Friday, May 5, 1961: First American in space

Three weeks after Yuri Gagarin of the Soviet Union made history as the first man in space, the United States launches Alan Shepard aboard the Freedom 7. The flight lasts 15 minutes and takes Shepard to an altitude of 116 miles.

* Short biography: @

* More from nasa.gov (click on "links" for flight summary): @

* NASA's "This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury" (go to Chapter 11, "Suborbital Flights Into Space"): @

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April: Bay of Pigs aftermath

April 20

* Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy's statement on Cuba and neutrality laws: @

* U.S. President John F. Kennedy's address to the American Society of Newspaper Editors: @

* Footage of speech: @

April 21

* Footage of JFK press conference, Part 1: @

* Part 2: @

* Part 3: @ (This contains the Kennedy quote, "There's an old saying that victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan.")

April 22

* Letter from Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to JFK: @

* JFK meets with former President Eisenhower at Camp David, Maryland (photo above). The picture would win the 1962 Pulitzer Prize in photography. The story behind the photo: @

April 24

* The White House releases a statement that reads: "President Kennedy has stated from the beginning that as President he bears sole responsibility for the events of the past few days. He has stated it on all occasions and he restates it now so that it will be understood by all. The President is strongly opposed to anyone within or without the administration attempting to shift the responsibility."

April 27

* JFK address to the American Newspaper Publishers Association: @ (also known as "The President and the Press" speech)

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Monday-Wednesday, April 17-19, 1961: Bay of Pigs

A U.S.-sponsored attempt to topple the government of Cuban leader Fidel Castro fails. An invasion force of some 1,400 Cuban exiles -- trained and financed by the CIA -- goes ashore at the Bay of Pigs. They are routed by government forces. The U.S. had hoped that the operation would spark an uprising against Castro (at lower right in photo); that, too, never takes hold.

* Summary (from americanheritage.com): @

* Summary (from Miami Herald): @

* Summary (from Kennedy library): @

* Summary (from the book "Disasters, Accidents, and Crises in American History"): @

* Letter from Khrushchev to Kennedy (April 18): @

* Letter from Kennedy to Khrushchev (April 18): @

* "Invasion at Bay of Pigs" (from historyofcuba.com): @

* "Assault Brigade 2506 and the Bay of Pigs" (from military.com): @

* "Inspector General's Survey of the Cuban Operation" (from CIA, October 1961): @

* "Official History of the Bay of Pigs Operation" (from CIA): @

* Government documents, April 17-19; start at "106 through 120": @

(from "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963 -- Volume X, Cuba, 1961-1962")

* Other links to relevant documents: @

* More from National Security Archive: @

* More from cuban-exile.com: @

* "Cuba and the United States: A Chronological History": @

* "Rebels Invade Castro's Cuba:" (newsreel, from britishpathe.com): @

* "Aftermath of the Cuban Episode" (newsreel, from britishpathe.com): @

* Battle footage (from criticalpast.com): @

* Photos (from life.com): @

* New York Times (April 18): Front page @ and article @

* Front page of San Francisco Chronicle (April 20): @

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Saturday, March 11, 1961: U.S. plans for invasion of Cuba

President Kennedy meets with leading civilian and military officials to discuss a U.S.-led plan to topple the government of Cuba's Fidel Castro. (The plan had been set in motion by President Eisenhower on March 17, 1960; click here for entry.) While the details of the plan were secret, the overall goal was not: On January 10, The New York Times had published an article with the headline "U.S. Helps Train an Anti-Castro Force at Secret Guatemalan Air-Ground Base; Clash With Cuba Feared." During the March 11 meeting, Kennedy requested changes in the plan; at a second meeting on March 15, it was agreed that the invasion would take place at The Bay of Pigs.

