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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-1963-06-05-C
ST25, KN36
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-04-14-C
KN15
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-04-13-D
KN15
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C21152
President John F. Kennedy (center right, wearing sunglasses), Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shahanshah of Iran (left of President Kennedy, wearing sunglasses), and other distinguished guests watch a demonstration of United States Navy and Marine Corps amphibious landing operations at Onslow Beach from Riseley Pier, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The Shahanshah, in the United States on a state visit, joined the President in North Carolina to inspect the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. Seated in the reviewing stand, first row (L-R): Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara (looking through binoculars); Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; the Shahanshah; the President; Commandant of the United States Marine Corps General David M. Shoup; and Congressman Carl Vinson (Georgia). Those seated in the second row include (L-R): Foreign Minister of Iran Abbas Aram; Chief of Naval Operations Admiral George W. Anderson, Jr.; Admiral Robert L. Dennison, Commander in Chief of the Atlantic Command (CINCLANT), Commander in Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic (SACLANT); and Chief of Staff of the United States Army General George H. Decker. Naval Aide to the President Captain Tazewell Shepard, Jr. (bottom left, wearing sunglasses) sits in front of the reviewing stand.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C21145
President John F. Kennedy (center right, wearing sunglasses), Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shahanshah of Iran (left of President Kennedy, wearing sunglasses), and other distinguished guests watch a demonstration of United States Navy and Marine Corps amphibious landing operations at Onslow Beach from Riseley Pier, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The Shahanshah, in the United States on a state visit, joined the President in North Carolina to inspect the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. Seated in the reviewing stand, first row (L-R): unidentified; Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara (looking through binoculars); Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson (partially hidden, looking through binoculars); the Shahanshah; the President; Commandant of the United States Marine Corps General David M. Shoup (facing away); and Congressman Carl Vinson (Georgia). Those seated in the second row include (L-R): Chief of Naval Operations Admiral George W. Anderson, Jr.; Admiral Robert L. Dennison, Commander in Chief of the Atlantic Command (CINCLANT), Commander in Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic (SACLANT); and Chief of Staff of the United States Army General George H. Decker. Seated in front of the reviewing stand are (L-R) an unidentified foreign military officer; Naval Aide to the President Captain Tazewell Shepard, Jr. (wearing sunglasses); Vice Admiral Alfred G. Ward, Commander, Amphibious Force, Atlantic; and Lieutenant General Robert B. Luckey, Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic (partially hidden on far edge of image).
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C21142
President John F. Kennedy (right, wearing sunglasses) and Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shahanshah of Iran (left), arrive at Riseley Pier, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to view a demonstration of United States Navy and Marine Corps amphibious landing operations at Onslow Beach. The Shahanshah, in the United States on a state visit, joined President Kennedy in North Carolina to inspect the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. Those walking behind the Shahanshah and the President include (L-R): Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson (left of the President); White House Secret Service agent Gerald A. “Jerry” Behn (partially hidden, over Vice President Johnson's shoulder); and Naval Aide to the President Captain Tazewell Shepard, Jr. (far right); all others are unidentified.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C21141
President John F. Kennedy (right, wearing sunglasses) and Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shahanshah of Iran (left), arrive at Riseley Pier, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina to view a demonstration of United States Navy and Marine Corps amphibious landing operations at Onslow Beach. The Shahanshah, in the United States on a state visit, joined President Kennedy in North Carolina to inspect the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson (left) and Naval Aide to the President Captain Tazewell Shepard, Jr. walk directly behind the Shahanshah and the President. Those pictured in the background include (L-R): White House Secret Service agents Arthur L. “Art” Godfrey, Ernest “Ernie” Olsson, and Gerald A. “Jerry” Behn; and Chief of Protocol Angier Biddle Duke.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C21123-J
President John F. Kennedy (center left) signs the guest book at the U.S. Atlantic Fleet Headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia. Looking on, in foreground, are (L-R): Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; Admiral Robert L. Dennison, Commander in Chief of the Atlantic Command (CINCLANT), Commander in Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic (SACLANT); Vice Admiral Harold T. Deutermann, Chief of Staff to the SACLANT; Naval Aide to the President Captain Tazewell Shepard, Jr. (in back, partially hidden); and an unidentified North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military officer (on far edge of image).
