over Madrid, Spain, during the Spanish Civil War. Original notations are written in blue and black ink and pencil on the rectos and/or versos of some of the clippings. This scrapbook contains 75 newspaper and magazine clippings, nine photographic prints and postcards, six pieces of correspondence, and seven other pieces of printed ephemera.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-23757
President John F. Kennedy (center) exits a high-altitude chamber, during a tour of Mercury spacecraft systems and equipment inside Hangar S at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Cape Canaveral, Florida. Astronaut Major L. Gordon Cooper (left, back to camera) and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson stand in doorway. President Kennedy visited Cape Canaveral as part of a two-day inspection tour of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) field installations.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-A13-61-62
President John F. Kennedy (center, holding hat) and astronaut Lieutenant Colonel John H. Glenn, Jr. (left) walk past United States Air Force Honor Guard upon President Kennedy's arrival at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for the presentation ceremony of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Distinguished Service Medal to astronaut Lieutenant Colonel Glenn. Walking behind are Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson (partially hidden, over Glenn's shoulder), Congressman Dante B. Fascell of Florida (in back, left of President Kennedy), White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger (in back, at far left), President Kennedy's brother-in-law Prince Stanislaus Radziwill of Poland (in back, right of Press Secretary Salinger), and White House Secret Service Agent Emory Roberts (in back, partially hidden, left of Glenn). Air Force One is visible in the background.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C20233
United States Air Force Honor Guard stands at attention upon President John F. Kennedy's arrival at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for the presentation ceremony of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Distinguished Service Medal to astronaut Lieutenant Colonel John H. Glenn, Jr. Those standing with President Kennedy in front of Air Force One include: Assistant to the Air Force Aide to the President Major Frank S. Evans, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Lieutenant Colonel Glenn, White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger, Congressman Dante B. Fascell (Florida), Congressman Paul G. Rogers (Florida), Air Force Aide to the President Brigadier General Godfrey T. McHugh, and Commander of the Air Force Missile Test Center Major General Leighton I. Davis; White House Secret Service Agent Floyd Boring (in back) stands at bottom of airplane stairs. Brevard County, Florida.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C20229
Upon arriving aboard Military Air Transport Service (MATS) airplane at Patrick Air Force Base, astronaut Lieutenant Colonel John H. Glenn, Jr. reunites with his family for the first time since his orbital flight. Lieutenant Colonel Glenn, escorted by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, traveled to Brevard County, Florida, to attend the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Distinguished Service Medal ceremonies held in his honor at Cape Canaveral. Standing in front of airplane stairs (L-R): Lieutenant Colonel Glenn's son David Glenn (wearing plaid jacket), his daughter Lyn Glenn (wearing yellow dress), Lieutenant Colonel Glenn, his wife Annie Glenn (wearing red dress), Vice President Johnson (in profile), and Lieutenant Colonel Glenn's father John H. Glenn, Sr.; all others unidentified. United States Air Force Honor Guard officer (back to camera) stands at attention at right.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C20228
United States Air Force Honor Guard stands at attention upon the arrival of astronaut Lieutenant Colonel John H. Glenn, Jr. and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson aboard Military Air Transport Service (MATS) airplane at Patrick Air Force Base, Brevard County, Florida. Lieutenant Colonel Glenn (in front of airplane stairs) reunites with his wife, Annie Glenn, son, David Glenn, and daughter, Lyn Glenn, for the first time since his orbital flight, prior to attending the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Distinguished Service Medal ceremonies held in his honor at Cape Canaveral.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C20227
United States Air Force Honor Guard stands at attention upon the arrival of astronaut Lieutenant Colonel John H. Glenn, Jr. and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson aboard Military Air Transport Service (MATS) airplane at Patrick Air Force Base, Brevard County, Florida. Lieutenant Colonel Glenn (in front of airplane stairs) reunites with his wife, Annie Glenn, son, David Glenn, and daughter, Lyn Glenn, for the first time since his orbital flight, prior to attending the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Distinguished Service Medal ceremonies held in his honor at Cape Canaveral.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C20226
President John F. Kennedy (standing at the top of the airplane stairs) exits Air Force One upon his arrival at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for the presentation ceremony of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Distinguished Service Medal to astronaut Lieutenant Colonel John H. Glenn, Jr. White House Secret Service Agent Emory Roberts stands at the bottom of the stairs, at left; United States Air Force Honor Guard stands at attention in the foreground. Brevard County, Florida.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-C73-2-62
President John F. Kennedy stands outdoors with the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and others following a meeting at the residence of C. Michael Paul in Palm Beach, Florida. Left to right: Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, General David M. Shoup; Chief of Staff of the United States Army, General Earle G. Wheeler; Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral George W. Anderson, Jr.; Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara; President Kennedy; Chairman of the JCS, General Maxwell D. Taylor; Deputy Secretary of Defense, Roswell L. Gilpatric; Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, General Curtis E. LeMay.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-C42-10-62
President John F. Kennedy sits in the back seat of the presidential limousine with Director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Launch Operations Center, Dr. Kurt H. Debus (center), and Commander of the Air Force Missile Test Center, Major General Leighton I. Davis, during a tour of Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Cape Canaveral, Florida; a Saturn rocket launch site (under construction) is visible in background. Also pictured: White House Secret Service agents, Bill Greer, Gerald A. “Jerry” Behn, Bill Duncan, Lubert “Bert” de Freese, and Jack Ready. President Kennedy visited Cape Canaveral as part of a two-day inspection tour of NASA field installations. [Scratches on image are original to the negative.]