* Details of meetings (from the book "John F. Kennedy: A Biography"): @

* Details of meetings (from the book "A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House"): @

* Details of meetings (from the book "The Bay of Pigs: Cuba 1961"): @

* National Security Action Memorandum No. 31 (from jfklibrary.org): @

* Government documents in days before and after meetings: @ and @

(from "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963 -- Volume X, Cuba, 1961-1962")

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Friday, February 3, 1961: Operation Looking Glass

The United States' Strategic Air Command sends a specially outfitted Boeing EC-135 plane into the air. Its purpose is to allow the U.S. government to retain control of its nuclear arsenal in the event of an attack on the country, particularly the SAC command post in Omaha, Nebraska. Flying in shifts, EC-135s are aloft 24 hours a day.

* Summary (from nebraskastudies.org): @

* Summary (from Federation of American Scientists): @

* "America's Top-Secret Doomsday Plan" (Popular Mechanics, May 1994): @

* EC-135 entry from Strategic Air and Space Museum: @

* U.S. Strategic Command website: @

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Saturday, January 28, 1961: Louis Armstrong in Egypt

With his wife, Lucille, listening, jazz great Louis Armstrong plays the trumpet near the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. (Click on photo for a closer look.) Armstrong was on a tour of the Middle East and Africa, sponsored by the U.S. State Department, which sent a series of "jazz ambassadors" abroad to showcase America's image and to forge better relations with Eastern European and developing countries.

* "Jam Session: America's Jazz Ambassadors Embrace the World" (traveling exhibit): @

* "Jam Session" story and photos (from NPR): @

* Story and photos (from New York Times): @

* Story and video (from Voice of America): @

* "Satchmo Blows Up the World" (book by Penny M. Von Eschen): @

* "Jazz Diplomacy" (book by Lisa E. Davenport): @

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January 1961: 'Spy vs. Spy'

The Cold War cartoon debuts in the January issue of Mad magazine. The artist, Antonio Prohias, was an editorial cartoonist who had fled Cuba after Fidel Castro came to power. Each cartoon contains a string of Morse code that stands for "by prohias."

* Summary (from www.toonopedia.com): @

* Original artwork for first strip: @

* Tribute websites: @ and @

* "Spy vs. Spy: The Complete Casebook" (2001): @
* National Public Radio report from 2001: @

* "Tales Calculated to Drive You Mad: The Debunking of Spies, Superheroes and Cold War Rhetoric in Mad magazine's 'Spy vs. Spy' " (2007 paper from Journal of Popular Culture): @

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Tuesday, November 29, 1960: Kennedy's Cuba briefing

In November, President-elect John F. Kennedy learns in detail about U.S. plans to help overthrow the government of Cuba. CIA director Allen Dulles meets with Kennedy on November 18 at Kennedy's home in Palm Beach, Florida (photo at left); Dulles tells Kennedy about an invasion force of Cuban exiles being trained in Guatemala.

In the years since, it has been widely reported that a second, more detailed briefing occurred on November 29, during which Kennedy told Dulles to proceed with the operation. However, the CIA says it is very unlikely that this meeting ever took place. Click here for "CIA Briefings of Presidential Candidates"; scroll down to "The Mystery Briefing of Late November."

"A Program for Covert Action Against the Castro Regime" (from March 1960): @

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Wednesday, October 19, 1960: Cuban embargo

The United States imposes a partial economic embargo on Cuba, prohibiting practically all exports to the island nation other than food and medicine. The move comes just days after Cuba had nationalized all U.S. banks. According to the State Department, the aim of the embargo is to "exert a serious pressure on the Cuban economy and contribute to the growing dissatisfaction and unrest in the country." However, a National Intelligence Estimate published in December says that "Economic dislocations will occur but will not lead to the collapse or significant weakening of the Castro regime."

* "Economic Sanctions as an Instrument of U.S. Foreign Policy: The Case of the U.S. Embargo Against Cuba" (book): @

* "Cuba and Economic Sanctions: A Cold War Strategy in the 21st Century" (U.S. Army War College, 2004): @

* Embargo timeline (through 2007): @

* "Cuba: The Battle of America" (CIA film, 1960): @

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September-October, 1960: Khrushchev and the U.N.