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C21123-H
Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson (right) signs the guest book at the U.S. Atlantic Fleet Headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia. Looking on, in foreground, are (L-R): President John F. Kennedy; Admiral Robert L. Dennison, Commander in Chief of the Atlantic Command (CINCLANT), Commander in Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic (SACLANT); and Vice Admiral Harold T. Deutermann, Chief of Staff to the SACLANT. Unidentified North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military officers stand in the background.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C21123-F
President John F. Kennedy (left) shakes hands with Vice Admiral Harold T. Deutermann, Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic (SACLANT), upon his arrival at the U.S. Atlantic Fleet Headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia. Those standing behind President Kennedy include (L-R): Naval Aide to the President Captain Tazewell Shepard, Jr. (in back); Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; and Admiral Robert L. Dennison (wearing sunglasses), Commander in Chief of the Atlantic Command (CINCLANT), Commander in Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and SACLANT.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C21123-A
President John F. Kennedy (center) and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson (right) sit in the back seat of a convertible during their visit to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet Headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia. Admiral Robert L. Dennison, Commander in Chief of the Atlantic Command (CINCLANT), Commander in Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, and Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic (SACLANT), with back to camera, sits in front.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-C206-15-63
President John F. Kennedy (right foreground, wearing sunglasses) views missile demonstrations at the White Sands Missile Range in White Sands, New Mexico. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson sits at left; Commanding General of the White Sands Missile Range, General J. Frederick Thorlin, sits in center.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-C206-6-63
President John F. Kennedy (left, wearing sunglasses) and others view missile demonstrations at the White Sands Missile Range in White Sands, New Mexico. Left to right: Chief of Staff of the United States Army, General Earle G. Wheeler (bottom left); Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson (far left, wearing safari hat); Commanding General of the White Sands Missile Range, General J. Frederick Thorlin; President Kennedy; US Ambassador to Costa Rica, Raymond L. Telles (center, with back to camera); Governor of New Mexico, Jack Campbell (right, wearing glasses). The Pershing missile is visible in the background.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-C206-10-63
Sergeant First Class Harman D. Swits, III (left) presents President John F. Kennedy (wearing sunglasses) with a scale model of the Sergeant missile at the White Sands Missile Range in White Sands, New Mexico; the President visited White Sands to view missile demonstrations. Left to right: Sergeant First Class James W. Ray; SFC Swits; Chief of Staff of the United States Army, General Earle G. Wheeler; President Kennedy; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson (face obscured); White House Secret Service agent, Gerald A. "Jerry" Behn (far right, face hidden). [See also MO 63.2019, "Model of Sergeant Missile," from the John F. Kennedy Museum Collection.]
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-C206-20-63
President John F. Kennedy (center left, wearing sunglasses) views missile demonstrations at the White Sands Missile Range in White Sands, New Mexico. Seated right of President Kennedy in first row (left to right): Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson (wearing sunglasses); Senator Ralph W. Yarborough (Texas); Senator Strom Thurmond (South Carolina); Representative Ed Foreman (Texas). Also pictured: Governor of New Mexico, Jack Campbell; Chief of Staff of the United States Army, General Earle G. Wheeler; Naval Aide to the President, Captain Tazewell T. Shepard, Jr.; Special Assistant to the President, Larry O’Brien; Military Aide to the President, General Chester V. Clifton; White House Secret Service agent, Roy Kellerman. [Notes: Scratches throughout image are original to the negative.]
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-C206-18-63
President John F. Kennedy (wearing sunglasses) shakes hands with Sergeant First Class Harman D. Swits, III (left), who presented President Kennedy with a scale model of the Sergeant missile at the White Sands Missile Range in White Sands, New Mexico; the President visited White Sands to view missile demonstrations. Also pictured: Military Aide to the President, General Chester V. Clifton (holding Sergeant missile model); Sergeant First Class Jimmie Grimes; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. [See also MO 63.2019, "Model of Sergeant Missile," from the John F. Kennedy Museum Collection.]
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-ST-C206-17-63
Sergeant First Class Jimmie Grimes (left) presents Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson (right) with a plaque featuring a model of the Pershing missile system at the White Sands Missile Range in White Sands, New Mexico; President John F. Kennedy (not pictured) and Vice President Johnson visited the missile range to view demonstrations. Also pictured: Secretary of the Army, Cyrus R. Vance (left of Vice President Johnson); Sergeant First Class Harman D. Swits, III (far right, mostly out of frame).
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C29101
President John F. Kennedy (center, looking through binoculars) and others view missile demonstrations at the White Sands Missile Range in White Sands, New Mexico. Seated right of President Kennedy (left to right): Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; Senator Ralph W. Yarborough of Texas (looking through binoculars); Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina (wearing grey suit); Representative Ed Foreman of New Mexico (face obscured by pole). Also pictured: Governor of New Mexico, Jack Campbell; Chief of Staff of the United States Army, General Earle G. Wheeler. [Notes: Scratches and blemishes in top portion of image are original to the negative.]