On October 22, 1962 JFK spoke to the American public (and the world) and announced the presence of offensive nuclear missiles being installed by the Soviet Union on the island of Cuba. I was nine years old but do remember his speech on TV. Here is a snip out of “The Kennedy Detail” by Gerald Blaine that demonstrates to me some of what JFK was thinking during the crises. This took place immediately after the televised Cuban Missile speech:
Inside the Situation Room, where the red phone with a direct line to Moscow sat conspicuously beneath the projected map of Cuba, the ExComm members stood as President Kennedy walked into the room. Blaine closed the door and waited outside, where all he could hear was the sound of muffled voices.
The briefing was short, and when the president walked out a few minutes later, Blaine again followed him into the elevator.
As soon as the doors closed, President Kennedy turned to Blaine and said, “You know, Jerry, we’re in a bit of a pickle.”
Blaine didn’t know what to say. The world was on the verge of nuclear war. What could you say to the man who held the balance in his hands?
“Yes, sir,” Blaine replied. “I know.”
“Now, you know that if anything happens, you’re coming with me.”
“Yes, Mr. President. Of course.” If it appeared that the Soviets were going to fire the nuclear missiles, Blaine and the rest of the Kennedy Detail agents would move swiftly with the president to a safe and undisclosed location. That was understood. Blaine didn’t understand what Kennedy was getting at.
Kennedy looked directly into Blaine’s eyes. There was intensity, yet concern, in the president’s gaze. Blaine had never communicated with the president on a matter of state with such dire implications.
“Have you thought about what your family will do?” President Kennedy asked. “You need to be prepared.”
The elevator stopped, and in the moment before the doors slid open, Blaine realized what President Kennedy was trying to tell him. “Thank you, sir. I understand.”
At home that night, Jerry slept fitfully as he wrestled over the very real possibility that he would be in a safe bunker with the president while Joyce and one-year-old Kelly could be exposed to a nuclear attack. He wanted desperately to talk to Joyce about it, but he couldn’t. To divulge something of this magnitude would be breaking the Secret Service code.
It would please me if this year, the sixtieth anniversary of the assassination, we could have some discussions about JFK and what he meant to the people of the world. The unforgettable televised coverage of his funeral that took place in Washington DC stands out to me as being quite a statement of the world’s sense of loss and grief.
