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Kennedy Finds Out About The Missles
President John F. Kennedy is told that a secret U2 spy plane saw that the Soviet Union has stored Intercontinental Ballistic Missles in Cuba. This information puts the United States and The Soviet Union in close range of a nuclear war. -
Period: to
The 13 Days
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The Discussion
President Kennedy discusses what they should do about the missles. The US military units begin to move to bases in south eastern US. Another U-2 flight shows additional sites of missles. -
Soviet foreign minister Andrei Gromyko visits Kennedy
Gromyko says that the Soviet helping Cuba is based only on defense and that the U.S should not feel threatened. During this talk Kennedty does not say he knows about the missles but warns Gromyko about the consequences of having them. -
Discussion Continued
President Kennedy continues discussing the options. He speaks with the Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara and the members of Joint Chiefs of staff to figure what options the military had. -
Notifying the Americans
John F. Kennedy begins to work on a speech to tell the Americans what's going on. They begin to sketch out a plan to deploy naval units. -
Kennedy speaks with Sweeney
Walter Sweeney tells Kennedy that air strike is not guaranteed to destroy missles. Kennedy orders a naval blockade of Cuba. -
Def Con. 3
Kennedy informs the American public about the Cuban missle crisis. Kennedy before hand calls former presidents, soviet leader , and British prime minister. -
Quarantine of Cuba
The OAS (Organization of American States) supports the decision to quarantine Cuba. Photos reveal that Soviet missiles are ready for launch. McNamara, Kennedy review and discuss options of confrontation. -
Soviets Are Engaged
Soviet ships reached quarantine line and had position. US Military goes into Def. Con 2. -
Confrontation of the soviets
Adlai Stevenson , us ambassador , confronts the Soviets at U.N. But receives no answer. The president drafts a personal letter to Krushchev. -
The brink of nuclear war
Soviet charter continues to Cuba. Fidel Castro tells Krushchev he should initiate a nuclear strike against the U.S. CIA says missle construction is continuing. -
The loss of a pilot
One U-2 plane accidentally flies over Russia and another plane over Cuba is shot down. Major Rudolph Anderson Jr., is killed. -
Soviets Agree,
The Soviet Union accepts the proposal and withdraws the missles. This ending the most dangerous 13 days in US History.
