The Missiles of October 1962 Redux
For some time since the beginning of September 1962, US-based U-2 spy planes had been engaging in aerial photography of the island of Cuba. During that time, the construction of missile bunkers, a full-fledged missile base and the arrival and unloading of Soviet ships carrying crated equipment had been photographed and relayed to the White House. McGeorge Bundy advised Pres. Kennedy of the pending major crisis on the morning of October 16, 1962. Kennedy was aware of what was going on, and made phone calls to former Presidents Hoover, Truman, and Eisenhower to brief them about what was going on.
Subsequently, he made a formal address to the nation on October 22, 1962. I was still in high school. This came during our dinner hour, broadcast from the White House at 7:00 PM EST.
The link to the video of that speech is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgdUgzAWcrw
Pres. Kennedy did hold a press conference later, including use of the aerial surveillance photos that clearly showed the missile base under construction on the island of Cuba. His decision to use the US Navy to blockade all ships heading toward Cuba brought us to the very brink of war, not because he wanted it, but because Nikita Krushchev was just as stubborn as Jack Kennedy.
The Mexican standoff began on October 22, 1962. It was Krushchev who finally blinked and backed down. Subsequent negotiations included the establishment of a direct line between the White House and the Kremlin. Fidel Castro felt betrayed by the Soviet Union, on whose military backing he had been counting, because he was ignored in the negotiations to end the blockade. The full text of those events is at this link: http://microsites.jfklibrary.org/cmc/
Simply put, we were as close to the edge of a nuclear war as you can get without actually starting one.
And now we are facing the same brinksmanship by North Korea, although it seems to be mostly threats and arm waving by Kim Jong-un. His prime minister says we should take him seriously. Well, I certainly do, even if I appear to not do so by making jokes about it. He may be threatening to set off an airbust H-bomb over the South Pacific, but we do have ships and personnel in that area, despite small groups of protesters.
However, on October 25, 2017, the Russian government launched a long-range guided missile, a Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile from Plesetsk cosmodrome aimed at the Kura testing range in Kamchatka on the country’s Pacific coast. It left a glowing blob of light in the Siberian night sky, spooking the locals, who wondered if it was an alien UFO or another large meteor strike. If you look at the map in the attached article https://wattsupwiththat.com/2017/10/27/spectacular-ufo-reported-in-siberia/ you can see that the Topol-M can easily reach North Korea.
I can only hope that Pres. Trump will congratulate Mr. Putin on his successful missile test, and offer him any necessary aid in stopping Fatty Kim da T’ird from starting a nuclear war.
Because that’s what I would do.
Category: North Korea
I was in my senior year of High School when the 1962 blockade took place and in Great Lakes Boot Camp in 1963 when Pres. Kennedy was killed. The Navy added extensions to everyone’s enlistment time so they wouldn’t be short handed in case of a conflict. This I found out after boarding the OKIE 3 in Dec. of 1963.
Ex-PH2, Nice article. The ’62 incident was a couple weeks before I was born. I was on the Corps from 81-87. I would also add a comment about the Petrov Incident. That was another moment by moment push of the button situation.
Thanks, RRaider!
A book that details the Cuban Missile Crisis best is One Minute to Midnight, by Michael Dobbs. If you haven’t ever read that, IMO you should.
Even 55 years after the fact, it will scare the sh!t out of you. We came far closer to Armageddon than anyone knew at the time.
I will get it. Thank you.
The only reason there was no nuclear war is because a Soviet submarine commander decided not to use his authority and uncontrolled discretion to launch a nuke torpedo at one of our ships. Under his ROE he was authorized to fire it.
Technically true, but only half the story.
Under the ROE in place, if the sub Captain and Politial Officer agreed, the nuke could be used if Moscow couldn’t be reached. However, that particular sub was the flotilla’s flagship. Thus the flotilla commander’s approval was also required.
The Soviet sub Captain was talked out of using that nuke by the sub flotilla commander – who didn’t concur, and afterwards talked the commander into surfacing instead. Had any of the other 3 subs been the flotilla’s flagship, well, . . . .
http://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=70671
Yep – those were very dark days in 1962. A lot of sleep lost for a few weeks.
This round just doesn’t seem as scary. Maybe simply because we have common concerns with Russia.
My dad was stationed on one of the ships that blockaded Cuba. His Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal cited the Cuba Blockade as the justification. He got a second one for Vietnam, but traded that in for his first Vietnam Campaign Medal.