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C23705
President John F. Kennedy (at microphones) delivers remarks, following a tour of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Cape Canaveral, Florida. Standing behind President Kennedy: Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Dr. James E. Webb. White House Secret Service agent, Frank Yeager, stands left of speakers' platform. The President visited Cape Canaveral as part of a two-day inspection tour of NASA field installations.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C23704
President John F. Kennedy (center, mostly hidden in crowd) and others view a Saturn rocket launch site under construction at Launch Complex 37, during a tour of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Cape Canaveral, Florida. Also pictured: Director of Manned Space Flight, D. Brainerd Holmes; Director of Defense Research and Engineering for the Department of Defense, Dr. Harold Brown; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; Military Aide to the President, General Chester V. Clifton; chief scientific adviser to the Ministry of Defence of Great Britain, Sir Solly Zuckerman; Saturn Project Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Rocco Petrone; Secretary of the Army, Cyrus R. Vance. President Kennedy visited Cape Canaveral as part of a two-day inspection tour of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) field installations.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C23703
President John F. Kennedy (center, partially hidden in crowd) and others view a Saturn rocket launch site under construction at Launch Complex 37, during a tour of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Cape Canaveral, Florida. Also pictured: Director of Manned Space Flight, D. Brainerd Holmes; White House Press Secretary, Pierre Salinger; Associate Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Dr. Robert C. Seamans, Jr.; Director of the Bureau of the Budget, David E. Bell; Secretary of the Air Force, Eugene M. Zuckert; Military Aide to the President, General Chester V. Clifton; Senator Alexander Wiley (Wisconsin); Representative Victor L. Anfuso (New York); White House Secret Service agent, Emory Roberts. President Kennedy visited Cape Canaveral as part of a two-day inspection tour of NASA field installations.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C23702
President John F. Kennedy (hidden in crowd) and others view a Saturn rocket launch site under construction at Launch Complex 37, during a tour of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Cape Canaveral, Florida. Also pictured: Director of Manned Space Flight, D. Brainerd Holmes; Director of the Bureau of the Budget, David E. Bell; Director of Defense Research and Engineering for the Department of Defense, Dr. Harold Brown; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; Military Aide to the President, General Chester V. Clifton; Representative Victor L. Anfuso (New York); Naval Aide to the President, Captain Tazewell T. Shepard, Jr. President Kennedy visited Cape Canaveral as part of a two-day inspection tour of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) field installations.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C23701
President John F. Kennedy (center left, wearing sunglasses) looks up at a Saturn rocket launch site under construction at Launch Complex 37, during a tour of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Cape Canaveral, Florida. Also pictured: Assistant Press Secretary, Malcolm Kilduff; White House Secret Service agents, Joe Paolella, Jack Ready, and Emory Roberts. President Kennedy visited Cape Canaveral as part of a two-day inspection tour of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) field installations.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C23700
President John F. Kennedy tours the Titan Launch Complex at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Cape Canaveral, Florida. Director of Range Safety Operations with the Eastern Test Range at Patrick Air Force Base, Colonel Dan F. Thompson (center right, back to camera), briefs President Kennedy; models of the Titan II and Titan III missiles sit on table in foreground. Also pictured: Senator Alexander Wiley (Wisconsin); Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Paul Nitze; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; Manager of Florida Operations for the Manned Spacecraft Center, G. Merritt Preston; Representative Victor L. Anfuso (New York). The President Kennedy visited Cape Canaveral as part of a two-day inspection tour of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) field installations.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C23699
President John F. Kennedy (wearing sunglasses) views models of the Titan II and Titan III missiles, during a tour of the Titan Launch Complex at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Cape Canaveral, Florida; Director of Range Safety Operations with the Eastern Test Range at Patrick Air Force Base, Colonel Dan F. Thompson (center right, in foreground), briefs President Kennedy. Also pictured: Senator Alexander Wiley (Wisconsin); Director of Defense Research and Engineering for the Department of Defense, Dr. Harold Brown; Secretary of the Air Force, Eugene M. Zuckert; Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Paul Nitze; Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; Minister of Defence of Great Britain, Peter Thorneycroft; Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Dr. James E. Webb; Director of NASA's Launch Operations Center, Dr. Kurt H. Debus; Manager of Florida Operations for the Manned Spacecraft Center, G. Merritt Preston; White House Secret Service agents, Rufus Youngblood, Ron Pontius, and Gerald A. “Jerry” Behn. President Kennedy visited Cape Canaveral as part of a two-day inspection tour of NASA field installations.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C23698
President John F. Kennedy (wearing sunglasses) tours the Titan Launch Complex at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Cape Canaveral, Florida. Director of Range Safety Operations with the Eastern Test Range at Patrick Air Force Base, Colonel Dan F. Thompson (center right, back to camera), briefs President Kennedy; models of the Titan II and Titan III missiles sit on table in foreground. Also pictured: Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Dr. James E. Webb; Director of NASA's Launch Operations Center, Dr. Kurt H. Debus; Manager of Florida Operations for the Manned Spacecraft Center, G. Merritt Preston; White House Secret Service agent, Gerald A. “Jerry” Behn. President Kennedy visited Cape Canaveral as part of a two-day inspection tour of NASA field installations.