* Monday, September 19: Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev arrives in New York for what will be a contentious session of the United Nations General Assembly. Also in New York is Cuba's leader, Fidel Castro, who had arrived the day before.

-- Footage of Khrushchev and Castro arriving in New York: @

* Tuesday, September 20: The General Assembly opens. Khrushchev and Castro meet for the first time. Afterward, Khrushchev likens Castro to "a young horse that hasn't been broken. He needs some training, but he's very spirited, so we'll have to be careful."
-- Footage of Khrushchev-Castro meeting: @

* Thursday, September 22: U.S. President Eisenhower expresses strong support for the U.N.'s role, particularly its peacekeeping activities in Africa. He also asks: "Will outer space be preserved for peaceful use and developed for the benefit of all mankind? Or will it become another focus for the arms race -- and thus an area of dangerous and sterile competition?"

-- Speech: Summary @ and text @

* Friday, September 23: Speaking for nearly two and a half hours, Khrushchev accuses the West of continuing to seek colonial rule in Africa. He also says the secretary-general's post should be abolished in favor of a three-person committee representing Communist, West and neutralist blocs. After Khrushchev's speech, a New York antiques dealer presents him with an American Indian peace pipe, saying "may the leaders of our two great powers, the USSR and the USA, see in this pipe a new age ... may you and the heads of other states symbolically smoke it together." (Click here for larger view.)

-- Portion of speech: @

* Monday, September 26: Castro speaks for more than four hours. He begins his speech by saying, "Although it has been said of us that we speak at great length, you may rest assured that we shall endeavor to be brief ..."

-- Text of speech: @ and @ (printed version)

* Thursday, September 29: Khrushchev interrupts a speech by British Prime Minister Harold MacMillan, pounding on his desk with his fists and shouting, "You send your planes over our territory, you are guilty of aggression!"

-- BBC summary: @

-- Life magazine coverage: @

-- Footage: @

* Monday, October 3: Khrushchev repeats his call for the removal of Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold, who replies that by doing so he would "throw the organization to the winds."

-- Footage: @

* Sunday, October 9: Khrushchev is interviewed on the "Open End" TV program, hosted by David Susskind. The interview turns contentious, with Khrushchev at one point threatening to walk off the set. The most memorable exchange:

Khrushchev: ... Our land is sacred and sovereign, and it's only the peoples of the Soviet Union themselves that have the right to govern their land, and administer their affairs. ... Why should you try to poke your nose into our garden? Have you not enough things to do in your own country?

Susskind: You're baying at the moon. ... We believe with all our might that there are many subjugated peoples in Eastern Europe. We ask that a plebiscite be held, not in your home country, not in the Soviet Union, but in many of the countries of Eastern Europe, who are now within the Soviet orbit.

Khrushchev: Is such an expression as "baying at the moon" regarded as normal polite conversation in your country? We regard it as rude. After all, I'm old enough to be your father, and young man, it is unworthy to speak to me like this. You look pleasant enough but you do not express yourself quite courteously. I do not permit an attitude like that towards myself. I did not come here to "bark" -- I am the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the world's greatest socialist state. You will therefore please show respect for me. If you do not want to, then do not invite me for an interview. There must be courtesy, but you are accustomed to prod and knock everyone about. Ours is the kind of state which will not allow itself to be ordered about.

-- More about the near-departure: @

-- Time magazine account: @

-- Photo from interview: @

* Wednesday, October 12: Shoe-banging incident. See separate post below.

* Thursday, October 13: After a final, failed attempt to have the U.N. condemn the United States for its U-2 spy flights, Khrushchev boards a plane and departs from New York. "We are leaving in a good mood," he says.