RIP USAF Major Rudolf Anderson. He was killed when his U-2 spy plane was shot down Oct 27 1962 over Cuba during a reconnaissance mission. He left behind a wife two months pregnant w/ a baby girl, and two sons aged 3, and 5. Major Anderson was one of the few officers below the rank of general/admiral to receive the Distinguished Service Medal, and he also was posthumously the first recipient of the Air Force Cross.
In 1962 I lived within walking distance of the Pentagon. This was no big deal to me because as a Navy brat I had lived quite close to, and sometimes on, various “ground zeros” all my young life. Young, but old enough to find all the Civil Defense “fallout shelters” stocked with emergency supplies funny. Especially the ones in the Pentagon, where my mother worked.
“Dr. Strangelove or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb.” came out in 1964. Coincidence, I’m sure.
We laugh about that, MC. But if you want to feel the hair on the back of your neck stand up, look up what Gen. Thomas Power, SAC Commander (LeMay was USAF CofS by then) did regarding his message announcing DEFCON 2.
Short version: he made the announcement to SAC on a clear comm channel. No encryption.
Wanna make a guess regarding who was almost certainly monitoring that channel?
Had any of several small things gone differently during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Maj Kong’s ride could easily have happened in reality vice on the silver screen.
Oh, yeah. As one of Reagan’s Cold Warriors, a Russian linguist who was on the tip of the spear, I am with you 100%.
No Cuban Missile Crisis, but still some pretty hairy stuff. Most of which no one in the public will ever hear about.
The clip is still funny as hell though.
Well, I hope that some day, Mustang Cryppie, you will pen your memoirs for us to read, and include the “hairy” parts in it.
The real world stuff is frequently much more interesting than the fictional variety.
Sadly, it wouldn’t pass the classification check the Pentagon gets to do.
A good amount of it would, but the juicy parts no way.
Bummer!
I read where originally P{eter Sellers was supposed to me MAJ Kong, but was unable so they tried getting Dan Blocker for the part. He thought it was too pinko, so they wound up approaching Slim Pickens, who was even more conservative – but thought the part was funny as hell. The rest, of course, is film immortality.
Here you go, Hondo. I found a quote for that announcement by GEN Power.
The question becomes a bit murkier when new material uncovered by Stanford’s Prof. Scott Sagan led him to write:
In addition, it is revealing that on October 24, shortly after DEFCON 2 was declared, General Power also sent the following special message to all SAC wings, in a clear (uncoded) voice transmission, emphasizing the need for safety and caution in the dangerous operation:
This is General Power speaking. I am addressing you for the purpose of reemphasizing the seriousness of the situation the nation faces. We are in an advanced state of readiness to meet any emergencies, and I feel that we are well prepared. I expect each of you to maintain strict security and use calm judgement during this tense period. Our plans are well prepared and are being executed smoothly. If there are any questions concerning instructions which by the nature of the situation deviates from the normal, use the telephone for clarification. Review your plans for further action to insure that there will be no mistakes or confusion. I expect you to cut out all nonessentials and put yourself in a maximum readiness condition. If you are not sure what you should do in any situation, and if time permits, get in touch with us here.
— Source: http://www.like2do.com/learn?s=Thomas_S._Power
It appears that the good General thought that the open channel, which the Soviets were most likely tracking, would show them we meant business.
Simply can’t resist this scene:
Awesome!
Rock Hudson is in that. Didn’t he die of food poisoning from eating raw weenies?
Fantastic article, Ex-PH2.
It brought back memories of the scare going on in 1962. Lots of practice going to Fallout Shelters while living on a Military Installation…and of course, the drills conducted at school.
How does that ole saying go:
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Did you take that picture? 🙂
No, I didn’t take that picture. That came out of the X-Files of the mysterious entity that is This Ain’t Hell.
😁
So…. Who in TAH is Mulder…and who is Scully..or better yet, who is the Chain Smoking Dude?
I can’t tell you that. It’s a secret.
Roger Chaffee, one of the astronauts that was killed in the Apollo 1 fire, flew missions over Cuba during the crisis”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_B._Chaffee#Navy_service
Being but a wee sprout in 1962 (i.e. I was not in High School yet) I was less aware of the intensity of the concern, but knew that the oil refineries of Houston made us a prime target well within the range of Cuban missiles.
I remember the drills at school, crawling under the desks if we saw a bright flash, etc.
What is now a bit funny to me was that when we flew from New Orleans to Venezuela in 1959, then back in late 1960, we flew over Cuba. We knew Cuba didn’t like it, but couldn’t do anything at the time. I remember looking out the pilots window to see Cuba below us.
It was a different era.