Missiles In Cuba - 1962

Most historians agree that the Cuban Missile Crisis, which pitted the Soviet Union against the United States during the coldest days of the Cold War, began on October 16^th, and lasted 12 days, until the cessation of the American Quarantine of Cuba on October 28^th, 1962. While this is true of the time of actual confrontation, Soviet ships had been photographed with missile parts, headed for Cuba, as early as September 25^th of that same year. I was just 8 years old, but the events of that period will live with me forever.

The Cuban Missile Crisis was really a test by the Soviets, to ascertain our resolve in keeping West Berlin from falling into their hands, which would have happened had we invaded Cuba; not just for the missiles; even to oust Fidel Castro, as in the failed Bay of Pigs affair in 1961. The Soviet point of view was that if we had our Monroe Doctrine as authority to invade; or even blockade; Cuba, then they had the same authority to act in their own self-interest in their hemisphere. In effect, we were being baited.

The Generals, and the Chiefs of Staff, were all eager to invade. What they didn’t know then, but has been divulged since, is that the Soviets already had tactical nuclear weapons in Cuba. These weapons, which were portable, would have enabled the Cubans to wipe out any full scale invasion by the United States at the time. It was only the resolve of President Kennedy which kept us from providing the air cover that had been promised by his predecessor, and of which the new President had not been informed. Had he given the go-ahead on the Bay of Pigs, the Soviets would have used that as a pretext to invade West Berlin.  The same held true for the Cuban Missile Crisis. Once again, the Joint Chiefs wanted to go in. They either did not understand, or seemingly care about, the results which would have been precipitated by such action.

From the 15th of October until the 28th, the world seemingly stood still, as we all awaited the outcome of the unfolding events. There was no “hot line” or “red phone” between Moscow and Washington yet. That would only come about after the crisis was over, in an attempt to keep this type of thing from ever going so far again.

President Kennedy, along with his brother Robert, took a full week to assess the situation as if it were a chess game. They analyzed each and every move possible, along with the outcomes these moves would provoke. In the end they settled on the Quarantine, announcing it on the evening of October 22^nd. From then on the whole world waited; and watched. The photo above is of one of our Neptune aircraft buzzing a Soviet cargo ship en route to Cuba during the Missile Crisis.

In school we had daily “fallout” drills, sitting in the hallways, covering our heads with books. The expected attack never came, and some say that the events of both the Bay of Pigs, and the Cuban Missile Crisis were factors in the assassination of the president the following year. We will probably never know of there is any truth in that.

Although the compromise reached between the two super powers did end the immediate crisis, it later seemed a bit funny to me that we had accepted a deal in which about 8 non-operational missiles in Cuba were swapped for the withdrawal of the 600 operational Jupiter missiles which we had in Turkey, along the Soviet border. While it is true that those missiles were being replaced with longer range ones based in Western Europe, the swap was so lop-sided that the full details of the deal were withheld from the American people for some time. We were told merely that we had “won”, and that a new phone line was being installed between Moscow and Washington which would allow the leaders of the two countries to have quicker, and more direct, contact with one another.

Next Monday will mark 50 years since the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis. I was going to use a portion of President Kennedy’s speech here today, but I have decided instead to post the entire 18 minute speech on the anniversary of the date on which the President delivered it. I still remember watching it with my parents at home in Brooklyn. It is one of the most vivid memories of my childhood, which is saying a lot, considering that my childhood encompassed several assassinations; including that of President Kennedy himself; and massive civil disobedience over both the War in Vietnam, as well as Civil Rights here at home. It was quite a time.

Cuban Missle Crisis Ends

On October 22nd, 1962 President Kennedy announced that the Soviet Union was installing nuclear missiles in Cuba, 90 miles from our shores. Acting under the auspices of the Monroe Doctrine he gave a 17 minute speech in which he outlined his response to the Soviet action, including the famous quarantine of Cuba, in which all Soviet ships headed to Cuba were boarded and searched. Those ships which refused to be searched were turned back by our Navy. On October 28th, 6 days later, the crisis came to an end when Soviet premier Khrushchev announced the withdrawal of the missiles. On the surface the United States had won a huge victory. Or, so it would seem.

In reality the United States had done the same thing to the Soviet Union by placing over 600 Jupiter missiles along the Turkish border, all aimed at strategic targets within the Soviet Union. This was akin to our violating the Soviet Union’s right of the principles of the Monroe Doctrine, which we were using to have the Soviet missiles removed from Cuba.

Moscow's position was correct, if we could have missiles on their border, they could have missiles on ours. Unknown to American military intelligence at the time, was that there were, and had been, low yield "tactical" nuclear weapons, though not missiles, in Cuba since the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. These weapons were for combat use, typically for the repulsion of invading forces. Had our troops landed in support of the coup, they would have been met with small scale nuclear arms. And that would have triggered a nuclear response from the United States, which of course would have set off a response from the Soviet Union. Now, here we were, one year later, facing off with the Soviet Union for a second time.

Kennedy and Khrushchev were both very concerned about losing control of their respective armed forces at the time. The Joints Chiefs of Staff wanted to invade over the missile issue, and the President wanted to negotiate. Officially, at the time, the so-called "Doomsday" clock stood at 1 minute to midnight, the closest the Soviet Union and the United States had ever come to a nuclear war. A solution, acceptable to both sides, needed to be found, and quickly!

Within 6 days of JFK's speech, Khrushchev announced the withdrawal of the Soviet missiles from Cuba. This was hailed as a great victory for America at the time. A closer look would have revealed otherwise. The facts would not come to light for several more years, and when they did surface it didn't look like we got such a great deal after all.

President Kennedy had proposed, and the Soviets accepted, the dismantling of 600 operational nuclear missiles on the Soviet border in exchange for removing 5 non-operational missiles from Cuba. There was one caveat; the terms of the deal could not be announced. The concessions by the United States were to be kept quiet. And they were, for several years.

The Soviet Union got exactly what they wanted, and in a way, so did we. At the time we were dismantling the Jupiter missiles on the Turkish border, we were installing newer, longer range missiles, all aimed at the same targets, throughout Germany and Western Europe.

By 1964 both Kennedy and Khrushchev were out of office, Kennedy felled by an assassin’s bullet(s), and Khrushchev removed to a Dachau, where he would spend his remaining days in seclusion. Both men had fallen victim to the forces that would thwart any peace efforts. Those forces are still with us, to this very day.