Other resources:

* "Khrushchev in New York" (Text of speeches, appearances): @

* "Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev": @

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Wednesday, October 12, 1960: Khrushchev's shoe

At the United Nations, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev is said to have pounded his shoe on his desk after a Philippine delegate's remark about Soviet oppression of Eastern Europe. But did it really happen? The New York Times was unequivocal: "Premier Khrushchev waved his shoe today and banged it on his desk, adding to the lengthening list of antics with which he has been nettling the General Assembly." There are no photos or footage of the incident; the closest is a photo, taken by the Times, of Khrushchev seated at his desk with a shoe in front of him (click to enlarge).

-- Los Angeles Daily Mirror front page: @

-- 1988 New York Times story: @

-- 2003 New York Times story: @

-- Account by Khrushchev's granddaughter: @

-- Account from "Khrushchev: The Man and His Era" (book): @

-- Accounts from "Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev": @ (Khrushchev) and @ (bodyguard) and @ (U.N. employee)

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Saturday, September 24, 1960: USS Enterprise

The world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is launched from Newport News, Virginia. At the time, "The Big E" was the biggest ship ever built.

* Summary: @

* Navy site: @

* Federation of American Scientists site: @

* History through present day: @

* Other sites: @ and @

* Footage of christening (without sound): @

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Thursday, August 18, 1960: Spy pictures from space

Corona, the United States' first photo reconnaissance satellite system, takes its first picture, of a military airfield in the far northeast area of the Soviet Union. Developed and operated by the CIA and the U.S. Air Force, the system worked like this: The satellite's cone holds small capsules that, once the images are taken, separate from the satellite, then descend via parachute and are recovered in midair by an Air Force plane.

* The first image: @

* More about Corona: @ and @ and @

* "A Point in Time" (1972 CIA documentary): @

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Wednesday-Friday, August 17-19, 1960: U-2 incident: Powers' trial

American pilot Francis Gary Powers, captured after his U-2 spy plane was shot down on May 1, goes on trial in Moscow. (See previous U-2 entries using "cold war" tag.) He pleads guilty to the charge of crimes against the Soviet people and is sentenced to 3 years in prison, to be followed by 7 years in a labor camp.

* Portions of trial transcript (translated from Russian): @

* Indictment: go to www.foia.cia.gov and search for GARY POWERS TEXT ON INDICTMENT-SOVIET GOV'T ORDERED U-2 SHOT DOWN

* Powers' "Operation Overflight: A Memoir of the U-2 Incident" (passages about trial begin on page 130): @

* Story about U-2 wreckage in Moscow museum (from Popular Mechanics magazine): @

* CIA memo listing overflights of Soviet bloc (dated August 18; from Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum): @

* Overview of U-2 incident (video): @

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Wednesday, July 20, 1960: Underwater missile

Sitting about 30 miles off Cape Canaveral, Florida, the USS George Washington fires a Polaris A1 nuclear missile. It was the first successful launch of a ballistic missile by a submerged submarine. The launch was a key progression in the ongoing arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Polaris' 1,200-mile range meant that the U.S. could strike nearly any land target from the safety of international waters.

* More about Polaris missile system: @ and @

* Polaris timeline: @

* More about USS George Washington: @ and @

* Newsreel: @

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Saturday, July 9, 1960*: U-2 incident: Powers indicted

U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers, whose downing by the Soviet Union sparked a fresh round of tensions between the superpowers, is formally indicted for crimes against the state, specifically spying. (See entries of May 1, 5, 7, 11, 16 and 26.) The indictment recounts Powers' career, mission, capture and interrogation, and refers several times to American aggression. (Example: "Thus, the United States officially proclaimed in peace time a policy which can only be followed when countries are at war.") Powers' trial is scheduled for August 17.

Note: On July 1, a second incident had taken place when a U.S. reconnaissance flight with six men aboard was shot down over the Barents Sea. The two survivors were captured and imprisoned until their release in January 1961. More on that incident: @

* Most websites list the indictment date as July 8. The 9th is used here based on Powers' autobiography, "Operation Overflight: A Memoir of the U-2 Incident" as well as the CIA link below.

