Cuban Missile Crisis: 13 Days

JFK Learns about Missiles in Cuba

Oct 16, 1962

JFK learns that Cuba has missiles. JFK immediately starts talking with high officials to see what plans are. They have two: they could do an air strike and invasion, or a naval quarantine with the threat of further military action.

Cuban Missile Crisis: 13 Days

Period: Oct 16, 1962 to Oct 28, 1926

American military starts moving towards Southern

Oct 17, 1962

Meets with Crown Prince Hasan of Lybia to discuss ideas. After this, he heads to Connecticut for Democratic cogressional candidates.

Kennedy Meets with Gromyko

Oct 18, 1968

Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko visits Kenedy to assure that it is not a threat to the US. Kenedy does not reveal what he knows about the missiles.

Kenedy Leaves For Campaign Trip

Oct 19, 1968

Kenedy takes a planned trip from Ohio to Ilinois to campaign

Kenedy returns to Washington

Oct 20, 1968

Kenedy returns to Washington to make plans for naval attacks.

Meeting with Governer Sweeny

Oct 21, 1968

After attending mass, Kenedy meets with Sweeny to which Sweeny says it's not a 100% gaurentee destruction on the missiles.

Contacting Former Presidents

Oct 22, 1968

President Kennedy phones former Presidents Hoover, Truman and Eisenhower to brief them on the situation. Meetings to coordinate all actions continue. As well as British Prime minister Macmillan

President Kennedy signs Proclamation 3504

Oct 23, 1968

Kenedy signed Proclomation 3504, authorizing the naval quarantine of Cuba. The naval fleet moves in towards Cuba.

Khrushchev Replies to Kenedy

Oct 24, 1968

Chairman Khrushchev replies indignantly to President Kennedy's October 23 letter.

Kenedy Learns of Active Missiles

Oct 25, 1968

Kenedy learns of Cuba having active missiles and writes a letter to Khrushchev urging him again to change the course of events.

Oops! On the Ship

Oct 26, 1968

A Soviet-chartered freighter is stopped at the quarantine line and searched for contraband military supplies. None are found and the ship is allowed to proceed to Cuba. Photographic evidence shows accelerated construction of the missile sites and the uncrating of Soviet IL-28 bombers at Cuban airfields.

Things Get Crazy

Oct 27, 1968

A second letter from Moscow demanding tougher terms, including the removal of obsolete Jupiter missiles from Turkey, is received in Washington. Over Cuba, An American U-2 plane is shot down by a Soviet-supplied surface-to-air missile and the pilot, Major Rudolph Anderson, is killed. Kenedy writes a letter to widow Anderson about his death.

Al Fine

Oct 28, 1968

Finally, everything is fine, missiles are canceled in Cuba, 13 days have ended