Cuban Missile Crisis

Missiles discovered in Cuba

Oct 16, 1962

A U-2 plane flew over Cuba and found missiles. President Kennedy was informed of the findings and the Cuban Missile Crisis began.

The 13 Days

Period: Oct 16, 1962 to Oct 28, 1962

Military moves to action

Oct 17, 1962

The American military begins to move to bases in the southeastern part of the United States. President Kennedy attended a service at St. Matthew's cathedral to observe the national day of prayer and met with Crown Prince Hasan of Libya.

President Kennedy meets with Soviets

Oct 18, 1962

Kennedy meets with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, who asserts that Soviet aid to Cuba is purely defensive and does not represent a threat to the United States. Kennedy did not let on that he knew about the missiles in Cuba.

Whatever shall we do

Oct 19, 1962

Kennedy's advisors meet in Washgton to discuss the best course of action. Kennedy left for a scheduled campaign on Ohio and Illinois.

All systems go

Oct 20, 1962

Plans are drawn to deploy naval units. Kennedy works on a speech to notify the American public.

Air strike?

Oct 21, 1962

Kennedy attends a Mass at St. Stephen's with his wife. President Kennedy meets with General Walter Sweeney of the Tactical Air Command and tells Kennedy that an air strike could not ensure the destruction of the missiles.

Action!

Oct 22, 1962

President Kennedy calls former Presidents Hoover, Truman, and Eisenhower and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan to inform them of the situation. He gives a speech on the television that night at seven to inform the public of the missiles in Cuba and the naval blockade around the island. He also establishes the Committee of the National Security Council and tells them to meet daily during the crisis.

Naval blockade

Oct 23, 1962

The naval blockade is set in place around Cuba. Soviet ships carrying weaponry stop, but the oil tanker continues. Kennedy calls Khrushchev to stop all Soviet ships headed towards Cuba to avoid American ships firing on enemy ships and possibly starting a nuclear war.

Mr. President

Oct 24, 1962

Chairman Khrushchev sends a letter to Kennedy. The letter states that Kennedy is trying to intimidate the Soviets by forming a naval blockade and telling their ships to stop going to and from Cuba.

It's going down

Oct 25, 1962

Kennedy drafts a personal letter to Premier Khrushchev trying to get him to change the course of events. Adlai Stevenson, usually courteous to others, flipped his lid in the UN and aggressively confronted Valerian Zorin with photographic evidence of the missiles in Cuba.

You may pass

Oct 26, 1962

A Soviet freighter is granted passage through the naval blockade surrounding Cuba. Fidel Castro, in a private letter, urged Nikita Khrushchev to deliver an air strike against the United States. Khrushchev, in a letter to Kennedy, proposed a solution to the situation. The removal of the missiles from Cuba if the US promised not to invade Cuba in the future and remove the naval blockade.

Terms and conditions

Oct 27, 1962

There was a second letter from the Soviet Union demanding tougher terms, including the removal of the missiles from Turkey. A U-2 plane is shot down over Cuba and pilot Major Rudolph Anderson, is killed. Kennedy writes his widow and informs her that he will be awarding him the Distinguished Service Medal, posthumously.

It all ends

Oct 28, 1962

The most dangerous days of the Cuban missile crisis ends, and Moscow Radio announced that the Soviet Union accepted the conditions of the agreement. The missiles would be removed from Cuba and the backs blockade would be taken down.