To see the full indictment, go to www.foia.cia.gov and then search for GARY POWERS TEXT ON INDICTMENT-SOVIET GOV'T ORDERED U-2 SHOT DOWN

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Wednesday-Friday, June 29-July 1, 1960: Cuba nationalizes oil companies

Cuba nationalizes (i.e., confiscates without compensation) the refineries of the U.S. oil companies Texaco and Esso as well as Shell's British facility after their refusal to refine Soviet oil. (Nationalization of all U.S. businesses and commercial properties would follow in the coming weeks.) It's the latest incident in steadily increasing tensions involving the United States, the Soviet Union and Cuba. Preceding events included:

* February: Soviets agree to buy 5 million tons of Cuban sugar over 5 years.

* March 17: President Eisenhower approves an anti-Castro plan.

* April 19: Soviet oil begins to arrive in Cuba.

* May 8: Cuba establishes diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union.

* May 17: Radio Swan, financed by the CIA and broadcasting anti-Castro propaganda, goes on the air.

* May 27: U.S. says it will cut off economic aid to Cuba within 180 days.

* June 7: U.S. oil companies refuse to refine Soviet oil.

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* Video of Esso takeover (click on clip 7): @

* More about Radio Swan: @ and @

* Fidel Castro meets writer Ernest Hemingway at a fishing tournment in Cuba on May 15, 1960. More about Hemingway's ties to Cuba: @ and @ and @

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Thursday, June 23, 1960: U.S.-Japan security treaty

The treaty, revised from the original 1951 agreement, states that the United States will help defend Japan if it is attacked, and also provides for the continued use of bases and ports by the U.S. military. It was signed on January 19 but went into effect only after Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi forced it through the Japanese legislature. Because of widespread protests (photo) -- many Japanese resented the American presence, opposed an alliance with a nuclear-armed U.S. and feared Japan might be pulled into a war not of its own making -- President Eisenhower had canceled a planned trip; Kishi would resign following ratification.

* Chronology of U.S-Japan relations: @

* Text of 1960 treaty: @. (Details of Article VI: @)

* More about resistance to the treaty: @ and @ and @

* Text of 1951 U.S.-Japan treaty (which recognized both Japanese sovereignty and the country's limited capabilities for self-defense following World War II): @

* Text of concurrent 1951 treaty (the San Francisco peace treaty) that officially ended World War II: @

* More about Japan's postwar defense policy: @

* U.S. Forces in Japan (official website): @

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Thursday, May 26, 1960: The Great Seal bug

During a United Nations debate over the U-2 incident and U.S. spy operations, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (the U.S. ambassador to the U.N.) displays a wooden carving of the Great Seal of the United States. It contains a listening device planted there by the Soviet Union, which had given the carving to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow in 1946. After the revelation, the U.N. Security Council votes 7-2 against censuring the United States for the U-2 incident.

* Summary (from www.history.com): @

* Summary (from www.spybusters.com): @

* "U.N. Spy Debate: Reds ' Bugged' American Embassy Lodge Claims" (newsreel): @

* Front page of Los Angeles Mirror: @

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Monday, May 16, 1960: Paris summit falls apart

The mood of the meeting among the leaders of the United States, Soviet Union, USSR, Britain and France almost immediately turns hostile as Soviet leader Khrushchev, left, demands the U.S. apologize for the U-2 incident (see May 1, 5, 7, 11). Not only does U.S. President Eisenhower refuse to do so, he accuses Khrushchev of trying to sabotage the entire summit, which was to have taken up the issues of disarmament, East-West tensions and Berlin and the fate of Germany. Khrushchev withdraws his invitation for Eisenhower to visit the USSR.

* Short summary: @

* Newsreels: @ and @

* Khrushchev and Eisenhower statements, May 16: @

* Report from a CIA intelligence officer: @

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